Olympian Peter Leone and Wayfarer dominated a challenging field to win Sunday’s $100,000 Purina Animal Nutrition Grand Prix, the finale of the Spring Saugerties Series at HITS-on-the-Hudson. Leone also claimed third place on My Pleasure, owned by My Pleasure LLC. Leone and Wayfarer, owned by Leone’s own Lionshare Farm, finished in 44.679 and were one of three entries to go double-clear out of the eight that moved into the jump-off in the Grand Prix, which was webcast live on HitsShows.com and is available for replay. Laura Chapot, who placed second on Quointreau Un Prince, also went double-clear and was a second shy of Leone’s first-place time. Chapot claimed fourth place, as well, on ISHD Dual Star, with a faster time of 44.853 but four faults. “I couldn’t be more proud of my two up-and-coming international horses,” said Leone, of Greenwich, Connecticut. Wayfarer, he said, is a special horse to him and his family. “He was born in my barn. Raised in my fields. He has always, always been a good horse, and a winner since he was 5 years old.” Going first in the jump-off was Michael Hughes on Luxina, owned by Christina Fried, who finished in 44.486 seconds, for the fastest course time, but had eight faults to earn sixth place. Second was Leone on My Pleasure, who finished clean in 46.306 and set the Great American Time to Beat. “It’s always an advantage to ride two horses, versus one. You know the track, you know where you can make a tighter turn, where you can gallop faster. Going early with My Pleasure in such a big money class, I wanted to be prompt and clear,” said Leone. Chapot went third on Quointreau Un Prince, whom she owns with Mclain Ward. They finished in a clean 45.740 and reset the Great American Time to Beat, which would hold for two more rounds. Next was Amanda Derbyshire on her Goldbreaker, finishing in 50.892 with eight faults to land them in eighth place. Leann Kelly on Leander, owned by Honor Way Farm LLC, took to the ring next and finished in 45.927 but eight faults put them into seventh. Going sixth, Leone and Wayfarer went clean over all the obstacles and beat Chapot’s time by barely over one second to move into the lead. Next Chapot went again, on ISHD Dual Star, owned by Mary Chapot, but had four faults at the third fence to place fourth. Chapot and ISHD Dual Star also won the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix in both Weeks I and III. Last in the ring was Jeffery Welles on Cord 11, owned by Meco Equestrian LLC, but he, too, had four faults at the third fence and finished fifth. Leone said, “I’m so proud of how both of my horses jumped, and especially proud of my home-bred Wayfarer; this is his first big time Grand Prix victory.” Leone added that he wanted to thank his sponsors “and my entire support team at Lionshare Farm, especially Wayfarer's groom Valerie Huckstepp.” Leone said he plans to jump Wayfarer in the Saugerties Summer Series and at the Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix CSI-5*, presented by Wells Fargo, on September 6. “I have a really good feeling about Wayfarer excelling at the 5-star level in the future. He’s almost there and yesterday was proof of our progress.” He continued, “I’ll be back for this summer and then the 5-star in September. I take my hat off to Tom Struzzieri and the improvements he continues to make at his shows, in particular the improvements he has made with the footing in all of his arenas, and the effort he makes at new and cutting edge jump material each year.” The HITS Saugerties Series returns to HITS-on-the-Hudson for three weeks this summer, July 15 – August 7, when the Sunday Grand Prix purses will grow progressively each week from $50,000 to $75,000 to $100,000. Additional live webcasts will be announced and shown on HitsShows.com. The Saugerties Series culminates in the fall with the HITS Championship in September, which includes the Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix CSI-5*, presented by Wells Fargo.
