Our social chairs stay hopping all year to provide the club with good, clean, wholesome fun! We always enjoy the winter activities of broomball and snowtubing, and that fall bonfire is a great time! All our activities are lots of fun and they are a good way to unite those in the club, as well as to interact with other clubs in the College of Ag!
College of Agricultural Sciences Ball (Ag Ball)
Ag Ball is an event that has occurred for nine years. Members of Block and Bridle, as well as members of many other College of Ag Clubs and Organizations get together and have a wonderful time. After a great meal, certain individuals and clubs are recognize with awards. This year Block and Bridle was honored to receive several awards; see the Recognition tab to see how we did this year! The evening was then topped off with a dance until the end of the night.
Broomball
This year about 15 club members spent an hour at the Pegula Ice Rink playing hockey with sticks and two balls on ice in sneakers and boots. Everyone spent most of the evening on the on the ice and it was a great stress reliever for everyone. Here they are posing for the camera!
Fall Hayride /Linedancing /Bonfire
For the past few years members have been getting together to go on hayrides, celebrate with linedancing and a bonfire at the Penn State Agronomy Farm. Not only did members from the Block and Bridle club attend this past year’s event, but members from both the Dairy Science Club and Agronomy Club joined in on the event. It is always a great time and it gives members the opportunity to meet members from other clubs within the College of Agricultural Sciences.
Farewell Picnic
Every year this picnic is held on a special evening to mark the end of the year for many and the end of a great college career for some. This year we gathered at the Beef/Sheep Center to have a great home-style picnic and share the memories and reflect on another successful year. The club provided hotdogs, hamburgers, and drinks, while the members supplied the side dishes and desserts. After dinner, we gathered in the Beef/Sheep Center classroom to hold our final meeting. We began with our committee reports and ended the meeting with the presentation of the new Executive Committee and also Senior Farewells. The graduating class shared their Block and Bridle experiences with the returning members and new Spring initiated members. Furthermore, they passed on a few words of wisdom and explained their future plans. The audience was filled with tears and laughter. Here you can see the group gathered for some good food!
Penn State Stockman's Club Meeting
Every year, members of the Penn State Stockman’s Club attend a Block and Bridle meeting and provide food (this year it was Pizza!) for the social gathering. The Stockman's Club president Bill Palmer gave a brief presentation about what the club does as a Department of Dairy and Animal Science Alumni organization. The club also invites graduating BnB members to their annual banquet and encourages members to join Stockman's after they graduate. It is with support from organizations like Stockman's that out club can accomplish so much in a year! Shown here are some of the more local members of the Penn State Stockman's Club (picture from the Department of Dairy and Animal Science website).
Welcome Back Picnic
Located at Sunset Park. Each year members of the Block and Bridle Club gather to welcome back current members and the prospective new members. The students socialize while enjoying burgers, hotdogs, and much more. Prospective new members have the opportunity to learn more about the events Block and Bridle participates in and to meet the executive committee and club advisors. Members participate in the traditional Big “B” and Little “B”, where new students pick a current member to be their Big “B”. The job of the Big “B” is to keep prospective members updated on upcoming events within the club and to really make them feel welcome at the University Park Campus. The picnic is always a huge success and many new students are interested and join the club each year.
Ag Hill Olympics
Every year Agriculture Student Council hosts an Ag Hill Olympics. This is an opportunity for all the clubs on Ag Hill to come together and have a little fun through friendly competition. Each club is required to enter at least one team. With each team the club must have an event prepared for students to compete in. This year Block and Bridle entered two teams. Our events were pin the shot on the cow, which was a dart game based off of beef quality assurance principles, and a tractor tire relay. Although we came home empty-handed both teams had a blast at this year's Ag Olympics!
Snow Tubing
Members headed out to Tussey Mountain to enjoy a late night snow tubing on their slopes. This is a popular social activity each winter that lets members take a night off of study and enjoy each other's company.
Pumpkin Carving
This year, the club started a new social where members can get together in October and carve pumpkins for Halloween. It was a night filled with fun, friends, and crazy carvings!
Intramural (IM) Sports
Members enjoy getting together throughout the year to play intramural football, basketball, and volleyball. Guys and girls represent our club extremely well against other organizations at Penn State.
Lazertag
Members had a blast playing lazertag at What-a-Blast Lazertag downtown. We divided into teams and competed in rounds to see who had the best shot. It was a night of fun, laughter, and bonding between many members.
Winter Semi-Formal
Winter Semi-Formal: This past year in December, just before Winter Break, members from the Block and Bridle Club and the Dairy Science Club joined together at Tussey Mountain for the annual Winter Semi-Formal. Many students and advisers attended the "Masked Affair" for a night of food, thanks, and dancing. Mr. and Mrs. Claus and several elf and reindeer helpers made a guest appearance to read the traditional "Naughty and Nice" list and handed out goodies (or coal) to the students and advisers who made the list this year. The rest of the event was spent dancing to a local DJ's tunes into the late hours of the night.
National Convention
Members travelled to Washington D.C. from March 31-April 2 to participate in the 97th Block and Bridle National Convention hosted by the University of Connecticut. Members toured an oyster hatchery, the University of Maryland’s dairy farm, an alpaca farm, and historic Spocott farm. The club earned 1st for national activities, 2nd for webpage, and 3rd for scrapbook. Amy Middleton was also named 1st place in the Outstanding Junior Contest.
North East Student Affiliate (NESA)
The North East Student Affiliate of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) and the American Society of Animal Sciences (ASAS) was hosted at the University of Rhode Island. Other institutions participating included University of Connecticut, Delaware Valley University, Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts, University of Delaware, and University of New Hampshire. Members of the Block and Bridle and Dairy Science club competed in a judging contest in the morning where sheep, dairy and beef cattle, swine, and horses were judged along with a surprise class of oysters. During the afternoon students participated in quiz bowl and poster presentations. Penn State had many highlights throughout the weekend. We were the high institution overall and had the 1st and 6th place teams overall. In judging we had the 2nd and 8th place teams and Jordan Sommer placed 7th individually, Amber Alvarado placed 8th, and Megan Anderson placed 9th. In quiz bowl we had the 1st and 2nd place teams and in papers Amy Middleton placed 1st and Sarah Rassler placed 3rd. We look forward to the contest next year!
Bowling
This year the club decided to go bowling as a way to get together and enjoy company. After a night of fun, food, and laughter, it became apparent who was a bowler and who wasn't. Everyone had a great time and looks forward to getting together again to relax and have some fun!
