WORKSHOPS

From FUNdamentals to Finals: Using TikTok & LTAD to Support Youth Riding Development

What if your barn’s TikTok feed could build better riders and keep them in the saddle longer? This interactive workshop blends Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) research with short-form social media strategies to support youth equestrians from early  Active Start stages through  Train to Compete. Participants will explore how to both curate and create age-appropriate content that strengthens motor skills, confidence, and horse-human connection while meeting kids where they already are on their phones. During the session, you’ll collaborate in small groups to design a 3-video content plan tied to specific LTAD stages, try out simple video scripting techniques, and participate in a live demo on filming effective 15-second equestrian learning clips. Whether you’re a coach, youth leader, or content-curious mentor, you’ll leave with templates, reflection prompts, and tools to help your riders build skills and share their growth with purpose. Harness TikTok not just for trends, but for lifelong horsemanship.

Boots, Buckets, and Biosecurity: Youth Education in Action

Winning starts with wellness  biosecurity keeps champions in the ring. In this session, participants will be equipped to take learning back to their youth and families with hands-on activities focusing on biosecurity at home and on the road.

Activities include:

1. Do’s and Don'ts - learn about what to do and what not to do when off property with horse friends to keep everyone safe.

2. Sanitizing and disinfecting - learn how to effectively sanitize and/or disinfect surfaces and equipment.

3. Isolation plans - learn about protecting your horse and others as you travel and come home.

The Youth-to-Youth Guide:
Making Your Next Event an Interactive Success

Tired of seeing youth on their phones or giving you the side eye during meetings, mixers, and events? This interactive workshop is designed by youth, for adults who want to inject energy, fun, and education back into their horse programming.

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Youth leaders from the North Carolina 4-H Horse Program will guide attendees through a series of  hands-on activities and ideas that demonstrate creative ways to turn technical topics from veterinary science to tack identification into engaging group activities that foster skill development, teamwork, and genuine interest.

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Attendees will leave with a practical toolkit of ideas and a youth perspective on what truly drives participation. Learn how to transform passive attendance into active, high-energy engagement that keeps youth coming back. Get ready to play, learn, and discover how to make your events a can't-miss experience.

​Ready by Design: Owning Your Growth as a Young Professional

Success doesn’t just happenit’s built through readiness: the mix of mindset, skills, and confidence that helps you adapt, lead, and grow. This interactive session helps teens discover how being ready isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being willing to try and prepared to learn.

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Through short self-assessments and small-group reflections, participants will explore real-life readiness moments where they took initiative, overcame challenges, or stepped into leadership roles. Together, we’ll connect those experiences to the abilities that make strong professionals like communication, problem-solving, and follow-through.

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Attendees will leave with a personalized growth plan and a goal-setting worksheet to help them turn everyday experiences into meaningful preparation for college, work, and life. This session is honest, encouraging, and focused on helping young leaders see their own potential ready not by chance, but by design.

Escaping The Barn: Expanding Teen Knowledge
Through Equine Based Escape Rooms

Equine based escape rooms combine the excitement of escape room puzzles and challenges with the educational development of equine knowledge. Using an immersive learning adventure will encourage participants to strengthen their understanding of horses and animal husbandry while solving puzzles and overcoming challenges that require teamwork, critical thinking, and hands-on learning. By integrating equine basics, nutrition, health, tack, and other equine and barn management concepts with interactive escape room-style activities, teens will engage in a fun and educational environment that fosters curiosity, problem-solving, and a greater appreciation for the world of horses. In addition to equine knowledge, these rooms are designed for teens, to foster development in life skills such as communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking.  Escaping the Barn promises to elevate the learning experience through next level learning!

The Power to Lead

We tell our horse to walk.  Is that why he walks with us?  You don’t lead a horse by dragging it. If a 1,200 lb horse doesn’t want to go with you he doesn’t have to. So why does he? (At least most of the time.)

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Teachers and parents, even friends, tell us to do something and sometimes we do it. And sometimes we don’t. And sometimes we don’t even know they asked.  What makes the difference in our response?

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Students will learn the basics of nonverbal communication and its impact in successful leadership and followership, in our human lives as well as horse and rider relationships.  Through equine guided exercises teams will experience lessons in presence, awareness, connection and direction while inviting a horse at liberty to join their team to complete a pattern.  This is not about controlling the horse, but about creating the energy of team leadership to work toward a common goal.

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Nonverbal and energetic communication are the keys to the power to lead.

Rebuilding Trust and Transparency: Lessons in Program Recovery and Stakeholder Engagement

Trust is the foundation of every successful youth program and when it breaks, rebuilding it takes more than policy. This session shares the real story of how the New York State 4-H Horse Program worked through fairness concerns, communication challenges, and shifting leadership culture to reestablish transparency and confidence statewide.

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Through open discussion and interactive role play, participants will explore the realities of navigating hard conversations with volunteers, parents, and youth while maintaining professionalism and compassion. Together, we’ll look at what worked, what didn’t, and how honesty, consistency, and follow-through became the cornerstones of positive change.

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Attendees will leave with ready-to-use communication templates, audit and survey tools, and a personalized  recovery plan they can adapt for their own programs. Whether you manage a local club or coordinate at the state level, this workshop offers practical tools and encouragement for leading with integrity, rebuilding trust, and keeping your program community-focused.

Horses That Heal: Integrating Equine-Assisted Services Into Youth Horsemanship and Leadership Programs

Equine-assisted services (EAS) offer powerful tools for youth development that reach far beyond the arena. In this session, participants will explore how the same skills that make great horsemen self-regulation, communication, empathy, and trustcan also support mental health, inclusion, and resilience in young people. Drawing from the Utah State University Equine Experience program, participants will learn how to adapt traditional horse programs for a range of youth audiences, including those with disabilities, trauma histories, or emotional-behavioral challenges.

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The session will blend research-based principles with hands-on learning: attendees will practice short, portable EAS activities that can be incorporated into 4-H, FFA, or camp settings (such as  leading with intention, reading herd cues and mirroring exercises). We will also discuss program design, risk management, and youth-appropriate facilitation skills rooted in PATH Intl. standards.

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Participants will leave with a practical framework for building confidence and connection through horses, and a better understanding of the career options within the EAS industry and how to pursue those careers.

Have You Herd? Herd Roles And How To Uncover The Value In Your Volunteers.

Lead mare, lead guardian, caretaker, sentinel, youth in every herd each horse holds different roles with essential value.  Human herds are no different with one exception we allow our brains to tell us that certain roles are more important than others, allowing us to fixate on a role we want, without regard for if our skill sets fit. Or it allows us to avoid becoming involved because we convince ourselves we bring no value.

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Teams will work to evaluate which role each animal may hold in the herd, then work with the horses to reveal the strengths, weaknesses, and unknown skill sets among team members and how they can be utilized to create a stronger more efficient team.

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Discussions will focus on how this can translate to leaders, volunteers, and parents. When we identify their natural abilities and use this to build self-assurance in each individual, we empower more interaction, create a united, balanced organization thriving on mutual respect, feeling valued, and sharing duties as well as successes.