It’s not over till it’s over, and the conclusion of the ASPCA Maclay Finals tonight, Nov. 3 in Syracuse, N.Y., proved that adage more than true.  But at the end of the night, Kimberly McCormack stood alone, winning the Maclay just two weeks after her victory in the Pessoa/USEF Medal Finals.  But while she led the Medal Finals from the very beginning, today she had to fight her way to the top. 

The results are…
1. Kimberly McCormack
2. Elizabeth Lubrano
3. Shelby Wakeman
4. Carly Anthony
5. Emily Gardner
6. Michelle Morris
7. Maria Schaub
8. Lucy Davis
9. Jennifer Walters
10. Mallory Olson

After Round 1 and the flat phase (see coverage), McCormack sat in fifth place.  Maria Schaub led the pack when 18 riders came back in front of judges George Morris and Linda Hough for Round 2.

The second course was a bit more forgiving than Round 1, and gave riders good opportunities to show off.  Sometimes it backfired.  Tatiana Dzavik, coming back in 11th place, tried to shave the turn to the narrow arched wall that was such an issue in Round 1.  In the second round, it was set much more invitingly, off a turn out of the corner, but Dzavik chose to cut the turn a bit.  Her horse stopped, and took her out of the running.

Carly Anthony was next, coming back in 10th, and she had the block off the top of the wall fence, but rode an otherwise lovely round.  Shelby Wakeman came back in ninth, and had a positively excellent round, riding forward and showing excellent adjustability.  The pressure was all on the top riders to keep their spots.

Lucy Davis, coming back in eighth, had a nice round on her big, rangy horse, though her leg slid back a bit over the jumps.  Mallory Olsonn looked to be a hair under pace, and had hard rubs through one line of fences, and a swap to one Swedish oxer.

Katherine Newman came back in sixth, but got long and weak to an oxer at fence 3, and then found a tight distance to a Swedish oxer and had the front rail down. 

McCormack, sitting in fifth, had nothing to lose and rode with style and fluidity.  She made nice tight turns in the rollback portions, and was bold and galloping when needed. 

Elizabeth Lubrano was in fourth, and was a bit deep to the narrow arched wall at the second fence, but was otherwise elegant and consistent. 

But then the problems started.  Emily Gardner, coming back in third, got underneath the triple bar, and then had the front rail of one of the Swedish oxers down.  Michelle Morris, in second, found inconsistent distances to a couple of the jumps and hung up in the air over them.

It was Maria Schaub’s to win.  She went in with a plan, and rode a different line to the third oxer than anyone else, going outside another fence and angling back on the oxer.  But it backfired when I Toon had the front rail down there.  She found a deep distance to the triple bar, and then a long distance to the next Swedish oxer, and saw her chances of winning slip away.

“I never thought about winning,” McCormack said.  “I just wanted to go in and lay it down.  I’m definitely surprised—I think you’re always surprised when it all falls into place, like it did two weeks ago and then now.”  McCormack’s sister, Kristy, came back from Belgium to cheer her sister on along with trainers Missy Clark and John Brennan.

Judge Linda Hough said that McCormack “came into the ring fighting for the top.  She was positive and relaxed.  What I liked best was her softness.  She followed her horse over the jumps, and didn’t stick her hands in the horse’s neck.”

Lubrano was thrilled with second place, especially since her usual equitation horse was injured at the Capital Challenge (Md.) show in October and she borrowed her sister’s horse.  “In the first round of the Medal Finals, I tried to give it my all and it went well except for one fence, which was a disaster, so here, I just tried to do my best.  In my second round, I thought I was a little deep to the second jump, and a little rough to the double of verticals, but I was very happy with my ride.”  Lubrano trains with Frank and Stacia Madden, Krista Freundlich and Max Amaya.

Wakeman, who trains with Karen Healey, said that she “really didn’t have anything to lose, coming back in ninth.  I wasn’t nervous, so I just went out and rode.”