Oof. That’s a very long day. For everybody.
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No doubt. Wasn’t Maclay limited to 150 entries at one point or does my memory deceive me?
https://nhs.showmanagementsystem.com/ this doesn’t have them in order, but you can click to see who the riders planned to ride, and if you click on the horse’s name you can see the trainer.
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It was down around that number for a while, but it’s been gradually increasing over the years. Especially once it moved to Kentucky, where they have plenty of room for more horses.
For a little history lesson, it used to be that everyone who qualified was eligible to show at the Maclay final at Madison Square Garden, which was a bit of a logistical nightmare in the middle of New York City. (But also a fantastic and fabulous setting! Lol.)
In 1982, they held the first round on Friday at Overpeck right outside the city in New Jersey, and only the top 100 got to show at the Garden on Sunday. That approach did not make everyone very happy, so the following year in 1983 they started the system of regionals to narrow down the number who get to show at the National Horse Show for the Maclay final.
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that was an embarrassingly tight martingale
A couple of these riders have had short curb reins, long snaffle reins, and short martingales, and I’d have preferred they do the opposite of those things.
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Alexander Alston straight to the top for me, dawg.
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Same for me. I think he was able to maintain a strong pace and presence and answer the questions.
Glad to see him have a great first round. He’s had some tough breaks at other finals this year.
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unfortunate run out for Campbell Hudkins
I can’t say what happened after fence 8 because the stream quit again, but impressed with Shelby Davis’s riding. Her horse wishes to be pretty much anywhere else at this time, and she is inspiring his participation. I felt like the stop at fence 8 was inevitable, but not for lack of trying on her part.
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And down goes the feed again. 
Yep, excellent riding on her part, even if they won’t get through to the next round.
As for the rest of it, guess we’ll never know since the feed went down again.
Apologies for the blurry screenshot, but Ava posted an Instagram story from the booth where they’re doing commentary. Nice to be able to visualize their perspective of the course.
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I am going to make a totally irrelevant comment. I really hate it when martingales have the nameplate visible. I want the plate covered by the end of the strap so the light doesn’t reflect off of it.
Relevant comment: Kate Hagerty’s horse is giving side eye to everything, but he is CUTE as a button! They made a great track to fence 8.
Who else is counting down the trips to the drag break and trying to figure out how long it will last in order to get other things done? Lol.
On the schedule, it’s a walk and drag and is posted for about 20 minutes. I should be able to set supplements and get some of my PT done…
Hmm. I don’t know how they’re going to tear down the jumps, drag, re-build, and have the next 60 kids and trainers walk the course in 20 minutes. But maybe.
Alida - lovely trip!
beautiful round from Alexa Lignelli!
10 minute walk to start, then with the powers combined of all the jump crew, I think you can break down and do a touch-up style drag in 10 minutes. They’ve only had 60 trips, so the footing doesn’t need to be worked so much.
