The second win in three years by Paul O'Shea and Primo De Revel in the $75,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix of Lake Placid highlighted the 46th annual Lake Placid Horse Show, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC. The win by the combination from Ireland was the fifth time in the last six years that an Irish rider has won the class. Because of heavy morning rain, all classes, including the Grand Prix, were moved out of the all-grass Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field and into the horse show's Jumper Annex with the all-weather footing installed last year. No classes were canceled and everything ran smoothly. "The organizers are really to be commended for what they've done here with the footing," O'Shea said. "It settled in beautifully and made for a great Grand Prix today." Other riders and trainers agreed. "The footing is absolutely perfect," said Pan American Games double Gold Medalist Christine McCrea. "It's the best of any place we've been this whole year." "The footing could not be any better," said four-time U.S. Olympic veteran Anne Kursinski. "It's as good as you can find anywhere." "I'd say it's the best footing in the country," said Irish Olympic veteran Kevin Babington. "You really can't find any better anywhere." Of the 19 starters in the Grand Prix, five advanced to the jump-off with fault-free rides over the 16-jump, first-round course designed by Show Jumping Hall of Famer Steve Stephens. O'Shea and Primo De Revel, the 14-year-old, Belgian Warmblood gelding on whom he won the class in 2013, were first to return for the seven-jump tiebreaker course and they set a tough mark to beat with a clean ride in 36.731 seconds. "I knew there were some fast horses coming after me so I gave it a good go," O'Shea said. "I put a little pressure on him to go fast and he got the job done. He's really a fantastic horse. I've had him since he was six and he's always ready. The change in surface didn't faze him at all. He's always organized and ready to give his best no matter what. "I think Steve (Stephens) did a fabulous job setting the course on short notice. The class really ran well and I think everyone is happy." There were two other clean rides in the jump-off, both turned in by 21-year-old riders. Catherine Tyree of Chicago, IL finished clean in 38.795 seconds on Enjoy Louis to take second place and Callie Smith of Bernardsville, NJ finished clean in 43.851 seconds on Captain Krutzmann to take third. Olympic Silver Medalist Peter Leone finished fourth on My Pleasure and Cara Raether-Carey was fifth on Winston. O'Shea's win follows previous wins in the class by riders from Ireland that include Darragh Kenny (2010 and 2012), Jonathan McCrea (2011) and his own in 2013. Because of the rain, the $10,000 Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort Junior Jumper Classic and the $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic, both part of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series, were combined into one Junior/Amateur-Owner class. In the combined class, Catherine Tyree swept the top two places, earning the win, and the High Amateur-Owner Jumper championship, on Don't Go and placing second on Free Style Van Polderhof. Four of the 17 horses in the class advanced to the jump-off and Tyree claimed the top two spots with the only two clean jump-off rides.
