It came down to a four-rider jump-off speed round at the 2006 Rolex/USEF National Show Jumping Championship at the 123rd National Horse Show in Wellington, FL, on Sunday afternoon. And in a finish befitting the championships sponsor—Rolex—the crowds counted split seconds in the final speed test. When the last rider left the course and the points were tallied, McLain Ward and his Sapphire bested all challengers to win the title in a suspenseful, yet perfect finish to the work he began two night’s earlier in the first of two phases of the championship.

“It feels great, and very exciting,” said Ward. “I’ve always said that Sapphire was that kind of horse, and it was a very important event to win the Rolex. It was a nice way to end the year.”

As the main event of the last day of competition, the championship final phase saw 31 riders enter the Internationale Arena at the famed Palm Beach Polo Equestrian Club—not only home of the Winter Equestrian Festival, but venue for the country’s first outdoor Nations Cup. On a very warm and sun-soaked arena, there was no shortage of excellent rides from the horse-and-rider combinations that were determined to improve their standings from Friday night’s first phase, where a seven-rider jump-off was in order.

In the Sunday phase, Ward was joined by two of his 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games Silver-medal winning teammates—veteran jumper Margie Engle aboard Hidden Creek’s Wapino and Laura Kraut aboard Miss Independent, plus Ken Berkley aboard Carlos Boy.

At the end of Phase Two, these four riders had posted the only clean-and-clear rounds over the 15-fence course offered by Bolivia’s Jose Gamarra. It was a tough test and definitely one on par with the title at stake.

Ask some and they would say that it was a surprise that anyone made it through the day’s challenge without faults. One fence in particular—the middle jump in a particularly challenging triple combination at the spread of jumps at #10—caused rails to fall like the temperatures that swept across much of the country in the days preceding the competition. One rider after another watched their hopes for a win hit the ground, causing the spectators to show their approval with bursts of applause for any rider that had the nerves and talent to clear it without faults. On Sunday, two riders were eliminated and two retired on course.

Across the four times on course for the title, Ward and his 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare Sapphire dropped only one rail, during the Friday night speed round. On Sunday, their clean-and-clear first round set them up to come back and put down a fast time, cinching the honors with 29.98 seconds. The time allowed for the jump-off was 43 seconds.

Ward’s horse isn’t traditionally known as a speed horse, so his blazing turn over the sharp turns and demanding heights of the jump-off were something of a surprise—and a welcomed one at that. “Sapphire is not the fastest horse, so I was a little concerned,” said Ward. “But, I was trying to win, and I was trying to go as fast as I could. I knew I had the overall championships, so there was nothing to lose.”

Engle, a hometown favorite, and her 16-year-old Westphalian, thrilled the crowd as they tore across the field, cutting corners and covering a lot of ground with his big steps. Watching the gelding go, the tall horse rode beautifully and put down a speed round time of 29.85 seconds. It was enough for Engle to take home the Phase Two title and the Leading International Jumper Rider Challenge Trophy donated by the David Wright Family.

“Actually this was the first week that I’ve done Wapino with some speed. We did it earlier in the week and he handled it really well,” said Engle, the winner of the show jumping title in 2001 and 2003. “He’s always better the more he goes in the ring; he seems to get better and jump comfortable. I knew I