Maren Egging, daughter of Phil and Rachael Egging of rural Galesburg, returned home as a record-setting individual champion and member of the national runner-up team in the Horse Bowl event after a phenomenal showing at the Western National Roundup held in Denver, CO, Jan. 8-12.
Egging and three teammates – Shianne Votava, Courtney Fleming, and Cheyanne Peek, represented Iowa and Marion County 4-H at the national event and went up against teams from nine other states in the double-elimination Horse Bowl
Four young ladies representing Iowa and Marion County 4-H fared well at the Western National Roundup. The team placed second overall in the Horse Bowl event. Above, from left, Courtney Fleming, Shianne Votava, Maren Egging of rural Galesburg, and Cheyanne Peek hold their plaques and ribbons for second-place honors.
competition. The team first beat Utah, 26-1. Facing North Dakota next, Egging and her team won, 26-13. Nebraska gave the team trouble in the next round, and Egging’s team lost, 24-16. They quickly rebounded after a lunch break to defeat South Dakota, 26-14, and then beat North Dakota for a second time, 24-15. Next up was a close rematch with Nebraska. This time, Egging and her teammates edged out the Huskers, 14-13. The Marion County 4-H team lost to Texas in the championship round, 12-17, to earn second-place team honors. Egging and her teammates were each given a plaque and ribbon for their efforts.
Individually, Egging, a Lynnville-Sully senior, earned the highest score overall with 93 total points over the course of the competition. That total set an individual record, according to her mother, and was a whopping 59 points above the second-place individual from Mississippi. Egging
Maren Egging and her teammates experienced the trip of a lifetime while competing in the Horse Bowl at the Western National Roundup in Denver, CO: From left, Shianne Votava, Courtney Fleming, Egging, and Cheyanne Peek.
averaged 13.3 points per round on her way to first-place individual honors.
Her efforts and exceptional equine knowledge were generously rewarded with a trophy, belt buckle, and leather duffle.
Egging and her team qualified for the Western National Roundup by winning Iowa’s state contest last March. Since qualifying, Egging and her teammates have spent countless hours studying all things equine as well as fundraising to help pay for travel expenses. Egging wishes to express her gratitude to the Sully Lions Club for providing a generous donation that helped offset expenses.
Maren Egging, seated fourth from left, and her teammates representing Iowa and Marion County 4-H, are ready for the championship round of the Horse Bowl where they faced the eventual national champions, Texas.
Overall, more than 1,200 attendees from 35 states participated in the Western National Roundup that ran Jan. 8-12 in Denver. CO. The conference, which celebrated its 100th year, is held annually in early January, coinciding with the National Western Stock Show. This year’s theme of “Celebrating a Century of Leaders” emphasized the contributions of past and current leaders while inspiring the youth participants to continue leading in the future to help the world grow in a positive way. Competitions held at Western National Roundup include horse and livestock judging, livestock quiz bowl, hippology, horse demonstrations and public speaking, parliamentary procedure, family consumer sciences presentations, skill-a-thon and bowl, consumer decision making, fashion revue, public speaking prepared and impromptu, parliamentary procedure, and meats identification. For further information about Western National Roundup and full results for each contest, please see the main conference website at www.westernnationalroundup.org.
