CHAPS Olympics Held on Saturday

CHAPS Equine Assisted Services held the CHAPS Olympics on Saturday, Sept 23. CHAPS Executive Director Kristen Marcus said that this is not an official Special Olympics, as it is not sanctioned.

The judge this year was Karol Santistevan, who owns and operates Ropes and Roses Therapy Services of Casper and is a longtime Special Olympics equestrian coach.

Nine riders competed in three categories, the trail class, riding horses through an obstacle course; horsemanship, which tested the participants knowledge of horses, and equitation, how well they sat and rode their horses at a walk and trot.

One question, ‘where is the fetlock?’ stumped some of the riders, but most knew a lot about the horses they were riding.

Rachel Koltiska, who has cerebral palsy, has competed in the CHAPS Olympics both years. She was in Division 1, the fully supported class. She talked about riding and the medals she won in this year’s competition. She said she has been riding for…

Her father, Tom Koltiska added about her riding and how it has helped her over the years.

Other riders were in Division 2, – supported – there was Fallyn Ragsdale, Kimi Allen, Karlie Buckingham and Stevie Martin and in the independent class, where the riders controlled their own horses, were Lex Weeder, Nanig Vayvayan, Alaine Phillips, Marian Floate. Between 20 and 30 parents and friends came out to cheer the equestrians on.