The Dolan Family ~ From POA to AQHA
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By Megan Sacia Ulrich
Madison Dolan is used to making a splash in the show pen. At just three years old, she’d already fallen in love with riding and by the following year she was showing her POA in Leadline at the 2010 Fort Worth Stock Show. When she made her debut in AQHA in 2017, there was no testing the water at a couple of state shows to get her feet wet. She went right to the Quarter Horse Congress. At the time, Madison and her horse had just 13 years between them; she was 11 and her gelding, One of the Cool Kids, aka “Luke” was only two. It was his first show ever. She rode him to placings in both the Level 1 Western Pleasure and 13 & Under Western Pleasure. It was an impressive start to a new show career to say the least.
Since then, Madison has continued to impress. She’s recently added Hunter Jumper events to her AQHA repertoire and continues to seek ways to improve in all disciplines. From the little girl showing POAs to the contender she is today, Madison’s dreams continue to grow as the size of the horses beneath her do, and her commitment to learning ensures those dreams won’t stay dreams for long.
One of those dreams, and the main reason why the Dolan family entered the AQHA world, was Madison’s goal of riding on a NCEA equestrian team. “Madi loves all-around in POA, so she still actively competes with two ponies, but I knew she had to step up to AQHA to make that dream come true,” says Madison’s mom, Natalie.
Natalie, herself, is no stranger to tough competition. She rode on the Oklahoma State equestrian team from 1999 to 2002 and continues to show today. She’s shown both Luke and Rhett, or A One Nite Stand, Madison’s Hunter horse. The POAs are both maintained by Natalie and Madi at the family farm in Arcadia, Oklahoma. Rhett also lives on their farm. Their Hunter Over Fences trainer, Frances Matthews, teaches at the farm. Additionally, Madison has had a Warmblood and an off-the-track Thoroughbred to compete with at USEF shows. She’s an Equitation medal winner in the Oklahoma Hunter Jumper Association. Luke lives with trainers Bruce Vickery and Andrew Montes in Pilot Point, Texas, which is about a three-hour drive away.
