Fifty years to the week after her mom, Mary, won the first show jumping Grand Prix ever held in the U.S., Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ won the $75,000 Equine Insurance Services/Great American Grand Prix at the 46th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC. One of four starters to reach the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 16-jump, first-round course designed by Richard Jeffery, Chapot was the last to try the eight-jump tiebreaker course at the North Elba Show Grounds. The lead was held by Devin Ryan of Long Valley, NJ, who had completed the jump-off clean in 42.661 seconds on Cooper, the eight-year-old, Dutch Warmblood on whom he had won the $30,000 CMJ Sporthorse Jumper Classic on Friday. Chapot blazed over the course on ISHD Dual Star, a 13-year-old, Irish Sporthorse mare, and took the win by finishing clean in 42.214 seconds. "You really had to go fast the entire course," Chapot said. "The one in the lead had gone very fast and if there was going to be any chance to win I knew I had to go fast right from the start. I had no intention of holding back. You might as well not go in the ring at all if you're not going to go for it." Finishing third behind Chapot and Ryan was 21-year-old Northwestern University junior Catherine Tyree of Chicago with a clean jump-off ride in 45.617 seconds on Enjoy Louis and fourth was 2011 Pan American Games double Gold Medalist Christine McCrea of Windsor, CT who had four jump-off faults and a time of 43.410 seconds on Wannick WH. Fifty years ago this week, Chapot's mother Mary, a two-time Olympian and an inductee in the Show Jumping Hall of Fame, won the first show jumping Grand Prix ever held in the U.S. at the Chagrin Valley Horse Show in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to the Grand Prix, Madison Goetzmann rode Wrigley to victory in the $10,000 Crowne Plaza Resort Junior Jumper Classic and Sima Morgello rode Orientales to the win in the $10,000 Whiteface Lodge Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic. Both Classics are member events of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. In the Crowne Plaza Junior Classic, Goetzmann was one of three entries to reach the jump-off with a clean ride over the 15-jump, first-round course. She then rode clean again and finished in 39.728 seconds to claim the win over Morgan Ward who finished second with a clean ride in 39.811 seconds on Quite High. Third place went to McKayla Langmeier who had four jump-off faults and a time of 40.449 seconds on Gabriel. In the Whiteface Lodge Amateur-Owner Classic, only two of the 20 entries rode clean in the first round. Both rode clean again in the jump-off with Morgello claiming the win with the faster time of 41.374 seconds. Brian Sweeney placed second with a time of 43.390 seconds on Clearway. Also, Tegan Elizabeth Treacy and Carolyn Lackey won the two sections of the Mirror Lake Inn Adult Jumper Classics, both of which are part of the North American League (NAL) and Washington International Horse Show Championship Series. Treacy won the section for riders age 18-40 on Catalyst and Lackey won the section for riders over 40 on Dignity. For Treacy and Catalyst it was the second straight week winning the younger Adult Classic.
