Port Huron High School Equestrian Team wins state championship for first time in 44 years

When Port Huron High School senior Madison Camm convinced her friend to join the equestrian team earlier this year, she had the goal of qualifying for the state championships.

Camm and her teammate, sophomore Brylynn Balon, didn't just qualify. They took home the trophy as division C state champions.

“It was just unreal," Camm said. "I have been doing equestrian teams since I was a freshman and my goal was just to be able to make it states and to be actually be able to go there and come home as a champion, it was amazing.”

Organized by the Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association, riders compete in various styles of riding and receive points for certain placings. The teams with the most points from each division advance from competitions at district, regional and finally state levels.

The state championship, which was held at the Midland County fairgrounds last Thursday through Sunday, brought 10 teams from around the state in four division based on the number of riders on the team. While they knew they had a healthy lead heading into their last class on Sunday, they knew they had to do well to prevent the second-place team from closing the gap, said Brylynn and her mother, assistant coach Amy Balon.

The winners were announced in an award ceremony on Sunday, with last place announced first, up through first place. The team members said they were shocked and excited when they heard the Midland Equestrian Team announced as the second-place team.

"They ended up calling Midland and we looked at each other and we were like we can't believe we just won that. Especially it just being the two of us, and coming out of our comfort zone and doing classes that we're not the most confident in sometimes," Brylynn Balon said. "It was so cool. We were definitely the underdogs coming in."

The Port Huron High School Equestrian Team has not qualified for the state competition during Camm's time on the team. The equestrian team last won a championship in 1978 Amy Balon said. She doesn't believe the team has qualified for a state championship in the last two decades.

The season wasn't without it's challenges. The two-person team was competing against other larger teams in a division that could have up to five riders.

Amy Balon said her daughter's primary show horse, Moose, had heart surgery at the end of July and had taken a year off riding prior to the regional show. Brylynn Balon used a borrowed horse for the district competition. She showed with Moose in the regional competition, even though he had not stepped into a show ring in a year.

Brylynn was also juggling volleyball, a rigorous course load at school, and conditioning three horses, while Camm was juggling schoolwork and riding her horse, Ritz, five times a week, they said.

Balon and Camm said they enjoy being a part of a team and the support they give each other.

"I couldn't have asked for a better teammate than Madison. We helped each other; we were always there for each other. I helped her put numbers on; she helped me put numbers on. We texted each other," Brylynn Balon said. "It was just fun to be a part of a supportive team. It was definitely better having a teammate that wanted you to be successful too."

Croswell-Lexington High School Equestrian Team also attended the state championship, taking home fourth for the A division. Marine City High School Equestrian Team achieved eighth at the state championship in the D division.

Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com.