Strong finish, season-long consistency lift Eatonville Equestrian to top honors

The Eatonville High School equestrian team closed out its district season with a strong showing at the final meet April 16–19 at the Elma Fairgrounds, capping a year that earned the program overall high-point honors in District 2.

Eatonville High School’s equestrian team poses with its District 2 high-point trophy following the final meet of the season at the Elma Fairgrounds, April 16–19. The team, which won the intermediate division title for the overall season, is joined by coach Michelle Woolf (center) and performance coach Brandon Tanner (left). Photo: Sierrabreeze Photography

The high-point title reflects cumulative results from the entire season, not a single meet, and is based on the combined scores of all athletes relative to team size. District 2 featured two divisions this year, small and intermediate, with Eatonville topping the intermediate division in overall points.

“So many great things to say about this team I'm almost at a loss for words,” head coach Michelle Woolf said. “We were in a position this year that most the team came in with really great horses and they are great riders, so I knew we had a good chance at a lot of spots for state.”

At the Elma meet, Eatonville riders continued their consistent performance across multiple events.

In performance disciplines, Natalie Foster placed second in driving, while Heidi Weaver earned first in dressage.

The team excelled in working pairs, with Morgan Eichost and Kali Olson taking first place, followed by Mariah Torgeson-Widger and Ava Payne in second.

Eatonville riders swept the top three spots in figure-8 racing, led by Kaydence Hill in first, Olivia Benham in second and Macey Dudley in third. Emma Adams added a fifth-place finish.

“In the first meet, the domination of top spots made it pretty clear it wasn't if an Eatonville athlete was going to win — the question for each event was which one,” Woolf said.

In individual flags, Hadley Noble placed second, Ella Sturgis third and Benham fifth.

Eatonville’s Canadian flags teams claimed both first and second place. Dakota Murra, Kaydence Maloney, Torgeson-Widger and Eichost won the event, while Adams, Sturgis, Dudley and Olson finished second.

Noble added a first-place finish in pole bending, with Sturgis placing third. In two-man birangle, Benham and Hill took third.

In cow events, Maloney and Payne placed second in sorting, while Olson won daubing, followed by Payne in second and Adams in third. Payne also placed third in breakaway.

In gaming events, Sturgis placed fourth in keyhole.

Eatonville continued its strong showing in barrels, where Benham won the event, Hill placed second, Payne fourth, Noble fifth and Olson sixth.

“The third meet dust settled and final results to cap all the top spots were multiple medals, overall high point in the games division for all three places, medium team high point overall and 17 out of 18 athletes qualified in multiple events,” Woolf said.

The team’s season-long success and final meet results qualified a large group of athletes for the Washington state equestrian meet, scheduled for May 15–17 at the Grant County Fairgrounds in Moses Lake. At state, competitors from across District 2 will combine to represent the district, with top finishers advancing to the Pacific Northwest Invitational Championship, a regional competition featuring riders from Washington and Oregon.

Among those advancing in performance events are Foster (driving), Ava Weaver (saddle seat), and sisters Heidi and Ava Weaver (dressage and hunt seat over fences).

In cow events, Eatonville will be represented by Kaydence Maloney and Ava Payne in sorting, Kali Olson, Ava Payne and Emma Adams in daubing, and Macey Dudley in breakaway. Dudley, a freshman, also set a meet record earlier in the season.

Team events will include Torgeson-Widger and Payne in working pairs, as well as Ava and Heidi Weaver competing together in team competition.

Eatonville swept all three qualifying spots in Canadian flags, with teams led by Murra, Maloney, Torgeson-Widger and Eichost; Adams, Sturgis, Dudley and Olson; and Hill, Noble, Benham and Payne.

Additional state qualifiers include Hill and Benham in two-man birangle, along with Adams and Olson.

In gaming events, Sturgis and Payne qualified in individual flags, while Eatonville riders claimed six of seven spots in figure-8 and six of eight in barrels. Qualifiers also advanced in pole bending and keyhole.

The Eatonville drill team, consisting of 10 riders including Ava and Heidi Weaver, Benham, Hill and others, also earned a berth at state.

“Despite having multiple individual events, there was not one person that didn't contribute to this team trophy, and that's pretty cool,” Woolf said. “I'm proud of all the hard work and determination these girls showed, as well as their great sportsmanship. They have already accomplished so much. It’s going to be exciting to see how they do at state.”

Eatonville also honored its senior riders for their accomplishments throughout the season.

Ava Weaver earned a gold medal in dressage and silver medals in drill, saddle seat, working pairs and hunt seat over fences. She qualified for state in each of those events.

Zoey Shoopman earned a silver medal in drill and also qualified for the state meet.

Hadley Noble received bronze medals in keyhole and Canadian flags, and qualified for state in barrels, figure-8, keyhole and Canadian flags.

With its district title secured over the full season, Eatonville now turns its focus to the state meet and a chance to advance to the Pacific Northwest Invitational Championship.