ASPCA Maclay Regional Qualifiers Award Six Winners
RELEASE: September 25, 2008
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Phelps Media Group
Six of the eight ASPCA Maclay Regional qualifiers have been held and top junior riders came home with victory. The ASPCA Maclay National Championship will be held at the Syracuse Invitational Sporthorse Tournament, featuring the 125th National Horse Show. The show will run October 29-November 2, 2008, at the Oncenter Complex in Syracuse, NY.
The ASPCA Maclay Horsemanship class has been held since 1933, and it is one of the most prestigious competitions for junior riders in the United States. Its winners are some of the biggest names in equestrian sport. Previous winners include William Steinkraus (1941), Frank Chapot (1948), George Morris (1952), Leslie Burr (1972), Stacia Klein Madden (1987), and Nicole Shahinian Simpson (1992). Last year's ASPCA Maclay National Championship winner was Kimberly McCormack of Clermont, NJ.
The winner of the Region 2 qualifier was 16-year-old Jacqueline Lubrano of Glenmoore, PA. She piloted her horse Golou II, a 15-year-old Hannoverian gelding. Golou was her sister Elizabeth's equitation horse and her sister finished second at last year's National Championship. This was only Jacqueline's third show on him. Lubrano trains with Beacon Hill Farm.
Lubrano was third after the jumping phase and moved up to first after the flat phase. She stayed on top after the top six riders were tested. This will be Lubrano's third year at the ASPCA Maclay National Championship. "I want to stay consistent in the equitation in all of the finals; that's a big goal for me," she said.
The Region 8 winner was Shelby Wakeman of Westlake Village, CA. The 17-year-old rode San Francisco, the horse that she placed third with at last year's National Championship. "My horse was amazing and everything just worked out beautifully. I don't really know how to explain it," Wakeman recalled. "When I walked into the ring, I just relaxed and everything came naturally." Wakeman sat in second place after the jumping phase and moved up to first after the flat phase. There was no test given in the class. Wakeman trains with Karen Healey Stables.
The youngest Regional qualifier winner was in Region 3. Riding as a thirteen-year-old, Hasbrouck Donovan of Gainesville, FL, piloted Levity to the win. She trains with Don Stewart Stables. Donovan rode well in both phases to ensure that a work-off was not necessary.
"I was really nervous," Donovan revealed. "The course was hard; it was definitely a little bit of a challenge. We had to do rollbacks to gates, and I thought I did that pretty well." This will be Donovan's first time showing in the ASPCA Maclay National Championship. She remarked, "I'm excited that I made it and that I get to go to Syracuse. I would like to get a ribbon there hopefully. I felt very good and that all of my work paid off."
Seventeen-year-old Chris Nelson of Dallas, TX, took home the win in Region 5. He is a working student for Don Stewart and rode Stewart's new horse Caruso to victory. This is Nelson's first year showing in the equitation divisions. "It was very exciting to win; I was really quite shocked because I hadn't done equitation very much before," he said. "Bibby Farmer Hill was up there for Don, and she did so much for me. I really appreciate all that she did."
"I'm really excited that I get to go to indoors," he added. "I've only been to Capital Challenge, and this is my first and last chance to do the Maclay. I'm not sure who I'll be riding, but I've been riding a lot of different horses and trying to get prepared for anything they ask us to do."
In Region 6, it was 16-year-old Audrey Carlson of Boulder, CO, who was awarded the blue ribbon. "I was really excited and kind of speechless at the same time," said a smiling Carlson after the contest. "I wasn't expecting it at all since I had a few mistakes, so it was really nice."
"The (Maclay Regional classes) are very important to me," added Carlson, "just becaus