Horry County girls fundraise for horse championship qualifiers with horse spa day

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Three Horry County girls — Eden Costin, Anna Kain and Theresa Porter helped fundraise with 4-H Horse Club to give horses in the community a spa day after qualifying for the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championship in Perry, Georgia.

The club is making its way around Horry County to collect donations for cooling local horses, and other animals as well, as the summer heat rises. The goal is to raise $800+ for things needed during the championship as 4-H Horse Club leader Hillary Costin said.

“This will help pay for their tax stall, their horse stalls, it’ll help pay for their entry fees and barns fees and all that kind of stuff,” she said. “There’s so many fees wrapped up in these horse shows.”

Vice president for the club and Reserve Champion in the horse speed division, Eden Costin, said that she’s loved being able to cool off the mini horses and raise money for a competition she’s really excited for. She said, though, all the practice that goes into the horses is a lot more than just running fast on a horse.

“So, the speed events are barrels, polls, and sticks race. For polls, you have six polls set up in a straight line and you just run down, go through them twice and then run back down,” she said. “For barrels, it’s three barrels and you complete, you do a clover leaf pattern. And then for sticks race, you do a little figure eight around two polls and then all of those the fastest time wins.”

Other categories include breakaway roping class and ranch and western trail. Riding for three years, Anna Kain said that she’s loved being able to help cool off the horses on Dreams Hope and Faith Ranch.

She said that it’s not only really helpful to raise money for her and her friends competing at the end of the month, but also that she’s glad to give back to the animals that got her where she is today.

“They get really hot out here, and like, if you move their mane up their neck some, you’ll see all the sweat and the dirt. So, it’s really to keep them cool,” she said. “And to make them feel appreciated like we’re out here for them, we’re giving them a spa day and keeping them cool.”

Members of the 4-H Horse club said that anyone can join the club and that you don’t need a horse to join. Those who are competing have ridden for years, but said that competing does not need to be the goal for everyone who wants to get their chance on the saddle.

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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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