County 4-H Equestrian: Back Row: L-R: Mari Peterson, Katie Gauthier, Alex MacDonald, Chelan Taylor, Gavin Guard, Derekk Buffum, Kaylen Meeker, Patrick Lancaster. Front Row: L-R: Jade Cooper-Yockers, Taylor Wise, Hannah Brunner-Gaydos, Daria Stankevich. Not Pictured: Halley Parnell. Photo by Dimitri Stankevich
“It’s very exciting to have three Orcas kids going to the State Fair this year,” said Orcas 4-H Horse Club leader Lorena Stankevich.
Orcas students Patrick Lancaster, Daria Stankevich and Hannah Brunner-Gaydos will be competing at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup in mid-September, following their award-winning performance at the San Juan County Fair last week: Patrick placed first in Gaming in the Senior Class; Daria placed first in two classes, Dressage & Jumping and Performance, (as an Intermediate she will compete at the state level in Dressage & Jumping); Hannah placed second in Performance, as an Intermediate.
Members of the Orcas Island Trailblazers meet once or twice a month, in a fundraising, mounted or indoor event. They are responsible for grooming their horses, and maintaining their stables and overall health. At the State Fair, as at the County Fair, “they are responsible for the total care of their horse,” said Stankevich.
In addition to membership in the club and Fair competitions, to compete at the State level, the 4-H’ers must accumulate points from their 4-H classes and place “blue” (not necessarily first) in a showmanship and a performance class. “It’s truly challenging to reach that level,” said Lorena Stankevich.
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