4-H members exhibiting horses must keep in mind that there are extra requirements along with Quality Assurance and Skillathon. These requirements, as well as rules pertaining to horses, can be found in the Paulding County Junior Fair Rule Book.
Equine Vaccine and Coggins Clinic will take place on April 12th, 2025 from 9 am – 12 pm at the Paulding County Fairgrounds. This is mandatory for horses being exhibited at the Paulding County Fair. All horses will be measured at this time and placed into one of two categories: Pony – 58″ and under OR Horse – over 58″.
Leased horses are required to have a lease agreement on file with the Extension Office by April 18th, 2025.
Horse Leasing Guidelines with Horse Identification Form
Permission to Participate Form
Horse Possession Deadline: April 18th, 2025
For more information about the Ohio 4-H Horse Program click HERE.
EquiSTEP
EquiSTEP (Equine Safety, Training, and Education Program) is an annual statewide requirement for all youth participating in Ohio 4-H Horse Program activities and/or enrolled in a 4-H horse project. Participants must view all five videos (introduction and STEPS 1-4) which last approximately one hour in total. Once the videos are completed, participants will be able to access the 10-question quiz. Participants must complete the quiz associated with the training and achieve a minimum score of 7 (out of 10) in order to pass the training.
Once the quiz is successfully completed, participants will need to complete the course survey to trigger a certificate of completion. The certificate will be emailed to the participant’s email address as well as their county’s 4-H Educator. The participant must select their correct county to trigger the email to the correct email address and they must click on the submit button at the end of the survey to trigger the email.
EquiSTEP Deadline: June 1st, 2025
EquiSTEP Link: https://go.osu.edu/equistep25
Quality Assurance
4-H members exhibiting horses are required to complete Quality Assurance Training each year. This training is put on by OSU Extension and is available multiple times beginning in January of each year. It is very important to think about Spring schedules when planning to complete Quality Assurance and it is recommended to complete the training as soon as possible. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has set a rule that Quality Assurance training must be completed prior to the 45-day mark before the start of a county fair. Failure to complete this training by the 45-day deadline will mean that the animal will not be eligible to be shown at the county fair. Visit the Quality Assurance page for more information and link to register.
Quality Assurance Deadline for 2025: April 23rd, 2025
Skillathon
4-H members exhibiting horses are also required to complete a Skillathon each year. Skillathon is the completion of their project for the year and makes them eligible to show at the Paulding County Junior Fair. Visit the Skillathon page for more information and study guides.
Skillathon: May 28th, 2025
To view Horse Show Results, click HERE.
For the Paulding County Fair Schedule, click HERE.