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Horse-riding high schoolers from across Lewis County, under the W.F. West High School banner, competed in the Pacific Northwest Invitational Championship over the weekend, with many of them taking home gold for their regionally-recognized success.
W.F. West’s large drill team took first place in its competition against the best-of-the-best from Washington and Oregon. The drill team is made up of five 2023 graduating seniors — Mossyrock’s Reagan Olson and Madison Smith, Centralia’s Jeznee Journee and Allie Sutich, and W.F. West’s Raylee Anderson — along with Toledo junior Shaylie Flanery, Onalaska junior Emma Briggs, Adna junior Katelyn Dipo, Adna sophomores Hailee Hellem, Jayden Hellem and Cyndle Haller, W.F. West sophomore Shanelle Mathus, and home-schooled freshman Maizy Samuelson.
The equestrian team is directed by retiring Head Coach Adam Kasper. Lea Elder, who was on the first W.F. West equestrian team, will be taking over for Kasper next season.
They earned second place in the state competition before outshining themselves during last weekend’s invitational at the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center in Redmond, Oregon.
The W.F. West team’s in-hand obstacle relay team, coached by former W.F. West rider and state placer Jessica Steward, earned their spot as reserve champions at regionals. The relay team was made up of Journee, Navéa Dunn and Charlotte Barber, both of Napavine, and Isabel Thompson, a freshman at W.F. West.
Journee also earned a championship in breakaway roping.
Other results from the state meet are as follows, listed by event, athlete and placement by the order in which they were sent:
• Reining: Savanna Dorning, third place
• Pole Bending: Josey Majors, seventh place
• Huntseat Over Fences: Navéa Dunn, third place
• Steer Daubing: Journee, fourth place
