Maybe you’re thinking of Sarah Milliren?
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I think that was it. Thanks!
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I think it’s a well-documented result that the winners of the medal finals ride with well-known trainers, period. Missy, Andre, Ken, Stacia, Frank. See the research here: https://www.amazon.com/Man-Walks-Into-Barn-Fascinating/dp/1646010558 The information in the book about the # of classes, shows, etc for the riders in the Maclay second round group was eye-opening, for sure.
This makes me think that the change to the Maclay was maybe due to a suggestion by trainers in this group? 288 riders, yikes. That’s even bigger than the USEF Medal.
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Will post once I finish it. The photos are processed but I need to arrange them into a movie. I’ll also post another movie that I made with some of the photos I’ve taken for the project.
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Not at all…anyone can play, the rules are the same…and thats the point. Everybody has to win a couple classes and get past the semi final to play in the playoff. How hard is that to figure? Sure the kid with a nice horse who rides well is probably going to do better than the one that doesn’t and doesn’t find the jumps as well. Its always going to be about money and most of the time thats the way it is… its not “turning into a popularity contest” to a degree it always has been… But many finals winners were working students who didnt have much…but they rode well and rode alot which a good majority of kids today do not. I remember when Kelley Farmer, who was a good friend in my era, won. She had a borrowed horse and wasnt really an EQ kid…but she could flat out ride…and rode everything. A lesson or two a week and showing once a month isnt going to get a finals ribbon…no matter how nice your horse is…thats just the reality.
As said a couple times upthread, it really is an honor and privilege just to compete in the Finals. Our barn is not great at the equitation, we do well at the regional level, but the kids just hope to have a respectable round at the finals and to make it around the course with a major mistake, doing all the numbers and so forth. But even this is out of reach for kids not training with the usual suspects or without access to suitable mounts and hours of practice time, multiple rides all year long at the horse shows (hunters, bigger jumpers included) and very likely multiple rides at indoors. The ring is terrifying in itself, in my view. The course last year was a little kinder to horses with normal 3’6 scope, but the two years prior were ridiculous, honestly requiring a solid 1.30 horse to make it look nice. A few years ago one of our riders had a lease fall through and I lent them my Amateur hunter who had been doing the 1.40 in her younger years in Europe. She can jump a solid 4ft course with long lines with a floppier, less than dead-eye rider like her owner, but she was really working to get through those 1 strides and wider oxers, not to mention that insanely long race track fencing thing that some riders did 3 in (don’t blame them in the least!). I give all these kids a lot of credit for trying, for being committed and to working under pressure, especially those enrolled in regular schools and engaging in regular teenager things.
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I think it’s a really, really, really fine balancing act to design an equitation course for a class with literally hundreds of riders who have qualified under widely varied conditions.
If it’s too easy, there are a lot of good rounds, and people will complain that the judges just picked their favorite riders.
If it’s too tough, the kids with less mileage or less horsepower will have a very bad day, which is no fun for anybody involved- those kids, their trainers, their families, and especially their horses.
The best riders will still rise to the top, but a lot of others will go home feeling very disappointed after they traveled across the country just for that class.
To me, the ideal situation is to have a course that separates them without putting the non-contenders in harm’s way. But that’s easier said than done, as we’ve seen many times over the years.
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I remember one year there was a course that was especially tough, resulting in multiple crashes. It wasn’t terribly long ago, but pre-Covid… it was tough to watch.
I’m sorry to say that’s happened more than once over the years. Especially at Harrisburg, with no regionals to filter out some of the less experienced riders.
I think it was either the Maclay or the USEF Medal final.
Thank you!!!
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Not surprisingly, it looks like virtually every regions top 3 were already qualified for the finals so this years “top 3 qualify” route via regionals was a completely moot point.
This year is definitely a bust with this optional regionals thing IMO. I’m very curious to see what happens come November and onward into regionals season in 2024.
Now time to fire up the live feed for Cap Challenge this week!
One aspect I wonder about is how many shows would be interested in hosting a regional if only a handful of kids are going to attend. I’m guessing it involves more expenses and headaches for the horse show.
It certainly seems like there were some pretty small numbers at the regionals this year. At least from the shows I checked.
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Totally. I do think forcing the regionals route next year for only 100 coveted spots will breathe life back into this format 
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It will certainly weed out the ones that shouldnt really be there. Thats the point of the regional. But this is the second or so “participation trophy” generation. I may watch it this year for kicks.
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