For the 38th year, the Whidbey Island Horse Trials were held this past weekend in Oak Harbor.

The event, started 40 years ago, is the longest-running horseback riding event in the area, which includes Washington, Montana and parts of Idaho, according to Margot Carter.

Carter has worked with this Pony Club event for about two decades. For the past decade or so, she’s been in charge of two of the three events.

Of the more-than-300 riders participating this year, people came from all over, including Washington state, California and Canada, Carter said.

“It is a huge endeavor, and I suspect that brings a lot of money into the county that people aren’t aware of,” Carter said.

The Horse Trials are a competition for riders from all over, and include dressage, cross country and stadium jumping events in levels from beginner novice to intermediate.

Carter said each aspect of the competition serves a different purpose in testing each horse and rider.

“Dressage basically tests the connection between the horse and rider and makes sure the rider can perform basic functions on the horse,” she said of the first event, held on Friday.

According to Carter, cross-country jumping tests endurance and has the added difficulty of solid fences. That means if the horse does not jump high enough, jumps too soon or jumps too late, the top of the fence won’t be knocked off to accommodate the lower height.

Stadium jumps, on the other hand, can have the top of the fence knocked down.

Cross country tests “how well the horses are fit and how comfortable they are after they’ve done the endurance phase, so that they can still perform at a higher level after that,” Carter said.

“I think my favorite part is cross country,” said 13-year-old Samantha O’Conner, participating in the horse trials for her second year on her horse Nevar. “It seems like a place where you more ride for fun … and it’s something that the horses seem like they’re more used to anyway.”

Setting up for the three-day event takes a lot of work, much of it done by volunteers, Carter said.

“This is an amazing community event,” she said. “People here are fantastic about volunteering and chipping in when we need extra help.”

A lot of the volunteers are children, who can learn valuable lessons from helping, said Carter.

“It’s a ton of physical labor for them, but in a way, that gives them an understanding that they can do things that they thought they couldn’t do, and it teaches them that if they try hard enough and they don’t stop, they can achieve things,” Carter said.

One person who’s been involved with the Horse Trials since she was 5, Brittany Lombardo, gives credit to the event for getting her into the business.

Lombardo, now 26, is a trainer with students in the competition this year. She usually participates in the competitions, as well, and said cross country was her favorite when she started out.

“When you’re a kid, it’s the exciting part, and you don’t really realize the value of the others until you get older,” Lombardo said.

She’s helped out behind-the-scenes with the event, and thinks it’s a well-run competition.

“It’s always a process, though,” she said. “It always seems very disorganized when you’re on the inside, but it always comes together really well.

“I think that’s how they all are, though. It’s a lot of riders to get organized.”

Emma Lerch, 15, participated in the trials this year for the second time, on her horse, Penny.

“It really makes you bond with your horse,” Lerch said. “It can be a little stressful, but once you finish the event, even if you disqualify, it’s like, you worked so hard to get up to it, and now you’re here, and you were able to do it. Even if you disqualify, don’t make it such a big deal. It’s something that you worked for, so just take it as it is and enjoy it.”