Kristy McCormack Continues Gold Medal String

So far, it has been a gold medal season for Kristy McCormack, a working student who continued her string of shiny medallions with a pair at the 2002 BET/USET Show Jumping Talent Search-East Finals, held October 6-7.

The Claremont, N.J., rider led almost all the way through the two-day horsemanship test that focuses on identifying under-21s to develop their potential to ride for future USET show jumping squads.

"It was right up there, between Kristy and Amy (Lowrey, the runner up). But Amy made a major riding error," said trainer Susan Schoellkopf, who shared judging duties with grandprix rider, Lauren Hough.

"Kristy was very smart and the most consistent over the weekend," said Hough, after the women considered the 53 contenders in the championships at USET's training center outside of Gladstone. The top four riders worked off in the fourth and last phase in a world championship format, riding their own horses first over a course. Then they repeated the route on each of their rivals' mounts.

Uniformity was the factor that put Kristy, 18, on top although she had two rails down. Both horsewomen felt one was Kristy's fault, but the other came down as her mount tired and touched the plank.

"I was trying to concentrate. The horses get really agitated toward the end, and my horse is hot and doesn't like to be pushed too hard," she said of her Riverdance, a 10-year-old bay, Dutch warmblood. She rode him to 11th in the finals last year and was seventh on him in 2000. She had, though, just come from a second place in the Equitation Classic at the Capitol Challenge the week before and was on a roll that began last summer.

"This year has been so incredible for me; I just can't believe it. I was on the gold medal team at the North American Young Riders' Championships. I won the Calvin Klein Derby at Southampton (the Hampton Classic), and the Jumper Classic there, too, on (Beacon Hill Partners) Margo. And I won the Eastern Region Maclay Championships a couple of weeks ago," said Kristy. Shortly before her ride-off rounds, she was awarded a gold medal for her 20 victories in the USET Talent Search qualifiers.

Her parents moved from their New York state home four years ago so she could be closer to her trainers, Frank and Stacia Madden, at their Beacon Hill facility in Colts Neck, N.J. Now she has only the USA Eq Hunt Seat Medal, the Washington International Equitation Classic and the Maclay championships left to close out her junior career. She is deferring college plans at least a year after she turns professional this winter and begins work at Beacon Hill.