COEUR d’ALENE — Fourteen-year-old Samantha Funke, from Coeur d’Alene, is no ordinary teenager.  

Next month, Samantha is headed to Ohio to compete in the All-American Quarter Horse Communications Contest in Columbus after excelling in county and state competitions. She is potentially the only person in the state of Idaho to do so.  

Samantha won’t be working directly with horses at the competition — rather, she will be competing in public speaking as she talks about the importance of preventing the spread of infectious diseases between humans and horses.  

Samantha will go into October’s competition as a well-decorated equestrian — she has already won two belt buckles this year, including a buckle for showmanship in 4-H. Samantha has also ridden for several well-known local organizations, including Gem State Mule Company.

Perhaps the most surprising part of Samantha’s story is that she didn’t grow up around horses — in fact, her passion was only discovered within the last few years.  

Samantha rode a horse for the first time in 2020, when she and her mom were buying a trailer to transport 4-H animals for the fair. The woman selling the trailer asked if Samantha wanted to try riding, and the rest is history.  

“I fell in love with it,” Samantha said.  

Working with and tailing local large animal veterinarians is what allowed Samantha’s passion to truly blossom.  

Samantha’s first horse was gifted to her by Prairie Animal Hospital in Coeur d’Alene. The horse was a rescue from Arkansas, and was poorly trained, ill and underweight — but Samantha wasn’t going to give up on her and learned how to train horses when she was just 11 years old. 

Now, that same mare is 32 years old and lives happily along with Samantha’s two other horses.  

“My favorite part of all of this is being able to be with the animals and all the opportunities it provides, up to college and throughout my life,” Samantha explained. She plans to someday become a large animal vet herself — with a focus, of course, on horses.  

Samantha attends an online private school to better suit her competition schedule and maintains a 4.5 GPA. She hopes to someday attend Texas A&M or Washington State University.  

Samantha is justifiably confident ahead of October’s competition and asks only for “support from the community and prayers for a safe trip.”