Monte equestrian team trotting onward

The Montesano High School equestrian team co-op may only practice once or twice a week, but that doesn’t mean its members don’t always have the sport they love on their minds.

The Equestrian Team has nine athletes, coach Denise Schupbach said. Team members are Madison Schupbach, Hallie Stubb, Shyla Flodstrom, Emily Endsley, Mykenzie Flink, Addisyn Gage, Ashlyn Peterson, Sayge Manley and Kate Holmes.

Eight of the nine students are from Montesano High School, while one is from North River High School. Schupbach explained that this is where the “co-op” comes in to play.

“Schools that do not offer an equestrian team can “co-op” with a neighboring school that offers a team,” she said.

The goal is to allow for the students to take part in what they love to do, while at the same time learning and having the ability to show what they have learned and how they have improved with practice.

And practice they do, one or two times each week, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Each practice begins with the athletes grooming their horses followed by a 30-minute warmup.

“We typically start practice with horsemanship elements and then work specific events such as pole bending, barrels, in hand obstacle relay and Canadian flags,” Shupbach explained.

Practice closes with a team meeting and a cooldown for the horses.

“My favorite part of practice is being able to bond with my horse as well as with my teammates,” Madison Schupbach said.

Two other athletes mirrored that way of thinking, as Hallie Stubb and Shyla Flodstrom both agreed that bonding with teammates and horses alike is what serves to make practices special. However, Flodstrom added that working on skills to better her riding during practice still remains an important aspect.

Even with Schupbach having been riding for eight years, Stubb for four and Flodstrom for 14, there is still much to learn at practice.

The one or two official practice days do not encompass all the hard work these students do on a weekly basis.

“Athletes are expected to ride their horses and practice patterns outside of scheduled practice at a minimum of three days a week,” Schupbach said.

Horses must be cared for on a daily basis, and most get bathed, clipped and extensively groomed on a monthly basis.

Caring for a horse is no simple task — luckily, the program has made it easier for athletes to acquire the animal needed to compete.

The Washington Association of High School Equestrian Teams allows for athletes to use any horse that is available, making joining the team a little easier as potential athletes are not limited in their finding of a horse. Schupbach explained that while most of the horses used by the students are owned by the students and their families, some are borrowed or privately leased.

Competitions, or meets, are organized on the basis of WAHSET’s seven districts. The Montesano High School Equestrian Team is placed in District 4.

“Each district has three meets, typically starting in January and are held monthly,” Schupbach said.

Top athletes are sent to the state finals in May at Moses Lake, where the top three athletes from state then will go on to compete at the regional level.

At the meets, athletes choose five individual events they would like to participate in. Schupbach notes that some of these events include: showmanship, huntseat, stockseat, huntseat over fences, in hand trail and working rancher breakaway roping.

They also can compete in as many team events as they like. Those events include: freestyle four drill, 6-plus drill team, team sorting, in hand obstacle relay, Canadian flags and working pairs.

District 4 has meets February 24-26 and March 24-26 at the Tacoma Unit in Spanaway.

Schupbach said anyone who has questions or is interested should consult the information on the WAHSET website, www.wahset.info.