Ramsay originally hails from San Francisco, CA, and is competing at Old Salem Farm for the first time during the 2017 Spring Horse Shows. After several top finishes throughout the two-week show, Ramsay and Stranger 30, owned by The Stranger Group, were the final pair to return in an 11-horse jump-off over tracks built by 2017 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final course designer Alan Wade (IRL).
Ramsay and his 11-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Stakkato x Cheenook) saved the best for last and stopped the clock at 31.99 seconds to bump U.S. Olympic team gold medalist McLain Ward to second. Ward, currently ranked the number-two rider in the world, posted a time of 32.11 seconds riding Tina La Boheme, co-owned by Ward and Susie Heller.
Placing first and third on Saturday, Ramsay also piloted California 62, owned by The California Group, to a time of 32.63 seconds to round out the top three. Devin Ryan (USA) was fourth riding Eddie Blue, owned by LL Show Jumpers, LLC, after finishing double-clear in 32.90 seconds, and Mario Deslauriers (USA) capped the top five aboard Bardolina 2 in 33.70 seconds for Wishing Well Farm, LLC.
After recently partnering with U.S. Olympic gold medalist Chris Kappler, Ramsay is now based in Wellington, FL, and will be competing more on the East Coast in the coming months.
“It has been a great experience to be here,” said Ramsay. “Showing on the field is wonderful. It is a nice, natural field with some slope, and the ground is good. McLain is very fast and for the last week he has been beating me, so we decided to give it a go today.”
Of his jump-off round, which beat Ward’s by less than a second, Ramsay noted, “Stranger is naturally a very quick horse. He is quick across the ground and quite quick over the fences, so he is effective and that helps. I think we had a small edge everywhere and it was a lot of fun.”
Ramsay has had the ride on Stranger 30 for a year and a half and considers the mount a joy to ride, saying, “He is amazingly competitive. He is careful, quick, and really wants to please. He was just out there helping me out today.”