Sisters youth wins equestrian honors

It started at age three.

For her birthday party, Cammi Benson wanted to ride ponies. She's been horse crazy ever since.

Now at age 11, she spent the summer winning at horse shows around the state. As a member of the High Desert Hay Burners 4-H Club, she swept six championship titles in performance and ranch events at the Deschutes County Horse Fair for the junior age division.

She showed her thoroughbred paint horse, Travis, in the performance events, and her quarterhorse, Buddy, in the ranch and gaming events. Her championships included Dressage, Showmanship, English Equitation, Western Horsemanship, Performance Trail and Ranch Trail.

The age divisions are grouped by grade level, juniors being fourth through sixth graders; intermediates are seventh through ninth graders; and seniors 10th through 12th graders.

Benson competed as a fifth-grade junior this year, her second year in 4-H.

At 4-H horse fairs, the top riders in each event are entered into the championship class for each age division. The champion and reserve champion in each age division can then compete together for the grand championship.

"It's fun when I get the chance to compete with the high schoolers," Cammi said. "I learn a lot from the more experienced riders."

This time though, they learned from her. Benson won the Deschutes County Grand Championship in Showmanship for all the age groups combined. Benson also won the Junior Performance High Point Award and silver buckle.

The rider is scored using the Danish merit system on a scale of 1 to 100, rather than a ranking against other riders. Show points are calculated by adding the Showmanship score and the top two equitation scores. The rider in each age division with the most points is awarded the High Point Award.

In addition to 4-H, Benson also competes in open shows around Central Oregon. This summer, she won High Point Awards in five different shows at Prineville, Madras, and Redmond. She was the Performance High Point and Ranch High Point winner at the DCLA Memorial Day show in Redmond.

At open shows, show points are calculated based on place rankings, earning six points for a first place, five points for second, etc. At the end of the show, all the points each rider has earned are added up, and the rider with the most number of points wins the High Point Award.

On a state level, Benson competes in the paint and pinto breed circuits. For these shows, her trainer, Carolyn Horning in Redmond, has her "ride up" an age group above her own age bracket. The patterns are more complex, and require more difficult maneuvers. And the older kids are more polished and competitive.

Even riding against 14-year-olds, Benson continued to win the High Point Award in two Central Oregon Paint Horse Club shows, and was the winner of the prestigious silver buckle. She also placed in the top five awards in three pinto shows around the state.

Being horse crazy runs in the family. Cammi's parents, Julie and Benny, were also involved with horses as youths. Julie competed as a hunter/jumper; Benny raised and broke appaloosas. His current project is training their 3-year-old paint filly for trails and cow working. As a family, they enjoy going for trail rides in the NFS adjacent to their property.

"Horses teach kids responsibility," said Benny. "It's not like other sports where you can toss your gear into the closet when you're done working out."

"When other kids wonder why Cammi is doing so well with her horses, I just tell them to come spend a day with her, and they'll know why," said Julie.

It's a very time-intensive sport. She prepares the arena with the patterns she'll work on that day, and then maneuvers each of her two show horses through a series of exercises to practice the pattern. Then she bathes and grooms the horses, and cleans the stalls and turnout areas.

"Most kids her age aren't willing to work that hard. She's very focused," Julie said.

Benson also helps with the feeding and barn chores for all the Benson's 18 animals, which, besides four horses, include miniature donkeys, sheep, dogs, cats and hermit crabs.

"She'd rather clean the barn than her room," Julie said.

The newest addition to the Benson's equine family is a 6-year-old sorrel horse named Cash. After searching for over a year for a younger horse with just the right combination of temperament and athleticism, they found the double-registered Paint and pinto gelding.

Cammi said, "My goal is to take him to the Pinto World Championships in Oklahoma when I'm 14. And win."