Fourth-grader champions 4-H

BROOKSVILLE — Jenna Latimer, 9, is a tiny, blond Eastside Elementary School fourth-grader who towers over her horse — a mini horse named Larry.

Jenna, her horse, her chickens and her rabbit all were outdoors at her school recently to encourage fellow fourth-graders to join the extracurricular activity she enjoys so much.

"It's about 4-H. I won my belt buckle of showmanship reserve and champion last year," she said, referring to a huge oval buckle she was wearing, won for her presentation of her rabbit at a competition.

She said she wanted to teach the other students that "4-H is fun and has a lot to do with animals."

Jenna was assisted by her mother, Wanda Latimer; her sister, Jodee Latimer, 11, a Parrott Middle School sixth-grader; Hernando County 4-H agent Nancy Moores; and Picture Perfect Minis owner Robin Cole.

Jenna has been a part of the organization for four years and knows how to groom minis and cart them. Carting, she explained, means putting tack on them and hitching them to carts.

Not everything is glamorous, though. "I normally have to clean their stalls," she explained.

She showed her classmates her chickens and her rabbit, which is a grand champion.

At 4-H, she said, "I learned how to do showmanship with rabbits and chickens, cleaning and bathing them.

And it doesn't stop there.

"I have birds at my house, and I have cats," she said.

Jenna doesn't own any big horses, but she does ride them sometimes.

"Jenna's done so well," said Wanda Latimer. "She's won the Tampa fair, and she's won Hernando. She's taken reserve champion for her horse."

The early mornings — she gets up as early as 4 or 5 a.m. — and the work are all worth it to Jenna.

"I think 4-H is a very fun program, but sometimes it's hard," she said. "I like animals a lot."