Horsesdaily News: Sloane Coles Named Monarch International North American Equitation Champion

October 1, 2006

Sloane Coles Named Monarch International North American Equitation Champion

Sloane Coles in the class riding Papillion 136 Photo by Jon Kassel Upper Marlboro, MD – October 1, 2006 – It was a tight race for the blue ribbon in the Monarch International North American Equitation Championship class as Sloane Coles and Megan Massaro walked in to the ring for testing. Only 1/10th of a point separated the riders after two rounds of competition in the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD.

But in the end it was Coles who finished on top and her trainers Frank and Stacia Madden were named leading equitation trainers for the second consecutive year.

“I had a really good feeling going into the test,” said Coles. Coles and Papillon 136 were first to attack the test and aside from having a rail down over the first jump the pair had a flawless performance. She said, “I was so excited that the hand gallop was the first jump because he’s so good at that. But he was just tired and he had the rail. The rest was beautiful.”

Massaro said of the test, “I was extremely nervous. I want to do well for Don because he’s done so much for me so I put a little pressure on myself because I want to be successful. Sloan is so accurate.” Massaro’s test was accurate but more conservative than Coles’.

Sloane Coles with trainers Frank Madden, Stacia Madden, her groom Photo by Jon Kassel When the ribbons were announced Massaro was called back to lead the victory gallop with Coles in second. It wasn’t until after the pinning that an error in the computer scoring was discovered. Coles said of the error, “With numerical scoring that can happen. Frank told me what had happened and he didn’t want to make a big deal about it.” Madden said, “I met with Oliver (Kennedy) and he explained that there was a mistake. My first knee-jerk reaction was let’s leave it the way it is. It’s not the end of the world.”

Madden continued, “I think enough people were curious about the scoring that the buzz got out. Billy Glass and Oliver, Don and myself…no one wanted to do the wrong thing. We decided that it really boils down to maintaining the integrity of the class and Billy felt strong that we had a chance to correct it and it is very important in this class and every class at the Capital Challenge that people know that the integrity of running the event the right way is the most important thing. They felt horrible for the girls but they wanted to do what was right for the integrity of the scoring system.It was very very very close but Sloane won.”

The 13th annual Capital Challenge Horse Show will run through October 8th at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD. Aside from the equestrian action running in two rings, the horse show also offers some of the best in equestrian shopping. The shopping areas are located inside and out, with a new Boutique Mall located on the concourse level. With over fifty shops on the premises early holiday shopping is made easy. You’ll find unique gift items, artwork, the finest jewelry, clothing, footwear and a variety of quality equestrian equipment. As always there is no charge for admission and parking is free.

The schedule and results can be found on the Capital Challenge website: www.capitalchallenge.org . For more information on the Capital Challenge Horse Show call (301) 260-2467 prior to the show or (301) 952-7944 during the show.