Newsletter - January 23, 2026

Horse

Please click on the image to the left for info on the Arapahoe County 4-H Horse Project and upcoming events!

Our Horse Committee meets the third Monday each month via Zoom (meeting ID: 958 0664 2659). Meetings start at 7:30 PM.

Remember to check out the Colorado 4-H Horse Resources page for more information on the levels program, helpful equine webinars, and more.

***Youth and families, this is another reminder that you will need to have your English or Western Level 1 (both the written and riding test) and pass the Gymkhana Competency test to show in Gymkhana events next year. It is the rider's responsibility to schedule testing. Please plan ahead and let us know if you have questions.***

Save the Dates

Please visit the Arapahoe County 4-H Horse Show Facebook page for more information.

Shooting Sports

Save the Date

Please note, these dates are tentative and may change

We are still finalizing details with our venues and instructors.

Safety Meetings: mandatory to attend at least 1 safety meeting annually

• TENTATIVE - February 7, 2026 - TBD
• February 28, 2026 - Fairgrounds - East Hall - 1:00 PM - indoor practice following the safety meeting
• March 15 - Fairgrounds - Main Hall - 1:00 PM - indoor practice following the safety meeting
• March 31 - Fairgrounds - East Hall - 6:00 PM - indoor practice following the last chance indoor safety meeting

Practices: ***We have indoor spaces reserved at the Fairgrounds several Tuesday evenings in case of inclement weather***

• April 4
• April 19
• May 2
• May 17
• June 6
• June 14 (please note, this practice was moved from June 21 to June 14, due to Father's Day).

County Shoot: must have a Hunter Safety Education card, your green card recording your 4 practices, and your record book to compete

• June 27
• June 28
• Remember, you must qualify at County Shoot and County Fair (exhibit) in order to compete at the 4-H State Shooting Sports Competition. This means you must register for County Shoot and register for County Fair. We are here to help if you have any questions. More details will be announced as we approach that time.

Colorado 4-H Shooting Sports Leader Trainings:

• March 13-15, 2026: Weld County (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Archery, and Orion) *Orion training - Please watch for information in the coming months.
• March 20-22, 2026: Pueblo County (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Archery, Muzzleloading, Western Heritage, Hunting and Outdoor Skills)
• March 27-29, 2026: Garfield County (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Archery, Muzzleloading, Western Heritage)
• NEW: April 25, 2026: Shooting Sports Leader Recertification Training - Morgan County (Rifle, Pistol, Shotgun, Archery, Muzzleloading, Western Heritage, Hunting and Outdoor Skills) - Volunteers who are in need of recertifying to keep their certificate up to date will be eligible to attend the recertification training held in Morgan County on April 25, 2026. This will be a modified version of the training and will be a combination of online modules and an in-person class. More information will be available soon.  

Reminder: All volunteers must be enrolled and approved before they can register for the training.

Livestock

FYI Livestock Families!

The Fair Planning Committee, Livestock Advisory Committee, and Extension Office want to give you a heads up that, due to increased costs, the Drug Test fees this year will be $20.00 USD per animal. The fee is due at tag-in, so please plan accordingly.

Also, remember it is your responsibility to bring your brand papers to tag-in for market beef, and it is your responsibility to read the exhibitor rules for Colorado State Fair. You got this!

Join Junior Livestock Committee

(Meets the second Sunday each month at the McDonald's in Bennett - a Zoom link is available upon request to Nichole Harrell)

 If you would like to learn more or attend our next meeting, please reach out to Hannah Henderson (hhenderson@arapahoegov.com) or Nichole Harrell.

Congratulations to Arapahoe County 4-H member Madi Steinman! She was featured in an article about her Catch-A-Calf journey.

Click on the image to the left to read the article.

4-H Contests

Click on the image above to register.

Click on the image above to pay.

Afterschool Outreach News

Our AfterSchool Outreach programs are looking for a volunteer with a ham radio license to help launch our elementary school Space Program. Please email extensionoutreach@arapahoegov.com for more information!

Global Citizenship

Arapahoe County Extension partnered with Downtown Aurora Visual Arts and Augustana Arts to organize the second annual Día de los Muertos event with activities at DAVA and Manos Sagrados’ locations in North Aurora. This year’s celebration focused on how we remember, connect and communicate with our ancestors across cultures while highlighting the Colorado Youth Mariachi Program, Mariachi Las Dahlias and Ballet Folklorico Nezahualcoyotl.

Arapahoe County Extension’s Community Outreach and Expanded Food & Nutrition Education programs also partnered with North Littleton Promise for a second year to support NLP’s annual Posada at East Community Center. Using basic kitchen science and art, the families who joined us made piñatas. Additionally, NLP’s middle school program which we’ve worked with on Adulting 101 and Video Production made the piñatas that were used by the children at the event allowing these young students to see how their effort and service can build community and benefit younger generations.

Our office continues to promote 4-H clubs and Global Citizenship as a way to transmit culture through arts & crafts while creating youth leadership development opportunities!

Embryology

We wrapped up our Fall Embryology program with programs in 7 schools, 13 classrooms & 1 library, incubated over 150 eggs and hatched almost 90 chicks as our program introduced nearly 1,000 students to the first stage in the cycle of life!

If you’d like to launch an Embryology program in your school we have a few remaining slots for the Spring! Contact us at ExtensionOutreach@arapahoegov.com.

Arapahoe County

4-H Foundation

Arapahoe County 4-H Foundation Scholarship Application Available!

Are you an Arapahoe County 4-H Member who is a Senior in high school this year? Are you starting to think about college scholarships? If you are, the Arapahoe County 4-H Foundation scholarship application is now available.

Thanks to our Arapahoe County 4-H Foundation, scholarship amounts have increased this year!

Click on the image above to access the application. Once on the 4-H Foundation page, scroll down to "2026 4-H Foundation Scholarship Application."

It's never too early to start the application process. The application is due 2/1/2026 to Hannah Henderson. Interviews will be held on 2/25/2026 at the CSU Extension Office (6934 S Lima St Ste B Centennial. CO 80112).

Please note that there was some misinformation on the scholarship application. The 4-H Foundation scholarships that are given are not $3,500.00, they are $3,000.00. The corrected application is available on our website now by clicking on the image above. If you have already applied, you do not need to redo your application, just be aware that the 4-H Foundation scholarships are for $3,000.00, not $3,500.00 each.

If you have any questions on the correction, please email Kathy at larrykathy4@aol.com.

2026 IVY NOMINATIONS BEING ACCEPTED

Every April, the 4-H Foundation presents an Important Volunteer of the Year (IVY Award) to an individual who has gone above and beyond to support Arapahoe County 4-H. Nominations may be made by anyone in the 4-H community.

Nominees may be 4-H leaders, members of the Fair committee, 4-H Foundation members or members of an advisory group such as horse, shooting sports, companion animal, FCS/General or livestock committees involved with 4-H. Nominees highly involved with 4-H club activities, and volunteerism in county, district, state and national programs is taken in to account. Nominations are due Friday, March 13, 2026 to Kathy McDaniel. Click on the image above for more information and the form.

Colorado 4-H Scholarships

Colorado 4-H awards scholarships annually to outstanding youth who have actively engaged in Colorado 4-H clubs for at least three years. The scholarship process is open from December 1, 2025, through March 1, 2026. Scholarship recipients will be announced in May 2026. There are opportunities available for all kinds of students, including those attending CSU or other universities, trade schools or junior colleges, transfer students, and continuing students. We encourage our 4-H participants to apply.

For more information on the scholarship process and scholarships available, visit https://co4h.colostate.edu/about-us/scholarships/.  If you have scholarship questions, please contact OEE_4-h_scholarships@colostate.edu.

More Opportunites

(303) 730-1920

CSU-Extension@ArapahoeGov.com

6934 S. Lima St., Suite B

Centennial, CO 80112

Colorado State University Extension is an equal opportunity provider. | Colorado State University does not discriminate on the basis of disability and is committed to providing reasonable accommodations. | CSU’s Office of Engagement and Extension ensures meaningful access and equal opportunities to participate to individuals whose first language is not English.

Colorado State University Extension es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades. | Colorado State University no discrimina por motivos de discapacidad y se compromete a proporcionar adaptaciones razonables. | Office of Engagement and Extension de CSU garantiza acceso significativo e igualdad de oportunidades para participar a las personas quienes su primer idioma no es el inglés.

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