Oakridge Junior Senior High School Equestrian Team

Hello,
My name is Kaitlyn Whitney. I am almost 15 years old and am in 9th grade at Oakridge Junior/Senior High school. I have grown up in Oakridge and have lived here my entire life. About 4 years ago, a local equestrian took me on my first horseback riding adventure. I can honestly say that I was instantly hooked.

For the last 3 ½ years I have been taking horseback riding lessons at Kardia Equestrian. After my first 9 months of riding lessons, I started volunteering at my barn by cleaning stalls, feeding horses, and providing basic care. After about 6 months of volunteering, I started trading my volunteer work hours for lessons and I worked hard. After earning $1000 I was able to help purchase my horse, Roxy. For the last two years I have continued to trade work for riding lessons, and stall fees for Roxy.

Last summer I heard about the Oregon High School Equestrian Team (OHSET) and immediately knew that I wanted to join a team. To be able to participate in OHSET, I learned that my school would need to have an OHSET team and co-op in with other local schools. After learning all of this, I started on the process of bringing OHSET to my school and community.

OHSET is a fantastic program and is dedicated to promoting and organizing equestrian competition in Oregon high school athletic programs. It is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization that is operated under OSAA rules and guidelines. They encourage teamwork, peer acceptance, good sportsmanship and leadership as well as helping students develop lifetime skills in horsemanship and self-discipline.

In Oregon, over 90 school participate in OHSET, and students can join with a participating high school in their district. The team has coaches and volunteers to help organize and coordinate all practices and competitions. You can learn more about Oregon’s OHSET program at https://web.ohset.com.

Earlier this school year I met with OJ/SHS Athletic Director, David Tipton. I presented information about OHSET and asked if OJ/SHS would allow an OJ/SHS OHSET team. The school agreed.

The Oakridge OHSET team is open to any OJ/SHS student grades 9-12. Each OHSET athlete pays a participation fee to their district. All other costs for transportation, stalls, equipment, team shirts, lodging are the responsibility of the athlete and often paid for through fundraising efforts.

I am reaching out to you today to see if you can support the Oakridge OHSET team by donating money to the Oakridge OHSET program. Any donation or sponsorship would be greatly appreciated and welcome. Thank you for your time and consideration.