Twenty Northeast Oregon high school equestrians qualify for state competition

Twenty Northeast Oregon high school equestrians have qualified for the state championship in Redmond next week, a strong turnout for a sport that depends on weekend travel, barn time and family support as much as it does on school schedules.

The 2026 state meet will run Thursday, May 7, through Sunday, May 10, at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds Expo Center, with move-in beginning after noon Wednesday, May 6. For the Blue Mountain District, which formed in 2024 and serves much of Northeast Oregon, the trip marks another step in a fast-growing program built around sportsmanship, horsemanship and teamwork.

Pine Eagle High School riders Lexi DelCurto and Kodi Miller were among the district’s standouts at the March 27-29 meet in Hermiston. DelCurto won five events, broke her own district record in steer daubing by 0.049 seconds and set a new district record in bi-rangle. Miller placed first in two events and recorded the district’s second-fastest steer daubing time.

The qualifiers were set after the latest regional meet in Hermiston, and the district’s roster stretches across Northeast Oregon, with students from Cove, Elgin, Hermiston, La Grande, Pendleton and Pine Eagle earning state berths. In a sport where teams can be very small, even a single student, OHSET’s structure has given rural schools a way to field competitors without needing large numbers. The program also allows homeschool students to participate if they are organized through a school district with a coach or advisor.

That flexibility matters in places where horses are already part of daily life and where school support often comes from parents, coaches, volunteers and classmates who haul equipment, organize practice and spend long spring weekends at meets. Blue Mountain District competition moved through March and April at places including Summerville Stables and the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston, building toward the state championship that will showcase multiple disciplines and patterns.

For Union County and the wider region, the state-bound roster is more than a spring sports note. It shows a young district that has grown quickly, a deep rural riding culture and a local pipeline that is already producing record-setting performances.