Around 7:15 a.m., nearly a half hour before classes started on Feb. 23, Ferndale High School junior Evie Kelley was already competing in an equestrian meet with her thoroughbred, Mojolicious.

Evie was attempting to have Mojolicious (AKA Geo) jump the fence in the middle of the Lynden Fairgrounds arena, but he swerved at the last minute twice. After taking a second to compose themselves, Evie and Geo tried the jump one more time – and he easily bounded over the hurdle. Evie, excited and relieved, yelled out “Good boy!” to her horse as the pair continued to clear the rest of the course’s fences with grace.

After the event, Evie said the cooperation between rider and horse is what makes equestrian such a unique sport.

“It’s a little less predictable than some other sports, because your ‘ball’ has a mind of its own,” she said. “We have to work together in order for it to go well.”

Evie is one of 45 students on the Ferndale equestrian team, which is comprised of students from every Whatcom County high school. (Nine of the riders are from Ferndale High School). They compete every winter against other multi-high school teams in a series of four-day, all-day equestrian meets in Lynden.

Ferndale’s students and coaches describe equestrian as a thrilling sport with a tight-knit community that encourages discipline and animal-human connection.

“They have a shared partnership with their horse, and that showcases a lot of communication skills,” said coach McKenzie Bartley. “Being able to communicate with something that doesn’t speak your language, there’s a lot of trust in there.”

Similar to track and field, there is a wide variety of equestrian events that students can participate in. These range from jumping events, to dressage (where riders and horses have to show fluid movements), to pole bending (where the horse has to weave through poles). There’s even events that involve livestock – for example, in sorting, riders have to use their horses to herd cows into specific areas as fast as they can.

“One of the things I love about equestrian is that kids are able to do multiple disciplines in one meet,” Bartley said. “It gives them an outlet to try new things and break outside of their comfort zone.”

Every rider has their own personal favorite event. For example, sophomore Inara Schivitz loves the jumping events.

“The adrenaline rush is fun,” she said. “I like dressage too; I feel fancy.”

In order to be successful in equestrian events, riders have to create a bond with their horse.

“I have to trust her to go over the fences,” sophomore Montana Martin said of her thoroughbred, Sailor (who was attempting to nibble on Montana’s bagel during this interview). “If I didn’t, she wouldn’t trust me, and it just wouldn’t work.”

It can take a lot of work to build that connection, said freshman Kaitlin Obergottsberger. She’s been riding with her Paint Horse, Buzz, for six years.

“They can’t talk, so you have to just know what they’re thinking based off their behavior,” she said. And believe it or not, they have facial expressions, so you just have to figure out what they are.”

The wider equestrian community is also a major perk for these students.

“You get to know everybody, and it becomes more like a family than a team,” said Kaitlin.

“Anywhere you go, you can ask for help and you’ll get it,” added Evie.

The Ferndale equestrian team has one more regular season meet, from March 21-24 at the Lynden Fairgrounds. The competition runs all day. After that, the top riders will travel to Moses Lake for the state meet.