Jennifer McKinnon grooms her horse before saddling it and slipping a
bridle on its head.
She then leads the three-year-old gelding through the stable and into a
riding arena for some training.
Riding and training horses is something the 17 year old does with
passion and with the ease of years of experience.
“I just love training,” she confides. “I want to do it all my life.”
McKinnon was able to pursue her passion with support from her parents
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and an involvement with 4-H that began when she was nine.
The club helped her build a variety of skills that she will likely use
throughout her life.
Besides learning about horses, she has developed skills such as
effective communication and learned to achieve goals by working in
co-operation with others.
“You learn a lot and everybody’s so good,” said McKinnon, who lives
with her parents east of Brandon.
“I wouldn’t be as far as I am today without it.”
Manitoba has enjoyed a long history in 4-H. The first club in Canada
was organized at Roland, Man., in 1913. Today, there are 239 4-H clubs
in the province with 4,400 members. There are also 1,800 volunteer
4-H leaders, “which is a really significant number for us,” said Debora
Lyall, acting manager of the 4-H youth section for Manitoba Agriculture.
“It’s a fabulous program in terms of getting adults involved as well as
kids.”
Corney and Brenda Dyck’s family has been involved with 4-H for several
years.
The benefits for their four children have been many, including the
confidence and knowledge gained from doing practical, hands-on projects
and interacting with other people, said Corney.
“The funnest part is seeing kids locally growing up in the program.”
He is president of the Manitoba 4-H Council, which last year marked its
50th anniversary. The council operates in partnership and with the
support of Manitoba Agriculture.
Dyck’s role as council president has given him an opportunity to meet
people throughout Manitoba and from other provinces. He often emcees at
4-H events or delivers greetings from the council.
“I’ve learned as much about public speaking as the kids have.”
One of the challenges, he said, is keeping the 4-H programs relevant to
today’s young people.
He believes they have successfully done that and points to a project
undertaken last year. It involved a dozen members from various 4-H
clubs in Manitoba who teamed up, mainly via the internet, to establish
a trading company.
The participants created a venture to trade maple syrup suckers from
Canada for silver jewelry from Mexico. Although the effort encountered
some glitches when trying to get the suckers cleared through Mexican
customs, it taught the participants important lessons about
entrepreneurship, business management and team work.
Corina Turner, one of the participants, sees that project as the start
of further efforts to keep 4-H current.
Now in her final year of studies at the University of Manitoba, Turner
believes 4-H has shaped many aspects of her life, such as
entrepreneurship, public speaking, how to conduct meetings, sewing and
drama. It also gave her opportunities to visit Africa, Mexico, New
York and Washington.
Turner was nine years old when she joined 4-H, with some coaxing from
her mother, Betty. The university student laughs when remembering her
reluctance to join, especially in light of everything she has learned
in the past 12 years.
“It was my mother who wanted me to go into 4-H. She wanted me to learn
how to sew.”
More information about Manitoba’s 4-H programs can be found at
www.gov.mb.ca/
agriculture/4-h.
