Laura Chapot swept the top three places in the $5,000 Lake Placid CVB 1.40m Power and Speed Stake Wednesday at the 48th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows, presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC and sponsored by Bainbridge Farm.
Chapot won the class on Out of Ireland, completing the six-jump, speed section of the course fault-free in 28.059 seconds. She also placed second on Zealous with a clean ride in 28.581 seconds and third on Shooting Star with a clean ride in 29.392 seconds. For good measure, she added an eighth-place finish with a four-fault ride in 29.235 seconds on Calafornia.
Chapot also came out on top in the $1,500 Pepsi Beverage Company 1.35m Jumper Class, riding Umberto to victory over a 27-horse field. Twelve of the 27 starters qualified for the jump-off with clean first rounds and Chapot turned in the fastest fault-free ride in the jump-off, finishing in 33.187 seconds to claim the win. Jimmy Torano, winner of Sunday's $75,000 Devoucoux Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix of Lake Placid, took the next two places. He finished second with a clean ride in 33.804 seconds on Dutch Lady and third with a clean ride in 34.290 seconds on Armageddon.
In the $1,200 NBC 5 1.30m Jumper Class, Oliver Ritter rode Son Quaprice Valette to victory over a 35-horse field. Thirteen horses rode clean over the one-round course and Ritter claimed the win with the fastest fault-free ride, finishing in 61.276 seconds. Two-time Olympic Silver Medalist Anne Kursinski placed second with a time of 65.146 seconds on Carpion.
The I Love New York Horse Show runs through Sunday featuring the $100,000 Great American Insurance Group Grand Prix presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC and sponsored by Bainbridge Farm on Saturday, July 8. Saturday also features the horse shows' 25th annual Doggie Costume Contest, sponsored by the Lake Placid Lodge. All leashed dogs are invited to participate in the contest which is free of charge! The competition takes place at 12:00 noon near the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. Contest participants receive free admission to the horse show that day and all canine contestants receive special doggie treats!
The Lake Placid Horse Shows offer over $535,000 in prize money and feature the nation's best horses and riders competing in four show rings. The horse shows offers more than 100 classes of competition each week for all levels of competition ranging from young children on ponies to grand prix competitors and Olympic competitors and medalists. Each show is USEF 'AA' rated for hunters and 6* rated for Jumpers.
Admission to the horse show is just $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. For a behind the scenes look at the horse show, guided walking tours are offered on Thursday and Friday at 11:30 a.m. The tour groups meet at the horse show retail booth, and the tours, costing just $1.00, last approximately one hour.