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= ASPCA Maclay Finals = The National Horse Show, hosted at The Kentucky Horse Park, has the ASPCA Maclay Finals is a equitation final for junior riders, which is judged on the riders seat on both the flat and over fences course.

History
Beginning back in 1933, the "Horsemanship Cup" was donated by Alfred B. Maclay, an officer of the ASPCA and president of the National Horse Show from 1922-1924.

A competition centered on rewarding good horsemanship was Alfreds intentions. Composing the format with equal part emphasis on flat and over fences riding, hoping to set out the most well rounded riders with respect and compassion for their equine partners.

The very first running was called the "Horsemanship Cup, presented by the ASPCA and donated bu Alfred B. Maclay Esquire. Only 29 riders competed in the initial year in 1933, with Audrey Hasler Chesney receiving the win. Held at Madison Square Garden, the new championship became a popular event, increasing in size by each year to come.

In 2011, the National Horse Show moved venues to the Kentucky Horse Park, where it is still currently held today.

Current Competition
Commonly called the "Maclay", the current championship attracts hundreds of junior riders vying to compete in the class, having to go through gathering qualification points.

The format continues to be two sections, flat and over fences. The over fences portion is composed of at least eight obstacles set at a height of 3' 6", and requires a rollback turns, a narrow jump, and a triple bar. All qualifying horsemanship classes as well as regionals must follow these over fences course requirements.

Since 2015, finals are held over two days held in the Altec Arena at The Kentucky Horse Park, under the name ASPCA Maclay Final Championship. The flat section is traditionally held on the first day, followed the next day by the over fences portion.

With the larger amount of competitors over the years, a second over fences portion has been implemented. This second portion is commonly known as the "test", where the top four combined scores from the first and second round go through a shortened course. The judges may call for the trading of horses between the top four riders, testing the riders versatility on other horses to determine the most well rounded rider. This form of testing has been common in the last ten years because of the small divide usually between top competitors in points, as well as being a crowd favorite.

Qualifications
Competition is open to members of USEF or Equine Canada, who have not reached their 18th birthday. Riders and trainers attending must be members of the ASPCA and NHSAA (National Horse Show Association of American).

During the year, signed up members will compete in ASPCA Horsemanship Classes held at hundreds of USEF sanctioned horse shows across the country. Points are rewarded based on the numbers of exhibitors in the class and the placing rewarded to the rider. Below is the point system currently in use. Riders residing in CT, NJ, and NY must collect 50 points over competing in at most 14 classes. For all other states, juniors must gather 25 points by competing in at most 14 Horsemanship Classes at qualified USEF shows. Continuing to compete after acquiring the number of points needed to qualify will result in disqualification from being eligible to compete in Regionals. A rider may compete in over 14 classes if a region change was implemented during the qualifying period.

Regionals are held in eight different regions in the United States, and a riders address will determine which of the regions a rider will compete in. Regionals holds the same format as the championship/finals, having an under saddle portion and over fences.

All top riders won ribboned at a Regional competition are invited to compete in the Finals in November by the National Horse Show. In addition, to the top riders, a percentage of riders from each regionals, who may not have ribboned, will be invited to compete in the Finals. This is determined by the amount of entries in each region, and is released at most 48 hours after the last regionals competition.

Past Winners
Many of the past Maclay Finals winners have gone on to become successful decorated equestrians. Including Olympic medalists Bill Steinkraus, Frank Chapot, Conrad Homfeld, Leslie Burr Howard, Peter Wylde, Katharine Burdsall, and George Morris.