Katie Ylarregui
Katie Ylarregui, 13, is an eighth grader at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. She has been a member of Howard 4-H for five years.
She is a third generation Madera County 4-Her and enjoys everything about 4-H. She was involved in seven projects including sheep, poultry, community pride, public speaking, food preservation, gourmet cooking and sewing. Katie was County Winner for Achievement this year.
One of her favorite and largest project is poultry, where she has six different breeds of show birds. She raises Orpingtons, Moderns, Old English, D’Anvers, Cochins and Wynadottes with her Moderns being her favorite. She was part of an Avian Bowl team this year that placed fourth in a state competition.
She shows in poultry shows throughout the state where she loves competing in showmanship. Katie showed at both Chowchilla and Madera Fair, winning Best of Show and Outstanding Exhibitor at Chowchilla and Reserve Grand Champion Market Pen of Chickens at Madera. Every night, she feeds and takes care of her large project. She was the junior leader this year and helped new members learn about poultry and showmanship.
In her sewing project, she completed a red lined wool jacket and a red, black and gray wool skirt, that won Best of Show at both the Chowchilla and Madera Fairs. At County Fashion Revue, she was county winner in the Traditional Category that entitled her to compete at State Fashion Revue and won with her outfit.
Her sheep project keeps her busy with eight ewes that produce her market lambs and show ewes for the fair. She spends a lot of time working with her sheep. Katie competed in Lad and Ladies, which allows her to combine her sewing and sheep projects where she wore the wool outfit she had sewn and modeled with her lamb, which was dressed in an outfit that complemented hers.
She competed at the Chowchilla, Madera and California State Fairs winning all three competitions. Katie served as club treasurer this past year and was chairman of five activities. She had no problem raising her hand and volunteering. She especially enjoys organizing activities that help out in the community such as organizing the animal shelter donation drive, collecting toiletries for the rescue mission and organizing donations for the Christmas Star program. She also helped weed and plant flowers in front of the Madera County Historical Museum, sold Kid’s Day papers, made craft kits and fleece blankets, did a hospital activity day for patients at Valley Children’s Hospital, and filled luminary bags at Relay for Life.
Katie loves 4-H and can’t wait to participate in all the activities this upcoming year.
