The Dalles seniors (pictured from left to right), Mackenzie Urness, Jacob Richman, Hannah Simmons, Callista Howell, Chloe Godwin and Miguel Cuevas were honored at the Central District’s Oregon High School Equestrian Team meet ending Sunday at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond. In all, TD has 10 athletes heading to state on May 14-17.
The Dalles seniors (pictured from left to right), Mackenzie Urness, Jacob Richman, Hannah Simmons, Callista Howell, Chloe Godwin and Miguel Cuevas were honored at the Central District’s Oregon High School Equestrian Team meet ending Sunday at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond. In all, TD has 10 athletes heading to state on May 14-17.
The Dalles equestrian team is sending 10 athletes to state after several top individual and team performances at the Central District’s third and final Oregon High School Equestrian Team meet ending last Sunday at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond.
In addition, Callista Howell earned the High Point Belt Buckle for the Team Contributor award.
Howell tallied more points than any other athlete in team events.
“This is a big honor and well-deserved,” said TD team advisor, Debi Ferrer. “Callista participated in all five of the possible team events and she has really done well with her various partners, placing well throughout the season.”
On the team side, the Freestyle Four group of Mackenzie Urness, Hannah Simmons, Morgan Hammond-Ramirez, Callista Howell, and Sararose Campanella earned second place overall with a combined score of 1,189 and ended up third for the season to punch their state ticket.
In the two-man Birangle event, Miguel Cuevas and Chloe Godwin scored a time of 29.02 seconds for 11th place, but finished second for the season and are going to state.
Urness and Howell jumped up in the standings with fifth place Sunday in 28.18 for fourth place on the season to preserve a berth.
Howell, Aimee Treichel, Sara Treichel, and Emma Treichel clocked in at 4:49 and a score of 119 for third place in the In Hand Obstacle Relay Sunday, which put them in second place in the overall season rankings for a state qualification.
“This was a very pleasant surprise to me this season,” Ferrer said. “These four girls improved so much since January when we started practicing this event. I told them early on that if they practiced really hard, and continued to practice over the next year, they’d have a good chance of making it to state next year. They were quite happy to remind me of that statement recently, and gave me a hard time for doubting that they were up to the task this year.”
In the Team Penning event, Howell, Urness, and Hammond-Ramirez combined for three pens, four cows and a total time of 204.82 for sixth place and third overall to earn a trip.
“These three girls worked really well together all season,” Ferrer said. “At each of our three meets, they get three chances to pen up to three cattle. Out of nine attempts, they got at least one cow, and sometimes two and three cattle penned every single time. That is not easy to do. They were very consistent, and it paid off.”
Individually, Cuevas had a time of 15.697 to grab eighth place in barrel racing, as he finished fourth for the season to pick up another state slot.
Howell was good for ninth place in 15.705 and tallied eighth place in the overall standings and will be a first alternate.
“Both of these athletes are to be commended, as barrels is probably the most competitive event in the district,” Ferrer said. “There were 70 athletes competing during the season, so to finish as high as these two did is really an accomplishment.”
Cuevas also stepped in for a time of 23.351 in the Pole Bending event for fifth place in Sunday’s finale and ended up in third place for the season to qualify for state in that run.
The four-day state championships are in Redmond from May 14-17.
In sharing success on and off the arena grounds, Ferrer said that much of it is due to the collaborative efforts by the athletes, parents and community.
“We’ve received over $2,000 in donations from local individuals and businesses to help cover some of the expenses of competing, such as paying for stall fees at meets, clinics, uniforms and team jackets, and much more,” Ferrer said.
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