Who earned 'neighing' rights in the state?

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

July 18, 2002 -- Which horse was given the AQHA No. 1 registration number? What year and who owned him?

Give up? The answers are Wimpy, 1941, King Ranch.

Questions like these were asked at the recent State 4-H Roundup Horse Quiz Bowl in College Station where 19 teams vied for "neighing" rights.

The double elimination contest would come down to two teams: Fannin County and Panola County.

Fannin County won their first round but lost the second round. This loss put them in the loser's bracket. Panola County on the other hand, never lost a round - until they played the Fannin County team.

"The first couple of rounds were pretty easy," said Michael Harris, Panola County 4-H team captain. "The last couple of rounds were difficult."

Back and forth the teams went, win a point, lose a point. Finally, there was a winner. The four girls from Fannin County set stunned for a moment, then looked at each other and said, "We won!"

The Fannin County team, consisting of Kelda Goerte, Kristin Goerte, Taylor Deckard, and Afton Rivers, had upset a quiz bowl favorite.

"We just sat there for a minute and then looked at each other. We couldn't believe we had actually won," Taylor said.

" The Fannin County team was tough. Those girls knew their stuff," said Doug McKinney, Panola County Extension agent. "Matter of fact, one of them knew two out of three answers to that question (the question asked above)." But, because she only answered two questions, a point was deducted from their score.

"We were shocked that they won," Michael said. "We knew we were good, but they were better. I look forward to going to Ohio."

Panola will represent Texas in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the World Horse Congress in October. Fannin County will represent Texas in January at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Colo.

"We are excited about getting to go to Denver," said Taylor. "The competition was hard. We had to beat Panola twice in order to win."

Placing in the state is not an easy task. Both teams spent hours studying, and the studying is not over.

"We spent hours and hours studying," said Kristin. "We even studied on the way down there. Now we will study for nationals."

Both teams will have to enhance their skills on regional type questions and study guides will help.

"We are getting July off," Taylor stated, "then it is back to the books."

With the caliber of questions asked, people would think that these 4-H'ers all own horses. Not so.

The Goerte sisters own horses, but five years ago they lived in Arlington and had never ridden a horse, much less owned one. Today, the girls train horses and have made it to the state rodeo competition in Abilene. Both girls plan careers in horse training.

Taylor also owns horses and she, too, is going to the state rodeo competition. Taylor is looking forward to becoming a veterinarian.

Three of the Panola members - Michael, Justin Harrell and Laura Harrell - have horses. Brandi McIlwain raises rabbits.

When the last question at the top competition has been answered, Kelda and Michael's 4-H careers will be over. Both will attend junior colleges and then a four-year university, majoring in agriculture.

The other members plan to return for another 4-H year.