The $35,000 Hermès Sellier Cup preceded Saturday's feature class with a starting field of 53 entries. Georgina Bloomberg continued her winning streak in her hometown of New York, claiming her second blue ribbon at the American Gold Cup with Gotham Enterprizes, LLC's Manodie II H.
"I bought Manodie II H at the end of last year," said Bloomberg. "I didn't bring her to Europe this summer so I haven't been able to ride her as much as I would have liked. Whenever I did come home, I would make some time to spend getting to know her and forming a partnership. She's very careful and scopey, and I think she has a lot of potential for the future. I wasn't sure that I was going to go in there and take a shot at it, but everything came up. She has a big stride and she's quick across the jumps. I am definitely going to aim her for some of the bigger classes in Florida. I am going to spend the fall rebuilding our relationship since I've been away from her all summer."
Fifteen entries cleared Wade's first round course to move on to the jump-off, but only four were able to jump double clear. Christine McCrea and Nektarina B, owned by Candy Tribble, were the first to jump clear over the short course, crossing the finish line in 38.810 seconds, which would hold up for fourth place. Amanda Derbyshire and Luibanta BH, owned by David Gochman, were the next to successfully tackle the jump-off course six rounds later. They took over the lead in 36.488 seconds.
Bloomberg followed Derbyshire with her second mount qualified for the jump-off. She piloted the 11-year-old Oldenburg mare to a faultless effort and outpaced Derbyshire by two seconds in 34.800 seconds to grab first place honors. Alison Robitaille and Bertram and Diana Firestone's Konstanze were the final horse and athlete to enter the Grand Prix Field for the $35,000 Hermès Sellier Cup. They finished with no faults in 37.158 seconds to round out the top three of the class.
"It's was a really nice, inviting course," said Bloomberg. "I think it was perfect for some of the second string horses here and some of the up-and-coming riders. I've been jumping so many big shows all summer it's nice to come and just have a nice, inviting 1.45m course. It was really fun out there, I really enjoyed doing it. I rode two horses in this class that I haven't been able to show much this summer and it was fun to get to know them again on the field out there."
As the American Gold Cup gears up for its final day of competition, Bloomberg looks forward to competing her trusted and experienced mount Lilli in Sunday's $216,000 Longines FEI World Cup™ Jumping New York CSI4*-W.