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Archive for the ‘Horse sports’ Category

Ride like a champ!!

Posted in Horse sports, tagged , , , , , , on August 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ally Roberts (Lisa Edlin photo)

Ally Roberts hangs out with her equine buddy. (Lisa Edlin photo)

(Jennifer Roberts photo)

   Roberts is joined by fellow riders Camden Miller (left) and Ashley Menges (back, right). (Jennifer Roberts photos)

Roberts trophies get their own stall.

The trophies, ribbons and awards get their own stall.

Menges

Winnin’ ribbons and takin’ names.

Now it’s time to do the Puyallup, again.

Coupeville High School athletes Ally Roberts and Ashley Menges didn’t horse around last weekend, sweeping through numerous riding events at the Island County Fair.

Roberts (and her faithful steed) captured Senior Performance High Point, while also winning titles in Performance Showmanship, Trail (where she netted a perfect score), Discipline Rail, and Gaming Showmanship.

She was also a Reserve Champion in Stock Seat Equitation.

Menges notched reserve status in Stock Seat Equation and Trail, while also collecting a string of blue ribbons in her other classes.

Roberts punched her ticket to the state fair (which runs Sept. 2-25 this year), while Menges is a second alternate.

It’s been a busy summer for the duo, who have been juggling riding with volleyball as they prepare for the kickoff of a new spiker season at CHS.

Menges is a sophomore, while Roberts is a senior, and both are expected to help anchor the Wolf varsity.

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“I play wherever someone puts me!!”

Posted in Girls Soccer, Horse sports, tagged , , , , on June 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Megan Thorn flies over the hurdles as a 7th grader at CMS. (John Fisken photos)

Megan Thorn flies over the hurdles as a CMS 7th grader. (John Fisken photos)

Thorn throws down an impenetrable wall, giving teammate Cassidy Moody room to operate.

   Thorn throws down an impenetrable wall, giving teammate Cassidy Moody room to operate during an 8th grade hoops game.

Life on the range calls to Megan Thorn.

“I love to ride my horses, they are my other life.”

A competitor with the Whidbey Western Gaming Association, Thorn, who will be a freshman at Coupeville High School this fall, has appeared several times at the Island County Fair.

With a fair amount of time devoted to her animals, their care and competing with them, she plans to reduce her sports load from middle school as she steps up a school.

After playing basketball (she was a scrappy ball-hawk) and running track at CMS, Thorn is planning on only playing soccer for the Wolves.

“In the beginning of the year I was going to do soccer and basketball, but due to being busy with my horses in the spring time I decided I will only be playing soccer,” she said.

“I love basketball and track but my favorite sport would be soccer,” Thorn added. “I have always played soccer since I was little.”

Part of the allure of soccer has been the chance to be a vital part of a team which needs to work together to succeed.

“I enjoy having a team, people I can count on, people I can ask questions to or just people I can talk to if I need someone,” Thorn said. “I like being an athlete because of the people I get to meet and become friends with.”

On the field, she considers her speed and her willingness to be a team player (“I play wherever someone puts me”) as strengths.

“I need to work on being confident on how I play,” Thorn said. “Just play the game, don’t overthink what I am doing.”

As she jumps into high school life, her focus on mixing “playing strongly and having fun” with nabbing good grades in the classroom remains very much in place.

Those traits were instilled in her by parents Blake and Gretchen Thorn.

“The biggest impact I have would be my parents; they are always supporting me with whatever I do,” Megan said. “I love them so much, and I thank them every day for being there for me.

“They made me who I am.”

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A winner in every way!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Horse sports, Volleyball, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ashley Menges

Ashley Menges: pick a sport, she’s a winner.

"Hey, it's my birthday!!" (John Fisken photos)

“Who’s gettin’ cake? This girl!!” (John Fisken photo)

We are in a new golden age for young female athletes right now in Coupeville.

Both the freshman and sophomore classes at CHS boast exceptionally strong groups, while the elementary and middle school levels are bursting with talent, as well.

One of the brightest and most successful is Wolf frosh Ashley Menges, who celebrates her birthday Thursday.

A standout volleyball spiker and competitive horse rider, she’s following in the successful footsteps of older brother Cody, a dazzler on the soccer pitch.

Ashley has quickly become a star in her own right, however, blasting to the forefront along with pals Emma Smith and Maddy Hilkey while juggling select and school volleyball.

When she’s not setting up the big hitters with her pinpoint passing, she can usually be found astride her horse.

A veteran of the state meet in Puyallup, Menges‘ ribbon collection is staggering and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

In the time I have covered her athletic endeavors, she has been everything in a teammate a coach would want to see — loyal, supportive, enthusiastic and highly devoted to her squad.

You can be a successful athlete and be rude and dismissive, but Menges is a prime example of living your life the opposite way — being successful while treating others with kindness and approaching each obstacle with a can-do attitude and a shining spirit.

Win or lose, Ashley has a charisma and a sunny nature that wins her fans everywhere she goes.

That she backs it up with strong athletic ability is just a bonus.

So, as she heads towards her cake day, we just want to take a moment to wish her the best, and thank her for making her school and her town look so good.

You’re a winner, Miss Menges, in every way.

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Joy to the world (Rally Ally style)!!

Posted in Happy birthday, Horse sports, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on March 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Ally Roberts

   Ally Roberts and her trusty steed, Tiger, prepare to win all the ribbons. All of them, I said. (Jennifer Roberts photo)

crab feed

   Roberts hangs out with Lauren Bayne and Co. at the Coupeville Booster Club’s crab feed auction. (John Fisken photos)

vball

   The Spike Crew is (l to r) Kyla Briscoe, Sarah Wright, Tiffany Briscoe, Valen Trujillo and Roberts.

spike

Impact!

Ally Roberts is sunshine come to life.

Now, it’s very possible the Coupeville High School junior, who celebrates a birthday today, may be grumpy some times.

Who among us is not from time to time?

But, if that’s true, I have yet to see it.

A standout volleyball and horse athlete who also shows up to root for her classmates at absolutely every sports event played in town, Roberts always comes across as supremely happy.

Giddy grin sliding across her face, Ally is frequently up to shenanigans when she sees wandering cameramen (and women) in the area, and she remains one of the two or three most dependable go-to people when you need a pic with a little something extra.

Put her on the big stage and she delivers, as well.

Able to angle her body at a moment’s notice in mid-flight, Roberts can be a ferocious hitter on the volleyball court, which helped Coupeville’s spikers soar to their first playoff win in several seasons in the fall.

She was #2 on the Wolves in kill percentage and hitting percentage, #3 in kills and assists, #4 in blocks and #1 in leading mid-game dance celebrations.

Equally adept when you put her astride a horse, Ally (and her trusty steed, Tiger) have amassed an astounding collection of ribbons in the world of horse sports, where she is a state meet vet.

But take her out of the world of sports (for a second or two, at least) and she has always struck me as one of the friendliest, brightest, most outgoing of all Coupeville teens.

Easygoing, yet fiercely loyal to her (ginormous) family and friends, Ally projects such joy in everything she does it would be impossible not to root for her just a bit more (OK, a lot more) than your average athlete.

It’s her sunshine-drenched world, and we’re all just lucky to be a small part of it.

Happy birthday, Miss Roberts! May your grin go on and on for many years to come.

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Cow Town riders rule the horse world!!

Posted in Horse sports, tagged , , , , , on September 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

State champion Ashley Menges and her trusty steed. (Jennifer Menges photo)

  State champion Ashley Menges and her trusty steed. (Jennifer Menges photo)

Ally (Jennifer Roberts photo)

   Ally Roberts (center) keeps grinning, even after bring robbed by the judges. (Jennifer Roberts photo)

The judges were half right.

Coupeville High School’s horse-riding superstars, Ashley Menges and Ally Roberts, hit the state fair in Puyallup and returned with a state title and a little angina.

Menges, a freshman at CHS, wowed the judges, claiming a grand championship in bareback riding and now sits atop the horse world as a state champ.

Roberts, a Wolf junior, ran into some judges who had misplaced their seeing-eye dogs, but still enjoyed her trip East.

“We unfortunately had terrible judges and all the girls I went with will vouch for that,” Roberts said with a laugh. “But my horse and I had fun!”

The duo have now returned to the volleyball court and both will see action Friday afternoon when Coupeville plays host to non-conference foe Orcas Island.

Tip-off is 4 PM, with the Wolf varsity playing in the CHS gym and the JV playing across the hall in the CMS gym.

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