I AM VERY much enjoying the milder winter weather.
My niece Breezy Ceballos is up here from Southern California, and we’ve been enjoying riding Indy and Lacey throughout the Cassidy Creek state Department of Natural Resources trail system, which starts just a few hundred feet from the family property.
Breezy’s beautiful son Rory, at 9 months, is too young to ride, but his cousin Isaac Taplin-Stromberg, who lives here, is almost 3 and has been loving riding on the front of Lacey with me.
Perhaps he’ll want to be barrel racing with the Patterned Speed Horse Association and the Sequim High School equestrian team like his mother, Brooke Stromberg, did.
Speaking of the Washington High School Equestrian Team, our local high school teams faced stiff competition against more than 100 competitors at meet 2, held Feb. 26-28 in Spanaway.
“I am so proud of our team,” Sequim coach Katie Newton said.
“Everyone improved their placings this meet. We won first in drill team.”
Port Angeles placed first in drill team the previous meet.
“Sequim had a good go against us in drill team and won this time,” Port Angeles coach Tina VanAusdale said.
“Let’s see who gets best two out of three next time. Even though we are rivals with Sequim, we still love them,” VanAusdale said.
“It is good, healthy competition.”
On a more serious note, she added, “Many of the kids have already qualified to go to state, and some of them need a good go at the third and final meet to make it.
“I’m just really proud of all of them — not only [of] their abilities inside the arena, but as people, they are a great group of kids.”
Sequim top 20 placings:
■ In hand obstacle relay: Yana Hoesel, Kelly Anders, Haylie Newton and Amanda Murphy, 10th place.
■ Reining: Anders, second place.
■ Saddleseat: Anders, eighth place; and Murphy, ninth place.
■ Stockseat: Anders, 11th place.
■ Working rancher: Newton, 11th place.
■ Trail: Murphy, 19th place.
■ Dressage: Sydney Balkan, 12th place; Newton, 18th place; and Murphy, 20th place.
■ Working pairs: Anders and Balkan, eighth place; and Murphy and Miranda Williams, 13th place.
■ Drill team freestyle fours: Anders, Balkan, Murphy and Abi Payseno, first place.
■ Barrels: Payseno, 10th place.
■ Figure 8: Payseno, 17th place.
■ Pole bending: Payseno, third place.
■ Individual flags: Balkan, sixth place; and Hoesel, 15th place.
■ Birangle: Balkan and Payseno, 10th place.
■ Team Canadian flags: Balkan, Murphy, Newton and Williams, fourth place.
■ Breakaway roping: Balkan, second place.
■ Steer daubing: Balkan, third place; Newton, fifth place; Murphy, eighth place; Anders, ninth place; and Williams, 12th place.
Port Angeles top 10 placings:
■ Showmanship: Holly Cozzolino, eighth place.
■ Reining: Cozzolino, 10th place.
■ Trail: Cozzolino, second place; and Kaytee Gibeau, seventh place.
■ Stockseat: Cozzolino, sixth place; and Gibeau, ninth place.
■ Huntseat: Gibeau, third place; and Cozzolino, 10th place.
■ Working rancher: Gibeau, fourth place.
■ Saddle seat: Emily Gear, sixth place.
■ Dressage: Gear, fourth place.
■ Poles: Micayla Weider, first place; and Ciara Gentry, fifth place.
■ Figure 8: Weider, third place.
■ Barrels: Weider, second place; and Gentry, sixth place.
■ Keyhole: Gentry, sixth place.
■ Daubing: Gentry, fourth place; and Ebony Billings, 10th place.
■ Drill: Gear, Weider, Cassidy Hodgin and Gentry, second place.
■ In hand obstacle relay: Gear, Gentry, Billings and Abby Hjelmeseth, eighth place.
■ Working pairs: Cozzolino and Gibeau, first place; and Gear and Weider, second place.
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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Sunday of each month.
If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also write Griffiths at PDN, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
