Riding High With Kantering Kids 4-H Horse & Pony Club
Writer / Natalie Platt
Photography Provided
Kantering Kids 4-H Horse & Pony Club, the second-oldest club in Tipton County, focuses on horses and the study of horsemanship, as well as the caring and feeding of the horses.
“We meet on the first and third Monday of each month and do our best to schedule around holidays and school activities,” says Sammy Ziegler, former Kantering Kids 4-H member and current club leader. “The ages of club members range from junior members, third grade to eighth grade, to senior members, ninth grade through 12th grade. For kindergarten through second grade, we have a mini program where they have their own show during the county fair.”
Kantering Kids 4-H focuses on hippology, the study of horses, during the winter months. Club members learn about all parts of the horse, along with saddle and equipment knowledge that may be needed in the daily care of horses. For a hands-on approach, the club has taken barn tours at training facilities and visited various race tracks, to watch how trainers and owners prepare the horses and tack needed.
“We are a very active club year-round and are very involved in our community, and love to help where we can,” Ziegler says. “A couple years ago we got word that Tipton County was going to finally get a much-needed animal shelter, but they needed the funding to get started. At a meeting we started brainstorming and came up with the idea to have a Festival for Animals. We invited several groups and organizations to set up booths, such as items for sale, games and face painting. The club decided to have pony rides, a petting zoo, and to rent a dunk tank. It was well-received by the community and we had a full day of fun and activities with the community members, with all proceeds going straight to the shelter fund.”
The rodeo is the group’s most popular event of the year, having resumed in 2018 after the last local rodeo in 1977.
“My mom and dad were rodeo stock contractors and traveled many miles to promote the sport of rodeo, and held that responsibility for 42 years before retiring in 1983,” Ziegler says. “I had a little background and knew enough to be dangerous, so we formed a rodeo committee and kicked around what we needed to make it work.”
The rodeo was put on through Three Bar J Rodeo Company, owned by Mike and Marcia Johnson. The Johnsons were also stock contractors and knew Ziegler and her parents from years past, so it was a natural fit for Ziegler to trust them with bringing the rodeo back to Tipton.
However, the week leading up to the rodeo, and the day of the event, didn’t quite go as planned.
“On Thursday before the rodeo it rained over three inches,” Ziegler says. “The Three Bar J crew worked all night Friday and all morning on Saturday to make everything perfect, and we thought we were ready. It was 4 p.m. on Saturday, the rodeo started at 7 p.m. and there were hardly any people there. I wanted to cry.”
With a little help from WWKI radio station’s live broadcast, the sun finally came out and cars were lined bumper to bumper on Highway 19 in June of 2018, waiting to see the first rodeo in Tipton in 41 years.
“It was a crazy weekend and we made a lot of mistakes, but we have learned from them,” Ziegler says. “The rodeo keeps getting bigger and better every year. The rodeo also has a few things earlier in the day for the community, including pony rides for the kids and a petting zoo.”
The Tipton rodeo is sanctioned by two different Rodeo Associations – the International Professional Rodeo Association and the Mid-States Rodeo Association. These entities sanction rodeos you might see on TV, with June being known as “Cowboy Christmas” on the rodeo circuit. There are several rodeos throughout the Midwest during June and contestants enter as many as possible, hoping to win prize money.
“The rodeo contestants we talk to love coming to Tipton,” Ziegler says. “They love the hospitality and our fairgrounds.” The 2023 rodeo is on Saturday, June 24 at 7 p.m.
The cost of the rodeo is upwards of $20,000, and Kantering Kids 4-H is grateful for their 2023 sponsors, including Elbrecht Investments LLC, Encompass Credit Union, American Legion Post 46, Broken Strand Ranch, Ziggy’s Customs, TNT Auto Sales, Cardini’s/Pizza King Tipton, Larson & Sons Shooting Supplies, Simpson Trucking, Clouser Group Ace Hardware, Hoosier Bin Company LLC, Tipton Lions Club, Central Indiana Gun Shows, Beck’s, Jen’s Therapeutic Massage, Logan, Graham & Connor Accountants, First Farmers Bank & Trust, and Farmers Mutual Insurance, as well as donations by Rutledge Well Drilling & Pump Service, Tipton Moose Lodge #1590 and Pam Millikan.
For information on Kantering Kids 4-H or to become a rodeo sponsor, call Sammy Ziegler at 317-385-7263.
