Sophomore Ava Offerdahl rides her horse every day, and loves “everything about it.”
After trying volleyball and swimming when she was younger, Offerdahl decided to commit to being an equestrian when she got to high school. She was introduced to riding in second grade, following in her sister’s footsteps, and still remembers the first time she rode a horse. “It was really scary because a horse is really big, but it was really fun,” she said.
Now, Offerdahl is a member of La Salle’s equestrian team, competing in both Western individual and team events, which can only be achieved when La Salle teams up with Clackamas’ and Nelson’s equestrians, due to the teams being so small. “It’d be nice if there was more people,” she said, referring to her two-person team.
The team consists of her and her sister, which is unusual, but offers for a more personal team dynamic. “Because we are sisters, sometimes it’s difficult being teammates too, but most of the time, it’s really good.”
Offerdahl has the liberty to switch the events she competes in each time, but often comes back to individual performance events, which she said is “more of the slower style of riding, and you have a pattern.”
However, her favorite event is drill, which is a team event that requires the group to perform a choreographed routine to music. The drill theme this year was “Top Gun,” but it changes annually. “Drill is definitely my favorite event because it’s the most fun … and I love riding with my other teammates,” she said. “It’s fun because I get to go fast, and there’s music, and there’s a theme.”
Offerdahl owns a horse, Cody, but also borrows one, Rocky, since they are good at competing in different events. “Cody, he’s older and he’s grumpy and he’s better at the performance stuff,” she said. “Rocky’s a really good horse. I can pretty much do anything I want with him.”
Offerdahl sometimes goes to Long Beach with her horse, Cody, an occasion that happens rarely, but one that she enjoys thoroughly. “My favorite memory is running on the beach with him,” she said. “We usually stay at a house there and go riding a couple times a day.”
Offerdahl says her biggest inspiration in her equestrian journey is her trainer, Colleen. “She’s helped us through a lot with horses, and I’ve taken lessons from her since I started riding horses.”
Although she doesn’t plan to continue competing in equestrian events at a collegiate level, Offerdahl plans to go to college to continue her studies. After that, she hopes to own horses and continue riding. “I’ll probably always ride,” she said.
The most important skill Offerdahl says she’s learned so far is perseverance. “You can’t really just quit when things get hard,” she says.
“My goal this year is to make it to state in one individual event at least, but go to state in a couple team events, definitely,” she said.
With many opportunities to compete in a variety of Western and English styles, Offerdahl said that outsiders might find it surprising “how many different styles of riding and different events you can do.”
She offers some final advice to new horseback riders — to try new things. “You don’t have to just do one event or one discipline. Just try new things because it’s fun, even if you don’t think you’ll be good at it,” she said.
