By Karina Fain

Imagine being pampered for more than four hours.

A burst of cool water rains down, followed by a lather of soap and a rinse.

The sun's rays and a breeze draw the moisture out of your hair. Someone runs conditioner across the strands and then combs them out smooth, stroke after stroke, with a soft-bristled brush. Next come a haircut, shave and pedicure.
Sound like your average trip to a health spa? Think again. This special treatment is devoted to a horse.

"The day before a horse show I have to bathe my horse, trim his hair, comb out his tail and make sure his hooves are clean," John Nelson, 10, explained. "I have to clean his stall so he stays clean for the show."

John, his 12-year-old brother, Chris, and his 16-year-old sister, Stephanie, go through this ritual several times a year to prepare for 4-H horse shows.These Smithfield youths aren't alone in their efforts; they have the guidance and support of their parents, Ned and Jan.

Jan said there are a lot of reasons she encourages the kids to participate in 4-H. She said it teaches them responsibility because the kids have to take care of their animals and learn to ride them.

Ned compared the involvement to parenting.

"When you're a parent, you tell your kids what to do, and feel joy when your kids respond and frustration when they don't," he said. "Working with horses gives the kids the chance to be the parent and the teacher. They learn to play
with and enjoy the horse, while at the same time they learn to care.

"Kids need to be busy, and if you provide them with something constructive, they won't have time to go do something you don't want them to do," Ned said.
Stephanie said she agrees with her dad's reasoning.

"I look at my friends from school and I wonder, ‘What do they do when they come home from school? Play on the computer?'" Stephanie said, as she shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "I have to come home, ride horses, clean stalls and clean my horses."

Chris and John explained the process of taking care of their horses. Before school the three kids feed their horses and check all the gates to make sure they are latched and the horses are OK. They also check to make sure the horses have enough water, and they break ice in the water troughs in the winter.

"I wake up, go feed, come back in, wet my hair down and go out the door to school," John said.

The horse stalls are cleaned daily after school; manure is lifted from the straw bedding with a pitch fork or rake, and fresh straw replaces heavily-soiled straw. Then its time to ride.

"In the summer, especially, we ride every day," Chris said. "We have to exercise the horses every day so we can keep them in shape and teach each other things."

Stephanie said she enjoys 4-H because of the opportunities to learn how to ride and cooperate with her horse.

"I think the most important thing I've learned is patience, even though I don't use it all the time," Stephanie said with a smile. "Also, we get to spend a lot of time together as a family."

The Nelsons are part of a group of nearly 250 youth from Cache Valley that are enrolled in the horse and pony program. The program includes western- and English-style riders, with 14 clubs in communities throughout the valley. The clubs meet once a week during the summer, and combine for horse shows, clinics and winter riding at the Cache County Fairgrounds in Logan.

4-H is more than just riding. The program also emphasizes the importance of learning about the health and anatomy of the horse, with tests given at each horse show. Senior members of 4-H, students in ninth through 12th grade, have the opportunity to participate in a state competition that includes public and impromptu speaking, and horse demonstrations and judging.

The 4-H program dates to the early 1900s – approximately 1902 – when educators started to emphasize the need for better agricultural education for youth. Although 4-H had its roots in agriculture, it has evolved through the past century to include a variety of interests, including arts and crafts, exercise, sewing and astronomy.

Today 4-H is run by the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 4-H is open to youth in grades three through 12. Nearly 7 million youth found their niche in 2001, according to the Annual 4-H
Youth Development Enrollment Report. The number of enrolled participants since 4-H began now totals about 60 million.

Not all participants come from rural areas. Of the 6.75 million youth involved in 4-H in 2001, 23 percent lived in towns with populations of 10,000 to 50,000, and 24 percent lived in cities with populations larger than 50,000.
The 4-H emblem, a four-leaf clover with an "H" on each leaf, was created to represent the four elements of the pledge: "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country and my world."

The 4-H motto is "To make the best better," and that is what Ned and Jan have tried to emphasize to their kids.

"Everybody needs a chance to achieve and to do well at something, and this is an opportunity for our kids to learn to work with and get along with their horses, other kids and other parents," Ned said. "They have an opportunity to
develop their horse skills as well as their people skills."

Jan said, "Some people just do it for competition, and that's not what 4-H is about." She said that this year the leaders are really trying to take the emphasis off competition and focus on education and fun.

"I go to 4-H to learn and get my horse to work, and I go to have fun," Chris said, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. "I really don't care if I win at the shows. I just do it for fun."

Both parents and kids expressed their concern about parents who become overly competitive at the horse shows, with some kids bringing different outfits for each event in the show, and having expensive equipment, such as $200 saddle pads, to match.

"Competition has its place in that it can help encourage you to work hard," Ned said. "If you can control it, it's good."

Last year Chris said he and his brother decided to try to show that 4-H doesn't have to be based on who has fancier clothes or equipment.

"We wore Hawaiian-print shirts and straw hats," Chris said, "and we just had fun."

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