Adult Amateur Champion Elsa Horrigan Claims Another Win for the West Coast 

Upper Marlboro, MD – (October 2, 2005) Californians ruled the latter part of Sunday as Katie Kramer, 15, of Los Angeles bested the top 29 riders in the country to win the Show Circuit National Children’s Medal Finals riding Providence. The Show Circuit National Children’s Medal (NCM) Finals was the second of three classes held on Sunday, October 2 in the Show Place Arena during The Capital Challenge Horse Show. The Capital Challenge is held from October 1-9 in Upper Marlboro, MD.

The Show Circuit NCM courses were built by Michael Rheinheimer and proved to be challenging for the young riders. Kramer described it as a fun track with a lot of turns and rollbacks. For Kramer, making certain her horse Providence sees the jumps is a must. She explained, “He’s half-blind in his left eye. You really have to make sure he sees the jump so I over-bend him so he sees it with his right eye.”
Winning the Show Circuit NCM finals was a big thrill for the young rider.

“I’m very excited,” said Kramer. “This was a goal for me. It is something I’ve been aiming at for the past three years.”

The second Californian to dominate the Show Place Arena was Elsa Horrigan of Camarillo. The 19-year-old led both rounds of the two-round Monarch International North American Adult Equitation Championship and then proved the win was hers after a final testing of the top two riders.

Ironically showing at Capital Challenge wasn’t even in Horrigan’s plans. She explained, “I didn’t come here to ride. I came to mentor another young rider who was showing in the National Children’s Medal class.” Her trainer Jim Hagman of Elvenstar Stables suggested she enter the adult classes while she was at Capital Challenge. Hagman’s personal assistant fedexed Horrigan’s show clothes east, and his associate Amanda Ballew found a horse for Horrigan to ride. Gallileo was on loan from Don Stewart and Horrigan rode him only ten minutes before her first class on Saturday. The pair went on to be champion in the adult equitation division and then topped Sunday’s class.

The Capital Challenge Horse Show runs through Sunday, October 9 and will showcase the nation’s best hunters and jumpers. The $50,000 Ariat Congressional Cup Grand Prix presented by Stillwell-Hansen Inc. and Arwen Stables is the highlight of the jumper action. Held at 7:30pm on Saturday, October 8 the FEI World Cup Qualifying class is a great opportunity to witness US Equestrian Team veterans tackle a demanding course. As always, admission to the show is free and classes run in two rings throughout the day. Evening classes are held Wednesday through Saturday. Results, photos and the time schedule 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.
24 SHOW CIRCUIT MAGAZINE NATIONAL
CHILDREN’S MEDAL FINALS
1. KATIE KRAMER
2. BROOKE COLEMAN
3. VICTORIA BIRDSALL
4. EMILY GARDNER
5. NICOLE SIMKINS
6. GREER HINDLE
7. MORGAN CHASE HALE
8. KENDRA ARNOLD
9. TAYLOR CHECHINI
10. BROOKE WEIDENBENNER
167 MONARCH INTERNATIONAL NORTH AMERICAN
AMATEUR EQUITATION CHAMPIONSHIP
1. ELSA HORRIGAN
2. CINDY CRUCIOTTI
3. NANCY DIGREGORIO
4. NICOLE OLIYNYK
5. ANNE CONNOLLY
6. SUSIE GOLDSTEIN
7. LYNN SEITHEL JEKEL
8. NANCY HENSON
9. NIKI CONNOR
10. STACEY SHORE