LEXINGTON, Ky.--Carlee McCutcheon of Aubrey, Texas won the ASPCA National Championship over 228 juniors after two jumping rounds and a flat phase at the Naional Horse Sowon Sunday, Nov, 5.

Carlee McCutcheon winning the ASPCA Maclay (Photo by Shawn McMillen)McCutcheon followed up her win in the Medal Finals in Harrisburg by winning the Maclay to become one of only 17 that have won both events in the same year, and 9 of those have gone on to compete internationally for the U.S.

McCutcheon, riding Chacco Star, led the competition from start to finish to win the championship.

“I think having a partnership like I have with Choco is a big advantage for me," said McCutcheon. "He makes me so confident and brave every time I walk in the ring. I know he’s so good at the equitation. He’s very seasoned at it. He’s way better at it than I am, for sure.”

McCutcheon said she was grateful for the show and her support system, which includes her parents, grandparents, trainers TJ O’Mara and Max Amaya, and the entire team at Stonehenge.

Carlee comes from a long line of champion reiners including her parents, Tom and Mandy McCutcheon, with Tom having two team gold medals and individual gold and silver medals at the World Equestrian Games and Mandy having four NRA Derby titles and three National Reining Breeders Classic Championships.

“I was really glad to see that she kept her cool this year," said one of her trainers, TJ O'Mara. "You can really see that she matured as a rider. Like I said, I’m glad it could have ended on such an incredible note.”

Amaya and O’Mara, the trainers who guided McCutcheon through the challenging championship, received the Maclay National Championship Trainer Award, and McCutcheon also received the Wilson Dennehy Award, granted to the rider with the highest score across both the Medal and Maclay finals.

 

TEXAN Eleanor Rudnicki on Waldo was second and Tessa Downey of Houston, Texas on HH Moonshine was third.

"Waldo’s a little newer to us, but he’s competed in high-level jumpers, and he’s always been great," said Rudnicki, who is trained by Berry Porter and the North Run team. "I got to show him at the USET finals, and he was perfect there. So I was pretty confident going in today that he was going to be good, and it was going to go well.”

“I finished with the same result this year as I did last year, but to me, the outcome could not be more different," said Downey, trained by Peter J Pletcher. "I am a lot prouder of this result than I am of my result last year. I competed on him at my first Maclay finals, and I’ve now competed on him at my last Maclay Finals. ”

The course began with a challenging sequence: a bending line leading to another bending line that required riders to transition from a forward pace to condense their horse’s stride for the next jump.

Fenes included a big triple bar, a four-stride line leading to a narrow jump, and a unique combination of one-stride to a five-stride line, followed by another one-stride.

A significant addition was the “Gucci” wall, introduced last year, providing both a visual spectacle and a technical challenge as riders had to approach it with a forward and alert mindset.

After the first rounds, McCutcheon was in the top spot on the standby list with an impressive score of 96.5, with Rudnicki was second with a score of 94.75, and Maddie Tosh was third with a score of 93.5.

The cut-off score to remain in the top 24 after the first round was 87.125.

The juniors then advanced to the flat phase, where they rode with and without stirrups, counter canter, lead changes, and extended trot.

The same 24 riders returned for the second round over fences in reverse order of score.

They faced a series of technical turns and questions including being asked to hand gallop jump 4 early in the course, setting the horses on a large stride that created a challenging question later in the course, involving a short outside line consisting of a combination and then six strides to the oxer out.

No additional testing occurred after the second round.

Others who have won both the Medal and Maclay in the same year and went on to compete interationally for the U.S. include Geroge Morris, Wilson Dennehy, Mary Mairs Chapot, Bernie Traurig, Chrys Jone Tauber, Conrad Homfeld, Ray Texel, Brianne Goutal and Lillie Keenan.

While the Maclay began in 1933, the Medal was presentedon points earlier andhas only been a competiton sice 1948, so top riders who won the maclay such as Billy Steinkraus and Frank Chapot didn'thave a chance to win both.

Riders that won or ribboned at the Maclay and went on to win team or individual medals at the Olympics include Steinkraus, Chapot, Morris, Michael Page, Michael Plumb, Leslie Howard, Homfeld, Greg Best, Lisa Jaquin, Peter Leone, Chris Kappler, Beezie Madden, McLain Ward, Peter Wylde, Kent Farrington, Lucy Davis and Meredith Michaels Beerbaum