For the second time in three years, the W.F. West High School equestrian team came home from the Pacific Northwest Invitational Championship (PNWIC) with multiple first-place buckles.
The team, made up of athletes from W.F. West, Centralia, Adna, Napavine, Winlock, Toledo, Mossyrock and Onalaska, took home the drill championship and two individual titles.
W.F. West junior Isabel Thompson earned a first-place victory in dressage, and homeschooled sophomore Amelia Venters squeaked out a victory in the driving event by half a point.
PNWIC, held from June 20 through June 22 in Redmond, Ore., is a regional competition of the top five teams and individuals from each event at the state finals in Washington and Oregon.
W.F. West’s 12-member drill team had just five returning riders entering the season, and the squad managed to not only finish higher than last year’s runner-up performance but score significantly more points. The Bearcats scored a total of 2,300 points this year compared to 2,146 last season, which was 17 points behind champion Tumwater.
“We fought for it. We weren’t lazy about it,” drill captain Cyndle Haller said.
The driving force for the Bearcats’ drill team has been about communication, which coaches have said has been a work in progress to get to a championship level. Venters and Thompson, who are also members of the drill team, said the teammates held each other accountable and communicated effectively during the competition. Venters and Haller were members of last year’s runner-up team, but Thompson was one of the many first timers on the big stage.
“It was really scary for me at first because I didn’t know what was happening when we first started doing practices,” Thompson said. “But over time, I started to get it more and it was really fun for me. I’ve never done anything like drill before.”
Thompson also won the dressage competition with a first-year horse named Shooter. The duo won with 405 points, 8.5 points over the second-place finisher. Additionally, Thompson took third in saddle seat equitation.
“It meant a lot to me. I had so much practice with this horse I was using, so I was really happy that we won,” she said of the dressage win. “We did the pattern really well. It was really flowy and it felt good. We still have a lot to improve on for next year.”
Venters won titles in two of her four events during the PNWIC, winning driving and drill while finishing ninth in dressage and 10th in working pairs with Adna sophomore Maizy Samuelson. She started driving, which entails a driver guiding a carriage pulled by either a horse or a pony, less than a year ago.
“It was a lot of work. [My horse] was not very good when I started. It was so frustrating,” Venters said. “It was a lot of patience because you have to be very gentle with everything you’re doing.”
Program advisor Linda Elder said the W.F. West equestrian team proved at PNWIC that it is one of the top programs in the region thanks to the hard work of its athletes and coaches, who volunteer their time, as well as help from the community and sponsors.
“The coaches put their heart and soul into these kids. They dedicate a huge amount of time, and I think that’s what makes this program really work,” Elder said. “It’s also the support and involvement of the parents. It’s a big family coming together to support these kids. Without community support, it would be really hard for us to continue.”
Adna sophomore Preslee Hellem and W.F. West graduate Shanelle Mathus also placed sixth in two-man birangle, an event won by Tumwater’s Maggie Singleton and Lily Hallett. Tumwater also won the team versatility competition.
Hellem will be the drill team’s captain next season as Haller graduates.
