McLain Ward and Victoria Colvin Ride to Top Honors in the Hampton Classic’s Wednesday Open Jumper Classes

McLain Ward and Victoria Colvin Ride to Top Honors in the Hampton Classic’s Wednesday Open Jumper Classes

The Hampton Classic’s jumper ring featured some of the sport’s top competitors on Wednesday during the $10,000 Wölffer Estate 1.40m Open Jumper and the $10,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m Open Jumper classes. Both speed courses were designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade.

The $10,000 Wölffer Estate 1.40m Open Jumper welcomed 35 competitors onto the 13-effort course to kick off the day’s featured classes. Five-time Olympian McLain Ward of Brewster, N.Y., rode Temple Equestrian LLC’s Chapka De Moyon to the fastest of 17 clear rounds with a blistering time of 58.896 seconds.


“The course was all about turns, and I had a really fast, super careful mare that I own in partnership with Grace Debney and her Temple Equestrian,” Ward said. “She’s just a great little horse.”


Alessandra Volpi of Woodside, Calif., took second place aboard her own Absolute Du Mio with a time of 62.950 seconds. Third went to Adrienne Sternlicht of Greenwich, Conn., and Shadowfax 111, owned by Starlight Farms 1 LLC, for their time of 63.741 seconds.


Jumps were immediately reset for the 12 riders participating in the $10,000 Douglas Elliman 1.45m Open Jumper, comprising 14 jumping efforts. Ward and Chapka De Moyon returned to the ring to start the class, but an unlucky rail at the last fence knocked them out of the rankings.


The first clear round was ridden by Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, Fla., and BMT Partners’ Gemino, who won Tuesday’s $10,000 Storeybrook Farm 1.40m Open Jumper Section B. Although four other horse-and-rider combinations had fault-free rounds, none could catch their time of 63.415 seconds.


“I’m very happy and excited to have won,” Colvin said. “I just went for a smooth, clear round. The course was nice and direct, and my horse felt incredible.”


Second place went to Ailish Cunniffe of South Salem, N.Y., who piloted Graylish LLC’s Carlotta 249 to a time of 64.951 seconds. Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa finished third with a time of 65.842 seconds aboard Major Tom, owned by Artemis Equestrian Farm LLC.


Source: Press Release