Marshall Democrat-News: Agriculture: Malta Bend Horse judging team takes first in district (04/02/11)

Dawn Gorrell looks on as fellow Malta Bend FFA member David Hostetter shaves the mustache off of his ag teacher, Terry Jenkins in front of the entire school. The students had bet their FFA advisor they would place in the top 5 during the Central District contests held the day before. Jessie Gorrell, who didn't help with the shaving, also won her bet with the teacher by winning 1st place individual in the district Horse judging event.

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

It started out as a simple wager between three Malta Bend FFA students and their ag teacher before the Central District contests. But in the end it meant two first-place individuals, a third place individual and a district team champion for the school, as well as the loss of a 20-plus year mustache.

On Tuesday, March 29 at Warrensburg, the Malta Bend FFA Horse judging team took first place overall, against 43 other teams from across the district. Freshman Jessie Gorrell won the champion individual, in a tie-breaker against Katie Smith of Blue Springs. Her sister, junior Dawn Gorrell , was just a point behind, receiving third place overall. Also on the team are Bristol Rigby who placed 28th and Danielle Kiser, placing 89th out of the large field of students. The girls, who said they have spent an "enormous" amount of time studying for the contests will advance onto the state contest set for Thursday, April 14, at the Missouri State FFA Convention in Columbia.

In Livestock judging, David Hostetter took the champion individual slot and fellow team member Danny Kiehl placed 8th overall. The team, also consisting of Phillip Wattenbarger, placing 85th and Dan Kiser, placing 86th, took 8th overall out of 44 teams and qualified for state competition.

Dawn Gorrell takes her turn at shaving the long-time mustache of her ag teacher Terry Jenkins.

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Before the competition, three of the students "bet" their FFA advisor Terry Jenkins that they would do well in the contest. Jessie bet she would take first place, while Dawn and David said they could finish in the top 5. If they did then Mr. Jenkins would shave his mustache, which he had for over 20 years.

On Wednesday, March 30 during announcements when the entire Malta Bend student body gathered in the school cafeteria, the ag teacher kept true to his word. David and Dawn shaved the mustache while students K-12 and teachers looked on. If either had lost, the other side of the bet was to detail Jenkins's pickup truck.

"My truck's still dirty," he said laughing. No word yet on whether he will take the students up on their offer to bet on state competition. Their idea? A shaved head.

Malta Bend FFA member David Hostetter won first place in the Central District FFA contest.

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

So far Jenkins hasn't decided whether he's ready to take that bet.

In earlier practice competitions, Malta Bend's livestock and horse teams also did well. Below are the results.

Eldon: Horse judging, 4th, Jessie Gorrell, 2nd individual; Livestock judging, 4th; Phillip Wattenbarger, 3rd place individual;

The Malta Bend FFA Horse Judging team took first place out of 43 teams at the Central District Contest held on March 29 in Warrensburg. They also won the Marshall contest. Pictured from left are: Bristol Rigby, Dawn Gorrell, Danielle Kiser and Jessie Gorrell.

[Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Brunswick: Horse judging, 2nd, Jessie Gorrell, 1st individual, Dawn 3rd; Livestock team, 12th;

Marshall: Horse judging, 1st; Dawn Gorrell, 1st; Jessie Gorrell, 6th, Bristol Rigby, 9th; Livestock judging, 3rd; Phillip Wattenbarger, 5th, Danny Kiehl, 8th;

Lathrop: Horse judging, 4th; Livestock judging, 3rd;

Skyline: Horse judging 12th; Livestock judging, 6th;

Although they will not be making it to state completion, Malta Bend also had and Entomology team. At the Marshall contest, team member Kelsey Forqueran took 13th overall.