Lexington, Ky.—Nov. 6  

Riders faced a big choice in the second—and final—jumping round of the ASPCA Maclay Final. They could jump a three-stride bending line from Fence 8 to 9, try to land the counter-canter lead off that Fence 9 and hold it around a very tight turn, or land on the inside lead, swap to the counter lead and jump Fence 10. 

Rider after rider took the more common road; they landed on the right lead and then did either a flying or simple change to the left lead to curve around to Fence 10. 

But for Hunter Holloway on her mount C’est La Vie, she landed from Fence 8 on the left lead, held it through the right curve for three strides, landed on it again, and then gently curved around the turn of the Alltech ring on that outside lead before putting in several more flawless fences and finishing. 

It earned her a move up from third after the flat phase into first place, giving the 18-year-old rider the coveted ASPCA Maclay Final victory. A similarly smooth execution moved Taylor St. Jacques, who was fourth after the flat phase, into the reserve slot. 

Rachel Kennedy and Diane Carney were the judges for this year’s Maclay Final, and Carney explained it wasn’t just what Holloway did—it was how she did it. 

“Smooth counted first. Smooth always counts first,” said Carney. “They had to think like a horse—know and have a feel and connection about what was going on. They had to have a plan. After Fence 7, they had that long gallop around to the three-stride to start the testing portion of that course. Yes, it was all a part of the course, but it was designed with those three tests in there—the counter-canter, the trot jump, and then the counter-canter again. They really had to have a plan out of the three-stride line; they had to know what they were doing. 

“Just holding the counter lead roughly would not have been better than a simple change smooth,” she added. “But if you can do the counter-canter, land on the lead, hold the lead and keep the impulsion to the oxer, that was a very big test and very sophisticated to do that well.”

Hunter Holloway. Photo by Ann Glavan

Hunter was second here in 2014, and she also recently won the Washington International Horse Show Equitation Final (D.C.). There she rode her normal equitation mount Any Given Sunday, but the gelding wasn’t feeling well earlier this week, and she swapped to C’est La Vie, an 11-year-old gelding owned by Anna Novo-Gradac. Holloway competed C’est La Vie at this year’s Platinum Performance/USEF Show Jumping Talent Search Finals—East (N.J.) where she was ninth, but she hasn’t competed him since. 

“We just clipped him on Friday,” joked Holloway’s equitation trainer Don Stewart. 

“I’m very happy and excited,” said Holloway, of Topeka, Kan. “It’s such an honor to win such a prestigious class, and I couldn’t have been happier with how today went and my horse performed. I didn’t try to think too much about [the pressure this morning]. I tried to focus on riding to the best of my ability and putting my best foot forward.”

Lucy Deslauriers, who started the final jumping phase in first place, dropped down to 10th when she got deep to Fence 5A, the first part of the triple combination. Brian Moggre, who was second before the round, finished fourth, and T.J. O’Mara moved up from sixth to third—just a few weeks after winning the Pessoa/U.S. Hunter Seat Medal Final (Pa.). 

Taylor St. Jacques. Photo by Ann Glavan

St. Jacques, who rides with Andre Dignelli and the team at Heritage Farm, was mounted on Heritage Farm’s Charisma, who’s in his first year of showing at the major equitation finals. The 17-year-old rider joked about returning next year and winning all four of the finals. 

“I thought Charisma was amazing,” she said. “He’s a really special horse, and I want to thank Andre for the opportunity to ride him.” 

T.J. O’Mara. Photo by Ann Glavan

Today’s course, which featured a trot jump, two fences (10 and 12) riders had to tackle on the counter lead, a three-stride bending line with airy verticals and a triple combination for the 30 riders who tackled it, didn’t cause nearly the angst of yesterday’s track.

“I would have to say that Taylor moved up to second, and Hunter was hanging around the top in the first two parts of the class,” said Carney. “I’d like to compliment both riders on doing an exceptional job on these courses, which Rachel and I spent close to a year working on. The difference really was Taylor continued to move up, and Hunter continued to out-perform. [Hunter]’s round today was even better than yesterday’s in the exercises and the way her position was. It all looked fabulous to us.” 

See more photos from the class and you can read about all the action—every round—in the Chronicle’s ringside commentary.

The Top 10: 

1. Hunter Holloway

2. Taylor St. Jacques

3. T.J. O’Mara

4. Brian Moggre

5. Jordyn Rose Freedman

6. Sophie Simpson

7. Katherine Bundy

8. Grace Boston

9. Madison Goetzmann

10. Lucy Deslauriers

Want to know what happens when at the National Horse Show, and how you can watch from home? Click here! See full results and check back with the Chronicle later in the week for more from the National Horse Show, and don’t forget to check out the Nov. 24 issue of the magazine for more in-depth coverage.