The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG – Amy Farley said she was surprised to win first place at the Washington State Fair for her individual presentation in September, but was even more surprised to learn she would move on to compete at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Kentucky. Farley competed there on Nov. 4 and walked away with a 7th place ribbon as part of the Washington State Equine Communications team.

The high school freshman gave a presentation titled, "Locating Lucky's Lameness" which explains the process of examining a horse for lameness. The idea for the presentation came from her own horse, Lucky, who tore her suspensory ligament.

"I was surprised and excited to learn that I had won at State because I was a bit nervous to present that afternoon. Then they told me that I was going to Kentucky in November, which was a little over a month away. I was not only excited to move on and present, but to travel and explore a new place, too," Farley said.

The entire Farley family traveled to Kentucky, except for brother Jared, who is away at college.

At the Eastern National competiton, Farley said 306 competitors, representing 25 states, competed in a variety of horse-related categories. She gave her individual presentation but her scores were included in a communications team score which included individual presentation, team presentation and public speaking. Her team received 7th place in the competition.

Farley said the experience taught her some good lessons, including how to keep her cool.

"During my presentation, I had some technology malfunction which helped me learn that even with malfunctions, as long as you keep your composure and improvise, you can still do well," she said.

The Farley family made a point to do some touring and was able to tour Churchill Downs and watch some live races.

"That was super fun because I have always wanted to go there and watch competitive horse racing. We also went into the Kentucky Derby Museum where I got to learn about many racing legends," Farley said.

And Farley, a girl of many talents, isn't taking any breaks. She spoke to The Times from Colorado where she is currently training with the Mission Ridge Ski Team, based out of Wenatchee.