September 4, 2006

The Capital Challenge Horse Show Hosts Monarch International Equitation Weekend
Written by Michelle Bloch

The Capital Challenge Horse Show, held this year from September 30 through October 8, is proud to open the 2006 show with the prestigious Monarch International Equitation Weekend. The Monarch International Equitation Weekend will take place on Saturday, September 30 – Sunday, October 1, kicking off the nine-day show held at the Prince George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD.

The best hunt seat equitation riders in the country will come together to compete in flat and over-fence classes. Saturday’s events will feature divisions for each age group and will take place indoors and out.

Sunday’s three classes will begin at 8am in the Show Place Arena. The Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine North American Equitation Championships kicks off the schedule of events. The World Equitation championship is a challenging two-phase event over fences at a height of 3’6”. A panel of five judges gives each rider a numerical score, which are averaged together. The top 20 riders return over a shortened course and are scored again by the panel. The scores from the two rounds are then averaged together and the highest scoring rider is the winner.

Last year’s class drew 104 entries. The class requires accuracy, consistency and communication between horse and rider in order to navigate the technical course built by Mike Rheinheimer.

Last year’s winner, Brianne Goutal, said, “There were a lot of bending lines that you had to move up, but at the same time you had to hold your horse out and a lot of people got caught trying to line it up or were getting dead to the second jump.”

Second-place finisher Sloan Coles added, “There were a lot of short turns in the second course where your horse was able to get their eye on the different jumps. You had to try and school them so they weren’t looking at the jump you didn’t want to jump.”

The second class on Sunday’s schedule is the Show Circuit Magazine National Children’s Medal (NCM) Finals. This class is for riders under the age of 18 who have competed throughout the year in qualifying shows.

The Show Circuit NCM is a competitive stepping-stone into the 3’6” equitation division. Riders collect points throughout the year for placing in each class in the hopes of qualifying for the NCM Finals.

The top 30 riders in the country are invited to compete in the NCM Finals and will jump a course of three-foot fences. The panel of five judges numerically scores the riders and the top ten are asked to return over a shortened course. The winner of the class is the highest scoring rider.

Last year’s winner was Katie Kramer of Los Angeles, CA. Kramer described the course as “a fun track with a lot of turns and rollbacks.” Winning the Show Circuit NCM finals was a big thrill for Kramer. She said after winning, “This was a goal for me. It is something I’ve been aiming at for the past three years.”

The final class held on October 1 in the Show Place Arena is the Monarch International’s Show Circuit Magazine North American Adult Amateur Equitation Championship. The class is open to adult riders who will navigate a course of fences 3’ – 3’3” in height. A panel of five judges will numerically score riders in the two-round class. The winner of the class is the highest scoring rider.

Aside from the drawing hunt seat talent from across the country, the horse show also offers some of the best in equestrian shopping. The boutique areas are located inside and out, with the expanded shop area on the concourse featuring over twenty vendors. Pick up your holiday gifts early from shops offering unique gift items, artwork, the finest jewelry and a variety of quality equestrian equipment.

Admission and parking are free throughout the week. 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.