Shawn Raya, an Oxford resident, recently rose above the rest and placed first in a hot air balloon piloting competition, held in Angola, Indiana, July 7-9.

During the annual competition, known as Angola Balloons Aloft, pilots flew the hot air balloons, competing in two flights that tested their skill and accuracy by navigating the winds to various targets.

Although Raya said he has won the competition for the last three years in a row, this year’s competition did not come without its challenges.

“It was pretty exciting because after the first flight this time, I was in fourth place and I needed to make up a lot of ground to win the event… and I managed to do it,” said Raya.

To earn his win, Raya held a 74-point lead over second-place finisher, Chris Smart, an Indiana pilot.

Raya competes in around 12 competitions nationwide per year and has even competed in international competitions through his involvement with the Balloon Federation of America (BMA).

Raya is supported by the sponsorship of Sullair, an air compressor supplier based in Michigan City, Indiana.

Last November, Raya was one of ten U.S. pilots qualified to represent the United States in the 22nd FAI World Hot Air Balloon Championship held in Japan. He competed against 105 different competitors and placed 45th in the world.

In order to qualify for the international competition, a balloonist must rank in the top 50 nationally.

According to Raya, he’s had a long-winded history with piloting balloons.

He learned much of what he knows from his father, John Raya, who piloted hot air balloons throughout his childhood.

Raya said he’s been riding in and piloting hot air balloons ever since 1983 and is now celebrating 30 years of flying.

At the age of 14, Raya received his student pilot license. At 16, he earned his private pilot license. When he turned 18, he received his commercial pilot license.

“That’s the youngest (you can be to receive) each of those licenses,” Raya added.

Although he enjoys competing, the best part of ballooning for Raya is the involvement of his entire family– his wife of 19 years, Sandra, and their four children, Joshua, 14, Audrianna, 12, Ashley, 10 and Victoria, 5. He is currently passing on his piloting expertise to his son, Joshua.

“Hot air ballooning is family-oriented. My wife and I, we’re able to do this as a family. It keeps us busy during the summer. It’s like (a) mini-vacation when we tour the nation with the different balloon events. The kids love seeing the friends that they’ve made throughout the years, just like I did growing up,” said Raya, who has visited nearly a dozen states throughout his lifetime for competitions.

Raya’s next stop on the map will be Longview, Texas, where he is set to compete in the Great Texas Balloon Race, held July 28-30.