Equine 4-H Program Coming Back to Schoharie County

SCHOHARIE - Richmondville – With the new year starting, Faye Benedict Smith and associate  Amelia von Korff decided to begin rebuilding the 4-H horse program for the youth in  Schoharie County with the launch of their new club, "Bridle Buddies."  

Born and raised in Dutchess County, Faye grew up in 4-H, earning a list of  achievements in the Horse and Goat Programs, respectively, including Regional Horse  Bowl Team, Regional Hippology Team, Horse Sportsman of the Year, 1994 4-H  Horseman of the Year, Goat Husbandry of the Year, and Goat Sportsman of the Year.  Her professional career in the equine industry started at the Kildonan School with her  position as assistant instructor in the Equestrian program, teaching children of all ages  at the school. After she moved to Schoharie County in the early 2000s and established  her horse training and boarding business, Fairbanks Stable, Benedict Smith became a  4-H leader and guided a club until her senior members graduated from the program,  bringing back hippology and horse bowl at the time. Benedict Smith has been involved  with horses for her whole life. She has trained and coached horses and riders  respectively for over 20 years in the English disciplines of hunt seat equitation and  hunters while also growing her knowledge of horse management and riding for over 30  years. 

Born and raised in Long Island, NY, Amelia became a Schoharie resident following the  completion of her bachelor's degree at SUNY Cobleskill in 2022. While 4-H was not  widely recognized in her childhood county of Nassau, von Korff was involved in a  fundamentally similar association, the United States Pony Club, and competed twice  nationally, earning a top-eight individual placing in the Horse Quiz competition. As a  lifelong equestrian, she has years of experience training young horses and riders in the  same disciplines as Benedict Smith.

Together, 4-H leaders Faye and Amelia are already planning the year's curriculum  including a helmet dissection to analyze the structure and safety of the equipment,  saddle dissection to analyze the internal components, equine skeletal reconstruction  and study, volunteer projects within our communities, and hands-on learning at the  barn. 

Both Faye and Amelia voice their motivation to be a part of teaching the next generation  of young horsemen, saying, "The next generation in the horse industry currently are  missing the key component and drive for knowledge about all topics aside from riding,  enabling them to lose passion for the industry and sport after college. We want to instill  the enriching education that horses can offer to these youth now, so they grow into life long industry-leading professionals who have a desire to put animal welfare and the  latest innovations in sport and science first." 

They reported that their first meeting was a great success, bringing in around 70  interested members and parents, and were handed 14 membership applications by the  end of the meeting. 

To get involved in the Bridle Buddies 4-H Club, email BridleBuddies4H@gmail.com. For more information about Fairbanks Stables, visit FairbanksStables.com or  email FairbanksStable@gmail.com.