few days prior to the ASPCA Maclay Finals, Maggie McAlary had reason to be a bit nervous. Her horse, Mid-Accord, suffered a slight bruise and wouldn’t be able to compete at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, Nov. 2-5 in Syracuse, N.Y.

Three weeks before, McAlary, 16, won the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals and was looking to accomplish the rare Medal-Maclay double. The drama continued as another showdown developed between her and Julie Welles, who had been second in the Medal Finals.

But in the end, the fairytale continued, as the perfect horse appeared, and McAlary prevailed.

The title came down to the final testing, after an over fences round, a flat phase, and another over fences round. And one question in particular made all of the difference.

“The top four could have gone any way, and it was hard to really separate them,” said Ralph Caristo, who judged the class alongside Scott Williamson.

“Obviously, we liked them all, and in today’s test, the deciding factor may have been the counter-canter [through a corner to a vertical]. That’s why Scott and I made our decision. Maggie, in our opinion, was a little bit smoother as opposed to Julie. Riding ability-wise, there’s no separation between the two of them at all. But that’s the way it worked out in today’s rounds. This final test was the deciding factor of who was first or second.”

Welles was called back into the test on top of the class, with McAlary lurking in second. McAlary laid down a beautiful trip in the test, which involved hand galloping an oxer, halting, and then proceeding in a counter-canter through the end of the ring and out of a sharp turn in the corner to a vertical. Then, they had to roll back to an oxer, canter a vertical, and return to the line-up at a sitting trot.

McAlary’s only fault was her conservative pace to the first jump–she didn’t really hand gallop. But her counter-canter turn was beautifully executed. Welles struck up a good gallop to the first oxer, then halted very quickly, and picked up the counter-canter right away. But her turn out of the corner was awkward, and she added a stride to the vertical. Welles noted that she’d never ridden a complicated test like that on Sander, the 7-year-old, chestnut gelding she rode. Sander is a recent convert to the equitation division, starting in July.

Welles, 17, who won the USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals-East (N.J.) and the Tad Coffin WIHS Equitation Classic Finals (D.C.) last year, was obviously disappointed with the outcome, but pleased with her performance.

“I was so happy with my horse; he was so good. I loved the course yesterday–it was perfect for him. He has a big stride, and we could really show off. He went so well,” she said. “I was happy with the way I rode him and the way he went.”


Just Riding Their Best
The counter-canter was the downfall for Nick Haness as well. The 17-year-old from Cote de Caza, Calif., was competing in just his first Maclay Finals, but he’d impressed the judges with a wonderfully fluid round on Day 1 to stand second. His performance on the flat then moved him up to first before Day 2.

Haness’ second round on Landano, a 6-year-old, lacked the flow and consistency of his first round, and the judges dropped him to third when they called back four–Welles, McAlary, Haness and Jennifer Waxman–for the final testing. Haness couldn’t get the counter-canter established and dropped to fourth.

Haness, a prolific catch rider, was undaunted by the results. “It was an amazing experience. It was my first time at the Maclay Finals, so I was pretty nervous, but I was just trying to ride my best. After yesterday, I knew I was on top, which was a little nerve-wracking coming into the second day. I tried to just keep my thoughts really calm. I just kept thinking that I was going to ride just like I always do,” he said.

“Having a little bit of a greener horse, I was nervous how he’d react today with a little bit more of a crowd, but all in all, I was very happy and excited,” he added. “This is my last junior year; it was my first and last shot, but it was a dream just to make it here, so that’s one dream accomplished.”

Haness plans to ride as a professional next year and will work for his trainer, John Bragg.

Waxman, 14, was also riding in her first Maclay Finals, but she didn’t seem fazed by the pressure. Waxman started out in 11th after the first round and moved up to seventh after the flat phase. But her second over fences round really stood out with its confidence and bold riding, and the judges moved her up to fourth for the test.

Waxman rode a flowing test round, with a well-executed counter-canter, and after Haness’ mistake, moved up to third. “Yesterday, I just wanted to have a nice round because this is my first time here,” she said. “My horse was good, and I was really happy with that. Today, I just wanted to ride well and hopefully move up a little. I accomplished that, so I was happy. And in the test, since I went first, I just didn’t want to go off course!”

The pressure of the second day–when the judges called back their top 25 after 147 completed Round 1 and 36 had shown on the flat–meant lots of shuffling in the standings.

Tina DiLandri started Day 2 in fourth place, but a quiet distance and a rail at one vertical, and a very deep distance to an oxer, dropped her to 10th. Nikko Ritter had been in fifth place, but he had trouble negotiating an inside turn back to a combination, and the judges dropped him to ninth.

Sloane Coles, who was fourth in the Medal Finals, looked to be out of the running when she stood 21st after Round 1. But the flat phase moved her up to 13th, and a really impressive Round 2 trip vaulted her all the way to fifth. In Round 2, Coles was the first to choose to make a sweeping outside turn to the last oxer and really gallop it, while all of the riders before her had made an inside turn to that fence.

Addison Phillips made similar moves. She was 22nd after Round 1, and 20th after the flat phase. But her trip over Round 2 was foot-perfect and impressive, moving her all the way up to sixth.


Getting The Feel
McAlary hadn’t started out the weekend on top. The judges placed her fifth going into the flat phase. But her flatwork put her into third before Round 2, and another lovely trip put her second before the final testing.

McAlary noted that she’d been a bit tentative initially, since she didn’t know her horse, Chagall, that well. “In the first round, I thought I was a little bit conservative, because I was trying to get a feel for him in the ring. He has a very big stride, so I kind of had to go a little slow. I think I could have showed off a little more in the first half of the course. Today, I thought I was a little bit looser, and I trusted him, and he went so well,” she said.

When it became obvious a few days before the show that McAlary’s Mid-Accord wouldn’t be showing at Syracuse, the search was on for a suitable replacement. Fortunately, trainer Andre Dignelli was able to secure the ride on Natalie Johnson’s Chagall for her. Johnson had shown Chagall throughout her equitation years, but the last time the elegant bay had appeared in the equitation division was last year’s Maclay Finals, with Johnson. He spent this year leased out as a children’s hunter.

“This was a really emotional, crazy week at Heritage Farm,” Dignelli said. “I basically made everyone in the barn crazy, and we body-clipped everything in the barn that could jump a course. We knew that Chagall is a great horse. He’d been doing the children’s all year, and after a lot of tears and begging and pleading, we got him. I figured if it went our way, she had a shot to win, and if it didn’t we gave it a good shot.”

The only other time McAlary had shown Chagall was when she’d ridden him in the horse switch in the USEF Talent Search Finals-East in 2004, “and it didn’t go so well! But he was amazing this weekend,” McAlary said. “I’m really good friends with Natalie, and I’ve seen him go so many times. I really trusted him today, and everything flowed and clicked. I’m so thankful that Natalie let me show him.”

For Dignelli, the pairing worked. “In 20 years of doing this, he’s prob-ably the most beautiful equitation horse I’ve ever brought to the ring, and Maggie is probably one of the most stylish riders I’ve ever brought to the ring, so I have to say, I think the combination was magic. I think that probably made the difference in the end, of winning this class,” he said.


The Maclay Courses–An Explanation
Both courses that designer Richard Jeffery set were technical tracks that demanded accuracy, but without overfacing the riders with overly tricky striding or spooky fences. There were several places where riders could choose to make a more risky inside turn to impress the judges, or take an outside track to play it safe.

In Round 1, for all 147 starters, riders began down the long side of the ring, right under the judges, over a vertical (Fence 1) of a white rail set over straw bales. They then turned right at the far end of the ring and jumped a narrow vertical (Fence 2) of white rails set over a gray wall. Then, they rode seven bending strides out of the corner to a vertical of green planks (Fence 3). An oxer (Fence 4) followed in a bending line, set at a pretty acute angle. Most riders accomplished this line in a direct six strides.

Then, riders cantered around the end of the ring and turned out of the corner to Fence 5AB, a two-stride combination of white verticals. However, there was an arrangement of bushes and flowers set in the corner, and riders had to decide whether to slice inside the decorations for a very short approach to the combination or gallop around them for a longer approach.

In four bending strides after the combination was Fence 6, a solid wall of brush, with no wings. The unusual fence didn’t cause many problems. Only two horses of the 147 starters stopped at it, and the others generally rode it well. After the brush fence, riders cantered around the end of the ring and came out of the corner in a tight turn, three strides out of the corner to an airy narrow oxer (Fence 7). Then, riders could gallop down to a one-stride oxer-vertical combination (Fence 8AB) on the long side.

The last few lines of the course proved tricky. Fence 9 was an option fence, with two fan oxers set next to each other. Riders could turn very tightly after landing from Fence 8B and sneak inside the flower arrangement in the corner for an angled approach to either of the oxers, or they could take the longer route around the flowers for a straighter approach. Then, they either negotiated a tight left rollback cut inside Fence 4 to the last oxer, or went around the fence to the oxer.

Riders chose many different combinations of inside and outside lines in this last section of the course, and they had to be definite and ride forward to make them all work.

In Round 2, Judges Ralph Caristo and Scott Williamson again looked for accuracy of line. The course had multiple inside options, and most riders chose to attempt them. Riders started over an oxer-vertical five-stride line (Fences 1 and 2) down the long side of the ring. Then, they either cantered around Fence 5 or sliced inside it on an angle to the vertical at Fence 3. The vast majority of the 25 riders called back for Round 2 took the inside option here.

From Fence 3, the riders could canter around or inside Fence 7 to approach a two-stride (36′) oxer-oxer combination (Fence 4AB) along the long side of the ring. The inside turn looked impressive when accomplished well, but riders had to be sure to maintain impulsion around the turn to not have a weak jump at the B element. Fence 5, a fan oxer, followed in a bending four strides.

Then, riders had to turn out of the corner to an oxer (Fence 6) and then negotiate a bending seven-stride line to another oxer at Fence 7. After cantering around the end of the ring, they then jumped a vertical (Fence 8) off a tight turn out of the corner, followed in a bending five strides by a plank vertical (Fence 9). They then had to choose whether to negotiate a tight rollback inside Fences 6 and 3 to the last fence, a Swedish oxer, or gallop around that group of fences to Fence 10. When well done, both were impressive options.

The final four who tested had to hand-gallop Fence 10, halt, counter-canter Fence 8, canter Fences 7 and 2, and end with a sitting trot.


Molly Sorge