Laura Chapot’s win in the $100,000 Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix put an exclamation on her dominant performance at the I Love New York Horse Show, the second week of the 2022 Lake Placid Horse Shows, Sponsored by Bainbridge Farms, LLC, and Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC. Chapot’s win made her just the seventh rider ever to sweep both Lake Placid Grand Prix in the same year.
Riding Diarado’s Flying Dutchman, Chapot was one of nine entries to reach the jump-off with a fault-free ride over the 15-effort, first-round course designed by Bernardo Costa Cabral, course designer for next year’s FEI World Cup™ Finals in Omaha. First to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker course was Alex Matz on Erdento Van De Leeuwerk. Matz, who won the class last year on Davidson, set the mark to beat with a clean ride in 36.557 seconds.
Matz’s lead held through the next five rides before Chapot returned on her 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding. She blazed to a clean ride in 35.205 seconds in what proved to be the winning ride. Matz’s time held up for second place with third going to Mattias Tromp who finished clean in 36.849 seconds on Infuria P&P. Fourth went to Carly Anthony on Heavenly W with Matz taking fifth on Ikigai.
“With that horse, I just have to keep him moving and focused on the next jump,” Chapot said. “He’s naturally a very fast horse and his turns have gotten a lot better. We’ve developed a very good level of trust between the two of us and I can be very patient at the jump. As long as I know he’s looking at the jump, then I know he tries his best.
“All of our horses love this field and it is so great that we get to come up here each year,” she added. “It’s always the best two weeks of our summer!”
With her win on Chandon Blue in the first week’s $100,000 Great American Insurance Group Grand Prix Presented by Alliant Private Client, Chapot joined a select group of riders to sweep both Lake Placid Grand Prix in the same year. The list includes Show Jumping Hall of Famers Leslie Burr Howard and Margie Goldstein Engle, as well as Debbie Dolan-Sweeney, Jeffrey Welles, Darragh Kenny and Alex Matz who turned the trick last year.
Following her win, Chapot was honored with the Richard & Diana Feldman Perpetual Trophy for Excellence, awarded to the rider with the most combined money won in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix. Chapot’s mother, Mary, was honored with the Leading Trainer award.
