Sisters equestrians medal in District Championships

After the third and final meet for the Oregon High School Equestrian Teams (OHSET) Central District, Sisters brought home a total of 16 championship medals. Sisters had the largest team in the district this year with 15 members, competing among 14 schools and a field of 120 riders.

District champions in each event are determined by the total combined points earned in the three meets. There are 11 individual performance (judged) events, seven individual timed events, and seven team events in which athletes can win gold, silver, and bronze medals. Cammi Benson brought home five individual medals: gold medals in hunt seat equitation, reining, showmanship, and working rancher, and a silver medal in horsemanship.

Ellie Chandler won four individual medals: gold in dressage and saddle seat equitation, and bronze in hunt seat over fences (jumping), and individual flags. Isabella Allenbach won the silver medal in driving, and bronze in saddle seat equitation. Sophie Winter won silver in dressage, and bronze in driving. Rylee Hurtley won the silver in barrel racing.

Sisters Outlaws also brought home two team events medals. Cammi Benson, Emma Nicklous, and Isabella Allenbach brought home the gold medal in team penning. The team of Isabella Allenbach, Sophie Winter, Charlotte Barton, Erica Jeffrey, and Emily Ogen won the silver in freestyle four-drill team.

District medal winners qualify to compete at the State Championships to be held at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds in Redmond on May 12-15.

In addition to medals for each event, there are four Individual High Point buckles awarded to the athlete who earns the greatest number of points in various categories: Performance High Point for the judged events, the Gaming High Point for the timed events, and the Versatility High

Point for an athlete who competes in three performance and two timed, or two performance and three timed events, and Team Contributor for team events. For the third year in a row, Cammi Benson won the Performance High Point award. The silver buckles are special recognition for the extreme dedication and high level of achievement these athletes have made to their sport.

An OHSET tradition at the final district meet is the recognition of senior athletes. Sisters had five seniors who were honored: Cammi Benson, Ellie Chandler, Emma Nicklous, Isabella Allenbach and

Rylee Hurtley. It became a very emotional night as the rest of the team said farewell to the seniors. Benson, Chandler, Nicklous and Hurtley have competed on the Sisters Equestrian Team all four years in high school.

A big part of OHSET is bonding with the team and learning from each other. The Sisters team has become very close, and will miss these five seniors as they go their separate ways.