Sisters equestrienne is a champion

Sisters equestrian athlete Julie Klemz, 16, and her horse, Divine Horizon (Devon), 23, recently returned from the United States Eventing Association Area 7 annual meeting with a championship award. Based on a complicated nationwide scoring system, the pair emerged at the top of the scale in the beginner novice division.

Area 7 covers riders competing in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Klemz and Devon competed in four or five events each season, starting in 2008.

Klemz grew up a horse-crazy kid with understanding parents who supported her passion, even though they didn't share it. Tall for her age, at 5 years old she began seriously riding at Pony Club in Littleton, Colorado. The family moved to Sisters when Klemz was in second grade.

She found a committed trainer in Stephanie Parker, based then at Oracle Farms out of Sisters. Parker began working with Klemz in 2006 and introduced her to the eventing world via a spunky pony named Scoot.

"Scoot taught me how to jump," said Klemz.

The pair placed fifth at their first one-day event Pony Club show when Klemz was 10. The seed was sown then for the next few years of Klemz's equestrian life and Devon, an experienced thoroughbred gelding, was purchased soon after.

Despite a serious fall in her second year of training with Parker, Klemz persevered.

"It really shook her confidence," said Parker. "She slowly overcame her fear, which took determination and much persistence."

She added that the character traits that enabled Klemz' return to eventing make her a pleasure to work with. Her participation has made her a stronger, more determined rider and person.

"It has required her to apply herself ... long before she received the reward of top placings," said Parker.

Eventing is a sport requiring a high level of trust between horse and rider. It involves the discipline of a dressage test, the adrenaline rush of cross-country jumping and the focus of show jumping. While the jumps at beginner novice level aren't high, at 33 inches, they are much more than a simple pop-over. And they are solid. For the past year, Klemz has been working on her show-jumping skills with Tumalo trainer Catherine Cruger, who trains hunter/jumpers. She also gained another mount, a Halflinger gelding named Daddy Doesn't Know (Miko) who she showed last season in the jumping arena.

"She now believes in herself when she sets a goal," said Parker.

There's a new goal on the horizon for Klemz these days. She's taking a break from the rigors of horse showing and finding her adrenaline rush in a different place - a snowy mountain. Her sport of choice is freeride skiing, which she claims to do for fun. No doubt the lessons learned on the backs of her horses will hold her in good stead as she hurtles down the slopes.