Alumni Spotlight: Kearsten Friedrich

How did you fall in love with riding?

It was a culmination of events that led to my love of riding. I grew up going to the Mollala Buckaroo rodeo and the St. Paul Rodeo; watching my cousin ride; and my kindergarten teacher gave me a book on horses. Throughout grade school I quickly became known as the horse crazy girl by all my classmates. I continued to draw, think, and read about horses. It was my fifth or sixth birthday when I received a gift certificate for one horse riding lesson and once I took that lesson I was hooked on horses no doubt about it.

When were you riding for OHSET and what team?

I rode from 2011-2015 on the Newberg High School team. I competed all four years on varsity and was team captain senior year. It was an honor to be team captain and help support my teammates in any way I could whether cheering in the stands, holding coats, or grooming a horse.

What did you take away from being part of OHSET?

Although the accomplishments and awards are the cherry on top competing in OHSET; to me there is no other organization that makes it affordable for student athletes to try different disciplines. My primary discipline is rodeo; however, OHSET provided me the opportunity to take my rope horse in dressage, my barrel horse in reining, try In-Hand Obstacle Relay and Drill Team, and to compete in team penning. Another unique opportunity that OHSET provided was the opportunity to be a part of a high school team sport. I was able to experience competing on a team yet still compete in individual events. In high school, I think it’s important to explore and follow curiosity of sports or clubs. There is so much to be gained learning from other and other riding disciplines, so I encourage others to try new disciplines. Lastly, the people I had met on my team and from other teams brought about many friendships that lasted beyond high school graduation.

Tell us about competing outside of OHSET and any accomplishments.

In the summer months I competed in Northwest Youth Rodeo Association and won Breakaway Roping in the senior division along with Reserve Champions my senior year of high school which was a big accomplishment. I attended Portland Community College then transferred to Montana State University where I completed my B.S. in Animal Science with emphasis in Equine Studies and a minor in Small Business and Entrepreneurship. I took the Montana State University Colt starting class and, funny enough, I met several students in the class from Oregon who had done OHSET, one being Leah Lowe. My younger self would not have thought OHSET could be a connecting point with so many people. Once graduating college I was fulfilling the roll of 2020-2021 St. Paul Rodeo Queen. I knew of many past St. Paul Rodeo and Canby Rodeo royalty with their roots in OHSET as a high schooler.

Tell us about your horse(s) any favorite?

I have had several horses over the years Heidi, Dally, and Flip-Flop were my main horses during OHSET. I also borrowed some excellent horses that taught me so much. Through getting sponsors and donations I was able to take them to each district and state meet. Senior year I added a horse named Stormy. They each taught me so much and I formed a wonderful relationship with each of them. I still own Flip-Flop who did parades this last summer and Stormy did grand entry in all the rodeos I went to as the 2020-2021 St. Paul Rodeo Queen. I am forever grateful for each horse and the opportunities that OHSET provided to learn and grow.