By Chuckie Wiggins Posted November 13, 2018
On October 24-27, twelve Winnemucca FFA members went to Indianapolis for nationals.
Some attended the convention to get to various seminars while Alison Aitken, Heather Hall, Isaac Mori, and Makayla Leveille competed in horse judging; evaluating horses in areas such as breeding purposes and physical characteristics. The team members must also “defend their decisions through oral reasons in front of a panel of judges.”
As a team, the members earned a gold emblem and placed 11th.
Both Aitken and Leveille are anxious to return and compete.
“It was an amazing experience I had a lot of fun for the time that I was there,” said Aitken.
Senior Heather Hall took a silver.
“It was an exciting time in Indianapolis evaluating the horses it was nerve-racking at first,” said Hall.
Weston Noyes is the Winnemucca FFA Chapter president and Northern Nevada FFA (Winnemucca-Elko) president. He didn’t compete but was there to network with colleges and large companies.
“It’s a good opportunity to meet with agricultural colleges and schools and there are a ton of leadership opportunities and workshops,” said Noyes.
To attend the convention members raise money throughout the year. They sell jerky, and Yankee candles, have a quilt raffle, seek donations, and use scholarships such as the Greenhand Scholarship. Freshmen apply for the scholarship and if they receive it, they can use it for FFA-related activities or use it in college. The scholarship is funded through FFA alumni.
The kids competed against others from 47 states and territories. Over 68,000 kids attended the convention.
