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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2019)
2B | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL CGHS from B1 a whole has transcended the typ- ical dedication and passion oft en seen in more mainstream sports. “It’s fun, it’s what I’m supposed to be doing,” said the junior Latham. “When you’re on the horse everything else goes away and this is what I’m supposed to be doing. Nothing really else mat- ters.” Th is sentiment from Latham was not entirely unique to this group but par for the course. “When I started riding horses I knew it was forever. I knew I would always want to keep doing it,” said Ladd. “It’s pretty much my life, hon- estly,” said Wood. “Th is horse pretty much got me through ev- erything. I used to be very closed off and depressed and she just opened me up.” What this passion has turned into is hours upon hours of prac- tice. Th e equestrian season kicks off in November and stretches all the way into mid-June. In that stretch of time the fall sports sea- son at CGHS has concluded in addition to the winter and spring sports seasons both starting and fi nishing. But what stands out is not just the long-term commit- ment of any one given season but what a typical day of practice en- tails. “Th ey bust their butt. Th is is like no other sport,” said co-advi- sor Sias. “Mom and dad can’t drop you off at a gymnasium and drive away and come back in three hours. Th ey are hauling horses.” Th e school day ends at 3:10 p.m. at CGHS (and 2:07 p.m. on Wednesdays) at which point the scramble begins to get things ready for practice. Th e team practices four days a week – a fact that was alarming to other teams in the league that practice once a week – at 5:30 p.m. To be ready to start on time, the athletes arrive at practice at about 4:45 p.m. Th e process of getting trailers hooked up and horses loaded generally begins for each girl at around 4:00 p.m. Sias noted that the general team policy is that you have to have your own horse and own transportation. Th is gives the student-athletes about 50 minutes from the time the fi nal bell rings at school to when they need to be at their house getting everything ready for practice. “On practice days I speed home the best I can, like, aim for 3:30, 3:40. I get home, I get dressed – because I have to wear my boots and all that – I go straight to the barn so I can clean their stalls if I can before practice if I have time. If not then I saddle them up and head off to practice,” said Ladd. Th e Lions rotate where they practice but, for the most part, stay relatively local. Two nights a week they are at a private arena off Mosby Creek and on Fridays they are at an arena down Lynx Hollow where they get to prac- tice with cows. Th e team has also bounced around from the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene, an arena in Creswell to, in years past, hav- ing to trek to Albany and Salem for practice. With two co-advisors, fi ve coaches, an unattached volun- teer and a dedicated team mom, the team is well taken care of and, at practice, there is no shortage of expert opinions in each disci- pline. Coaches focused on per- formance, gaming, drills, cows and other specialties to make sure the team is prepared. Aft er go- ing through the focus of the day may be, practice usually wraps up around 8:00 p.m. “It doesn’t end there because once they’ve practiced for two or three hours the horse is hot and sweaty,” said self-described team mom Kelli Latham. “You can’t put a blanket on them, now you have to cool them down. Sometimes we’re outside so we can blanket them and put them back in the pasture at 9:00 at night.” By the time horses are load- ed back up into trailers, taken to their respective homes and put away for the night, it is even later. “Sometimes I’m cleaning stalls and feeding them and watering them until like 10:30 p.m.,” said Ladd. Four days a week stretching from November to June, the members of the equestrian team are spending a minimum of fi ve hours of their evenings centered around practice. And through it all – snow, fl ooding, near tri- ple-digit heat last week – the team continues to practice. “When people are worried about weather during the ‘Snow- pocalypse,’” said Sias with some sarcasm and an eye-roll at the term, “you have kids out in 30 de- grees, two feet of snow, breaking snow so their horses are watered and fed. Th ey don’t get to sit in- side. Th ey work their butt off .” When the team isn’t practicing or at school, they are oft en out fundraising to ensure that they can continue to compete. Th is is a year-round commitment of sell- ing cinnamon rolls or candy bars; parking cars at the Eugene Pro Rodeo and other events; and re- turning bottles. And somewhere in this endless cycle, they fi nd a way to get their homework done. “We have the exact same rules as every other sport. Grades, at- tendance, school comes fi rst. Th e really cool thing, I have the best kids,” said Sias. “I don’t ever have to worry about a kid ever not be- ing eligible. Every week when the school sends out reports, I never get a kid that I ever have to worry about. Th ey are amazing.” While Sias is proud of her ath- letes for what they do in the class- room, she has also watched the team thrive since she helped take over the program eight years ago. Aft er her son’s freshman year she stepped into the main role of ad- visor and had no plans of coach- ing aft er he graduated and yet she keeps going. “Th e problem is, you have (ath- letes) and you get to know them. So I have freshmen this year that I’ve got to know this season and I say, ‘Th is is going to be my last Top: The entire CGHS equestrian team earlier this season. Below: The district-winning team penning group. year.’ And they’re like, ‘But, can’t you just wait until I’m a senior? It’s only two more years.’ And then you feel so bad because you have this connection to these kids and so you stay. And then the next year there are more kids that you make a connection with and here you are eight years later with no children at home and you’re still here,” said Sias. FIREMED JOIN TODAY 942-4493 “Because you just enjoy watch- ing them and you’ve made rela- tionships. And yeah, you want to see them achieve all their goals. And it’s hard. It’s kind of like my baby and I’m scared to hand it to somebody else.” In her time as coach the ex- pectation for each athlete has been state, a goal that has been CGHS see conclusion on B4 Th ese Safety Tips brought to you by South Lane County Fire & Rescue & these sponsors: JOSEPH OSBORN PLUMBING 1214 E. Madison Ave 541-942-6899 josbornplumbing@gmail.com FOUNTAIN GUTTERS LLC Cottage Grove 541-729-9515 fountaingutters.com fountaingutters@gmail.com Wh h hether W eth t h er it’ i t ’ s a t trip rip i p t to o t h e bea b each a ch h or a di d ip dip i n the community unity o or backyard back pool, you c an e ensure that t swimming swim i is as safe s a as i t is fun by following a few basic safety t ips. p. They Th h need d to t o b be e aware of f uneven surfaces, rfaces, river currents, ocean undertow and d changing h weather. ther SUM S SUMM SU U MM MME E R BOAT ER B OATI OA O A TI TING TIN NG N G T IP I P S IPS S: : Alcohol and boating i don’t d t m mix. Studies St have shown that even a small amount h ount of Whether you’re swimming Wheth i g in n a backyard back kyard y alcohol, , when comb combined with the marine mari arinee pool or in a lake lake, teach children hildren to swim s im environment, can seriously sly ly impair your y ur with a partner, rtner, every time. tim F From rom the judgement. judg nt. 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