208 Garrigus Bldg.
Lexington, KY 40504
The University of Kentucky Chapter of the Block and Bridle Club emphasizes service to the agricultural community and fellowship among its members. We remain the largest and most active organization in the College of Agriculture, and play a very important role in the life of our college. Each year we raise funds by serving multiple lunches and dinners to various groups involved in Kentucky agriculture, including the Farm Bureau, Rotary Club, donors to the College of Agriculture, and students interested in agriculture. In all we serve more than 3000 people in a single week known as the Week of Welcome, and another 1000 over the course of the remaining year. In addition, we encourage fellowship among students in the UK College of Ag by holding activities such as the Little North American, a Christmas party, and Ag Olympics. The Little North American Livestock Show is a requirement for our incoming pledges, as each pledge must show an animal he/she has never shown before. LNA, as we call it, also includes a showmanship competition among active members and a fun show in which advisors and judges must show some "exotic" animal, such as an invisible dog or a hamster. Our Christmas Party includes games, ornament exchanges, dancing, an original pledge song, and, of course, a visit from Santa Claus. Ag Olympics is the highlight of our spring semester when members form teams to compete in an all day field competition including competitions such as a hay bale toss, tobacco spitting contest, wheelbarrow race, clothes exchange, and many more ag-related games. Finally, we promote academics and participate in the Southern Section of Animal Sciences Academic Quadrathlon each year. Three weeks prior to the regional competition we hold a local competition, which lasts two days including written exams and an oral presentation on Friday night, then a practicum that includes hands-on work with animals of each livestock species as well as identification of equipment, breeds, feeds, and reproduction and a quiz bowl on Saturday. The winning team of this local competition travels to the regional competition where we are consistently very competitive, having won three of the last four years. This year we hope to broaden our influence on campus by sponsoring a Livestock Judging Contest open to the entire university. Our final activity of the year is our Spring Banquet where we reflect on our achievements as individuals and as a group over the last year.
