HRV grad Michael Cuevas cleans up at the Oregon Horse State Fair

“I have been barrel racing for about 10 years now,” said Cuevas, who competed with the Wasco County Outlaws under leader Judy Urness of The Dalles this year in order to qualify for the state fair. “I have had my goals set on a state title for some time now, and I knew I had the horse to do it.”

Dallas, Cuevas’ five-year-old Quarter Horse Gelding, “is very consistent and reliable,” he explained. “Although he is very young, he can always hang out with veteran horses that have been running their whole lives. He is my steady mount despite his young age.

“He is extremely mellow when going in to make a run,” he continued. “Barrel horses have a reputation for getting ‘hot’ or ‘crazy’ at the gate. Dallas goes in and whips out a run.”

Competing at the state fair “is always a great time, and we really enjoy people meeting us,” Cuevas said. “And Dallas loves getting to meet a lot of people who have never touched a horse before.”

While the state fair is over, Cuevas is not done — he races horses almost every weekend, he said, in both Oregon and Washington.

Cuevas plans to continue his education at Columbia Gorge Community College, where he will pursue a business major in addition to becoming certified in equine micro-current therapy.

“I plan to continue training my own horses and other people’s horses as well,” he said. “I have big plans and phenomenal horses.”