Crystal Aubert and Kacey Nunes of the Sweet Home Equestrian Team will compete at the state contest May 16-18 at Central Point.
Aubert, riding Cedar Red, dropped her time in the keyhole event from 9.44 in February to 8.38 in April. Nunes, riding Cupcake, dropped her time in the barrel racing from 15.92 in March to 15.91 in April.
“We have a great bunch of kids,” Coach Chris Ross said. “They are all willing to learn and were a lot of fun to be with. We give big thanks to the parents for all of their support this season.”
Other team members include Amanda Hilburn, Laura Munoz, Mike Jarvis, Julia Henthorne, Tiffany Wilson, Ashley Anderson, Brandy Horn, Amanda Swanson.
Hilburn posted times of 12.18 and 12.24 in the Figure 8 run.
“Laura Munoz dropped anywhere from three seconds off her barrels and figure 8 runs to lowering her pole bending run by five seconds, from 51.41 to 46.83.”
The team members improved all of their times in gaming and placed eighth in March in the obstacle relay and sixth in Canadian flags.
“In April, the kids improved their placing to fifth in Canadian flags,” Ross said.
“In the stock seat trail showmanship, they all did very well even though some had never participated in that event before,” Ross said. “By the April show, all three teams learned a lot more about team penning.”