He may not have won either one of the two rounds of the Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship, but at the end of the day, McLain Ward ended up on top with the national title with Sapphire.  His second place on Friday night in the Rolex/USEF National Championship Round 1 CSI-W, combined with his second place today, Dec. 3, in the $50,000 Rolex/USEF National Championship Round 2, at the National Horse Show in Wellington, Fla., earned him the title.

The day belonged to Margie Engle, however, who topped the class aboard Hidden Creek’s Wapino.  The win capped a phenomenal week for Engle, who earlier in the week retired the Las Marismas Challenge Trophy after winning the National Horse Show Speed Classic aboard Wapino.  Today, she also retired the National Horse Show international leading rider trophy.

She and Wapino were quite simply the fastest of a four-horse jump-off.  Jose “Pepe” Gamarra had built a real test today in the first round.  “It was a really big course.  The height of the oxers was probably as big as they were in the [World Equestrian Games] selection trials,” Engle said.  The scopey course put four big-jumping, but slower horses into the jump-off.  Ken Berkley on Carlos Boy, Laura Kraut on Miss Independent, Engle and Wapino, and Ward on Sapphire—none were speed demon combinations.  Friday night’s winner, Eric Flameng, didn’t have as good a day today on Roxanne.  In the first round, he landed a bit disorganized after one oxer, and then had a stop at the next oxer.  A few rails dropped, and Flameng pulled up and waved, retiring for the day.

Berkley led off the jump-off with a concerted effort on Carlos Boy, a powerful stallion with a lofty jump.  He looked to be setting the pace quite effectively, but a long gallop to the last oxer undid them, and Carlos Boy had a rail there.  They finished with 4 faults in 32.80 seconds.  Kraut went next, and really galloped the looping turns with Miss Independent. 

“I knew it would be hard to win, with Margie and McLain going after me,” Kraut said.  “I had seen Ken barrel down to that last oxer and have the rail, so I was probably a little bit conservative there.”  Kraut left all the rails in the cups, but her time of 32.21 seconds was definitely beatable.

Engle made quick work of taking over the lead.  She struck a strong gallop on Wapino, and really shaved the angle and galloped to a long spot at the second fence, a vertical.  “I had nothing to lose, so I took a real shot with him,” Engle said.  “He’s usually a pretty slow horse, but I’ve been trying to go faster with him, and he’s been getting better.  He covers a lot of ground, and for a really big horse, he turns really well.”  Her clear round in 29.85 seconds set the mark of Ward.

Ward gave it his all, but Sapphire is known for consistent clean jumping over big fences, not her turn of foot.  The liver chestnut mare galloped for all she was worth, and gave big efforts over the fences, but came home just short of Engle’s time, in 29.98 seconds.  “I didn’t get to see Margie go, but you always know she’s fast,” Ward said.  “Sapphire isn’t the fastest horse in the world.  I went as fast as I could, because I knew I had the overall championship sewn up already.”

So, Wapino won, with Sapphire and Ward in second and Kraut in third on Miss Independent.  Todd Minikus, who was third in Friday night’s class, had a light rail and the fastest four-fault first round today to take fifth, and the reserve Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship.