Monroe Wins Second Straight USEF National Combined Driving Singles Championship

Correction: There is a correction to the press release that was issued at 2:47 p.m. on May 9. Scott Monroe did win the championship held May 4-7, however, no one has been guaranteed a spot on the U.S. Team that is going to Italy this September for the FEI Singles World Championships. The team will be chosen prior to July 31, 2006.

Lexington, KY - Scott Monroe and Bethesda After Dark (Shadow) bested a field of 22 drivers to capture the 2006 USEF National Combined Driving Singles Championship. Monroe and his 13-year-old Morgan emerged victorious with scores of 44.0 in dressage, 77.48 in marathon and 4.08 in cones. The championship was held during the Garden State Combined Driving Event CAI-B in Allentown, NJ, May 4-7.

The competition attracted the country's best singles drivers and was a mandatory selection trial for drivers vying for a spot at the FEI Singles World Championships in Italy this September. A winning marathon on Saturday and an overall score of 125.56 guaranteed the Sharon, CT driver a spot on the U.S. Team and his second straight USEF National Combined Singles Championship.

Also competing for the national championship and a place on the USEF team, were drivers Fred Merriam and Eleanor Gallagher. Merriam of Newfane, VT, won the dressage portion of the event with a score of 37.60, while Gallagher and her 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood, Kashmier, came in second. Merriam led the pack with Gaitwood Lightwing, a 12-year-old Morgan, until he was overtaken by Monroe on Sunday. None with faultless performances, Gallagher, of Southern Pines, NC, won the cones competition with only 2.34 penalties and finished third in the championship.

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