4-H Horse Speaking contests help youth gain self-confidence, courage and persuasiveness; share ideas with others; and develop the ability to speak in public to inform others about horse-related subjects and the 4-H Horse project.
State Contest | April 18, 2026 | Univ. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Any 4-H member that wants to participate must be registered for the contest through ZSuites. The ZSuites registration deadline is March 20, 2026 and should be completed by 4-H families. These contests take place on a single Saturday in April each year on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus.
Contest Divisions:
- Formal formal speech: Subject must pertain to the horse industry, or be horse-related, and be original and factual. Visual aids of any kind are not allowed (posters, items, equipment, etc.).
- Individual presentation: Subject must pertain to the horse industry, or be horse related, and be original and factual. The presentation may be a demonstration or illustrated talk. Props and/or visual aids are required.
- Team presentation: Subject must pertain to the horse industry, or be horse related, and be original and factual. The presentation may be a demonstration or illustrated talk and requires two 4H-ers presenting content equally. Props and/or visual aids are required.
- Extemporaneous speaking: topic is selected at the event and participants have 25 minutes to prepare a 4 to 6 minute speech.
- Interpretive Reading is the art of reading aloud from a printed page. The reading must be published works that are horse-related. They may be prose, poetry, short stories, play cuttings, narratives, book or review, or theatrical. Readings should NOT memorize; they are intended to be read from a page.
Required Documents
- Formal Speech Rules
- Individual/Team Presentation Rules
- Extemporaneous Speech Rules
- Interpretive Reading Rules
- Contest reasonable accommodations request (Must be submitted at least 30 days prior to contest date)
Additional Horse Contest Information:
Eligibility
Open to all 4-H members age 8 to 18. Senior Division: Contestants must be at least 14 years of age but not yet have achieved their 19th birthday on January 1 of the current year. Junior Division: Contestants have passed their 8th but not their 14th birthday as of January 1 of the current year.
