Senior Anna Dethlefs has been surrounded by Lasallian legacies her entire life, and as the last member of her family to cross the threshold of La Salle, she has proven herself to be a powerful asset on the equestrian team. 

Growing up in Happy Valley but later moving into the countryside by Oregon City, Dethlefs attended Christ the King for middle school before following her siblings across the street to La Salle. 

Throughout her four years of high school, she has most enjoyed her Spanish classes. “My favorite class is probably Spanish or choir because the people in there are really fun, and Ms. Moran makes the environment for Spanish just amazing,” she said. 

Stress from the coronavirus pandemic aside, Dethlefs feels proud of her achievements in both her sport and in school. She also feels accomplished for “keeping good grades and making a really good friend group that I feel comfortable leaving for college,” she said.

Something that she really feels helps her mental health and overall wellbeing is her sport itself. “Riding and that stuff kind of helps with my stress because I’m connected with my horse, so he picks up on my stress and then we have a really fun time, and it’s kind of just like releasing all my stress,” she said. 

Another way Dethlefs copes with stress and anxiety is by surrounding herself with the many animals that she owns. “My favorite thing to do on the weekend is probably go hang out with my goats, alpacas, horses, cows, chickens, dogs, and cats,” she said. “Or to hang out with my sister and brother in law a lot. I love hanging out with them because they’re super fun.”

Dethlefs was first introduced to riding through her mom and has really connected with horses and the sport. 

For Dethlefs, it can sometimes be hard to balance school and riding. “It’s really hard because it’s not only like I put myself away when I’m done, because it’s a living animal, so I have to feed him and clean him and keep up with the medical bills and everything,” she said “So there’s not really a way to like have it hand in hand. You just have to like to learn what you’re willing to give up in order to do what you need.” 

Despite this difficulty, Dethlefs enjoys the company of her horses and other animals and wants to take on the challenge of riding in college. “OSU has a drill team, which is like a section of the sport, so I think I’m going to take up that and you go to rodeos in Nevada,” she said. Dethlefs plans to study clinical psychology at Oregon State University. 

Reflecting on her high school years, Dethlefs wants others to know to not “put a lot of pressure on yourself, and don’t waste your time on other people because the only person that really matters is yourself.”