Katherine Selai – Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) - The Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) FFA had their most successful year ever at the State Horse Evaluation Contest.
The FFA placed first in teams, allowing them to move on to the National Competition. The individual category was also so success put of 54 individuals in the contest.
The placings were -
Senior Claire Van Nortwick - Second
Sophomore Sylvie Theis - Seventh
Freshman Audriana Horne - 13th
Sophomore Tate Peachey - 24th
This success for the FFA is a major achievement. Placing first allows the FFA to advance to National Competition in October.
LRHS Agriculture teacher Sophia Jaramillo-Vasconez said, “This achievement is a major milestone for our program... This success highlights the dedication, hard work, and commitment of both our students and our program.”
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This success is very important to the FFA because it shows the group’s dedication. This is also important because the competition has multiple rounds before they can reach a state level competition.
“Horse evaluation is a Career Development Event (CDE), which plays a vital role in preparing students for careers in agriculture and the equine industry. It is also one of the few contests that requires competitors to advance through two preliminary rounds before reaching the state level, making this achievement especially meaningful,” said Jaramillo-Vasconez.
In past years the FFA has been consistent but has not qualified for the state competition. This steady improvement shows dedication from staff and students but also improvement in the program itself.
Jaramillo-Vasconez said, “Our program has shown steady improvement over the past few years. Last year, we did not qualify for the state contest. The year before, we placed 4th, and prior to that, we earned second place. This year’s first place finish reflects the growth and determination of our team.”