Sloane Coles Takes Charge for the Win in WEF Equitation Championship at Winter Equestrian Festival
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Sloane Coles and Cino, winners of the WEF Equitation Championship for the R.W. “Ronnie” Mutch trophy at the Winter Equestrian Festival. Photo by Randi Muster |
Ronnie Mutch was a life-long horseman known for winning the AHSA Medal Finals in 1950 at the age of 15, and being the youngest rider at the time to represent the USET at the age of 18. The class is held in his honor to carry on his ideals of horsemanship and sportsmanship to young riders. After two rounds of demanding competition, Sloane Coles came away with the win over Brianne Goutal and Blythe Marano.
The riders competing in the class were held to special rules, including turning in their cell phones and radios. They were not allowed to discuss their plan with anyone and everyone but grooms were banned from the schooling ring. Riders were judged as they warmed up by Sherri Robertson, Michelle Grubb, and Joanne Covacks on their turnout, character, and quality and quantity of schooling. They were assessed a score from -2 to +2, with zero being a normal schooling. These points are added or subtracted to their final jumping score.
Four esteemed judges marked their cards for two rounds of jumping that were designed by Mark Leone. They included Ronnie Mutch’s son, Bert Mutch, winner of the then-AHSA Hunter Seat Medal Finals; George Morris, renowned rider and trainer; Linda Andrisani, one of the top judges in the country; and Jimmy Doyle, coach of three gold medal winning teams at the Young Riders competition.
First in the competition was Blythe Marano, who picked up a gallop and completed a bold first trip for a score of 81.5. “I wasn’t very happy about going first!” she said, laughing. “Then I went in the ring and he was really good. He was jumping so big over the oxers that I lost my leg a little bit. I think that’s what took away a lot of my score.”
Eleven horses later, Brianne Goutal entered the ring for her first round. She had a phenomenal round that produced an average score from the four judges of 91, and then had two points added on to her score for an exceptional schooling. “I was a little nervous coming in, I have to say,” Goutal revealed. The nerves didn’t show, as she went straight to the top of the leaderboard.
Just four riders later, Sloane Coles went in for her first trip. She had a very smooth, controlled round and stuck to her decisions. After the class, Coles said, “I competed in this class before, so I knew what to expect and I really wanted to do well.” Coles was rewarded with a score of 86 from the judges, and had one point added for schooling for a final score of 87.
Whitney Weeks and Jack Hardin Towell Jr. were two other first round trips that impressed the judges, as they scored 87.25 and 88. Eleven riders were then called back for a second round, with Blythe Marano and Caitlin Donovan tied at the cutoff score of 81.5.
Marano was again the first to go over a shortened, but more challenging second course. It included a line with a one stride followed by a trot jump, and a counter canter around a corner to a jump. Marano acknowledged, “In the second round, I got to go first again. My horse is very good at changing leads and the trot jump. I knew he’d be good everywhere, it was just the shadows that I was worried about.” Marano improved on her first round to score an 85, for a total of 166.5. Despite coming in the first round in tenth place, Marano’s score held up and she finished third. It was déjà vu, as Marano accomplished the exact same thing in last year’s class.
Six horses later, Coles entered the ring for her second round. She executed the course flawlessly, as she landed on the counter canter, held it around the corner, and finished her course without a hitch. However, Coles was worried about one element of the course. “I knew that the hardest thing was going to be the trot fence, and I practiced a couple lines like that at home. I’d always had trouble with it,” she said. “He came back so well for me. Cino was amazing.” Her second round score was a 91 and her total was 178. She would have to wait for three more riders to learn the outcome of the class.
Whitney Weeks and Hardin Towell followed Coles, but both were unable to hold the counter canter to the jump. They posted scores of 73 and 72. Goutal was the last to enter the ring and it was her class to win.
Goutal rode a very even course, but had trouble at the trot jump. “I didn’t ride as strong as I wanted to the trot jump. I knew it was going to be difficult when I walked the course, because you only had five strides to get the trot jump. I came in the way I wanted to, forward enough so that the one [combination before the trot jump] got a little slow. I kind of trusted it, because I came in so well, that he would just trot. It was my fault,” she claimed. “The horse is amazing and he always jumps beautifully. You can’t ask much more from him. He’s a really honest horse; he always wants to win. Other than that, he was amazing.”
Goutal’s score of 78 gave her a total of 172 and the win to fellow Beacon Hill rider Sloane Coles. “Sloane rode amazing in the second round. I was really happy overall,” Goutal said. Coles revealed that yesterday she and Goutal said they wanted to be first and second in the class. They helped each other today, walking the course, giving pointers and standing at the in-gate for each other. “I think that because there was an absence of the trainers, that we all kind of helped each other. One person at least was at the in-gate with the other person, telling them what the last person did, what the difficulties or easiest parts of the course were. It’s just a really fun class to do,” Goutal mentioned. The feeling of team spirit prevailed during the class and the riders left with more than just prizes from the “Ronnie Mutch class.”
Frank Madden, who co-trained Coles and Goutal, is a huge fan of the format for the class. “The thing that I enjoyed so much about this class is that it’s such a test of their independence. I guess in a perfect world, if you’re doing your job as a trainer, eventually they shouldn’t need you. I think that’s what so great about this class,” he said. “I felt very strongly about it. It was fun to watch all the kids; Blythe, Addison, and all of mine that were in it, just to see how independent they’ve become.”
Madden was not worried about his riders fending for themselves. “I don’t feel nervous. At the stage these girls are at, you don’t stand on the hill nervous that something is going to go drastically wrong; you just hope the day goes well for them. They’re up to walking their course and executing what they walked.”
He was also very complimentary of Coles and Goutal, and asserted, “I think they’re both very natural, strong riders.” He also added, “I loved the course. I think it asked all the important things of a rider. Style, for sure, became an issue. I thought the test in the second round really showed the horse and rider that really took charge of things. I thought the scoring was pretty dead on and it pinned itself in the end.”
Official Results- WEF Equitation Championship for the R.W. “Ronnie” Mutch trophy- Grand Hunter Field- March 12, 2005
- Sloane Coles, 178 points
- Brianne Goutal, 172
- Blythe Marano, 166.5
- Addison Phillips, 161.75
- Whitney Weeks, 160.25
- Jack Hardin Towell Jr., 160
- Caitlin Donovan, 159.5
- Catherine Wright, 156.5
- Maria Schaub, 154.5
- Natalie Johnson, 136
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