Horse grooming, pedigree, riding styles — these are all topics that kids in the area can learn about from hands-on experience. And they don’t have to own a horse or take riding lessons to do so.

Now the 4-Hooves 4-H club meets at the HM Performance Horses farm on Blue Hollow Road in Mount Airy. This club offers young people the opportunity to learn about horses for free.

Becky Workman of Westfield started the club a year ago to give kids the opportunity to learn about all aspects of horses through 4-H. Workman grew up in West Virginia around horses.

“This was my escape — horses,” she said.

For Workman, one of the most important aspects of the club is teaching the children about safety.

Renee Myers brings her 7-year-old daughter, Ashtyn, to the meetings. She feels confident of the safety there and when Ashtyn takes lessons.

“They take a lot of precautions,” she said. “You just have to be careful.”

4-Hooves has a total of 10 members. Although the club is under the Stokes County 4-H umbrella, it now meets in Surry County and is open to kids from surrounding counties. One girl travels from Virginia to come to the meetings.

The club members adopted a motto for their group which they think applies to all aspects of life: “It’s not the ride. It’s the journey.”

The group meets once a month at the HM farm. There the members conduct a club business meeting, eat snacks, learn about horses, and present on projects. The members don’t usually ride during the meetings due to liability concerns with 4-H.

“But when it comes to horses, it’s a lot more than riding,” Miner said.

The members get to see demonstrations from Miner and learn for themselves how to clean tack, take bridles apart, and much more.

“We make them work,” said Workman with a laugh.

“But to them, it’s fun,” Miner added.

Katie Monday is 11-years-old and she loves everything about horses.

“I’ve always loved horses,” she said. “It’s fun to ride them or do anything with them.”

A few months ago the 4-Hooves club had to meet at members’ houses. When Workman saw a poster about HM Performance Horses at a local store, she called up Heather Miner of HM. The horse owner was more than happy to open the barn doors to the 4-H’ers free of charge. Miner said she had wanted to start a 4-H club herself but hadn’t found the time.

“It worked out great,” she said with a smile.

Miner grew up in Connecticut around horses. She won her first horse show as an 18-month-old and her first rodeo at age 5. She said learning about horses can teach children self-esteem, confidence, and discipline.

“I love watching kids learn and grow and develop through horses.”

Next year, the 4-Hooves members will begin competing in 4-H horse shows. Some of them now compete in other shows. The club is participating today in a horse show in Carroll County, Va. While a few of the 4-H’ers have horses of their own, many just take lessons at HM. The club is also open to youth who ride elsewhere. But 4-Hooves members do not have to take riding lessons to be a part of the club.

“If they can’t afford it, this is a great way to learn about horses,” Miner said of the club.

Prior to joining the club, four of the members had never even been around horses. Now they are learning about all aspects of horses. Miner said they are acquiring knowledge about topics that most kids don’t get to learn about from just taking riding lessons.

4-Hooves works on other projects in addition to the ones on horse education. The club has now created an eBay account to raise money for 4-H, and donated items can be dropped off at HM. 4-H is a non-profit organization that offers young people the opportunity to serve others and learn about a variety of topics through doing.

Workman said the benefit of children joining a specialized club, like one about horses, is that they get to learn about what they love.

“The kids get to do exactly the projects they want to do. These girls are particularly interested in horses,” she said.

In February, the club will travel to Lexington, Va., to see a horse trainer. In May, they will have a Kentucky Derby party where they have to dress like the women who attend the Derby.

People wanting to find out more about the 4-Hooves 4-H club can call Workman at 351-5860. They can also look at the page dedicated to the club on the HM Web site: www.hmperformancehorses.com.

If people are interested in taking riding lessons from HM Performance Horses, they can call Miner at (860) 608-8731. She operates the business along with her boyfriend, Heath Moore, at his family’s farm. They offer half-hour to full-hour lessons. They also break, train and sale horses.

Another horse club is also being formed in Surry County. Call the Surry County Cooperative Extension at 401-8025 to learn more.

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or at 719-1952.