November 27, 2002

It has been said that a rolling stone gathers no moss and in the case of Elliott Stone of Midland Ontario, this saying definitely rings true. After dominating the entire National Talent Squad Series, twenty year old Stone waltzes away with not only the title of National Talent Squad Champion but with a nomination for his 'D' card status for athlete funding from Sport Canada and airfare to the 2003 World Cup Final held in Las Vegas April 16th-20th.

After the class Stone, a student at University of Toronto, Erindale campus, commented, "I am so glad to have had this opportunity to compete against some of the best up-and-coming riders Canada has to offer. I need to thank my parents who stood by me and supported me this past year as well as my horse Freestyle. I would also like to thank my coaches Eric Lamaze and Yann Candele for helping me get to where I am today."

Talent Squad events were held throughout Canada this past year, with the riders top five scores counting for the final. It all came down to a nail biting conclusion at the Talent Squad Championships held at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair November 16th and 17th. Elliot Stone with his eight-year-old Belgium-bred mare Freestyle owned by Michael Stone, a longtime General Motors dealer, was at the head of the pack. When asked Mr. Stone compared Freestyle to a Cadillac, both top of the line in horsepower and performance.

Tied in second position was Francois Lamontagne of St. Georges Quebec aboard his eight-year-old holsteiner gelding Cashi and John Kersley of Hudson Quebec aboard his seven-year-old holsteiner gelding Moritze. Hot on their trail was Keean White of Cambridge Ontario riding his nine-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare Libidou and his eight-year-old Sell Francais gelding Arriscraft Rocca. There were many other riders fighting for top honors in this series including Rebecca Irvine, Isabelle Lapierre, Courtney Vince, Angela Covert and Carly Campbell-Cooper just to name a few.