Olympic Veterans Head Entry List for 2016 Hampton Classic Horse Show
Top Names in the Sport Set the Stage for Exciting 41st Annual Event
Heading the list of impressive entries are double Olympic gold medalists McLain Ward and Beezie Madden, both of whom will have just returned from competing on the U.S. Show Jumping Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, a fourth Olympic appearance for each of them. In addition to his numerous Grand Prix wins around the globe, Ward clinched his first-ever Individual Gold medal at the 2015 Pan American Games along with a Team Bronze medal. He has won the Hampton Classic Grand Prix a record six times.
Also entered is fellow U.S. Olympic veteran Margie Engle, one of the most accomplished riders in U.S. history. She has been named AGA Rider of the Year a record ten times and was a team silver medalist at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games™. Todd Minikus, who took second place in the $250,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix in 2015, has won several Grand Prix competitions already this year, including the $216,000 Tryon Estates Grand Prix at the end of July. In addition to their individual successes, both Engle and Minikus were part of the silver-medal winning U.S. team in the FEI Nations Cup™ in La Baule, France earlier this year and were short-listed for the 2016 Olympic Show jumping Team.
Madden, who has been named the USEF Equestrian of the Year four times, also won an individual Bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games, Individual Silver and Team Bronze medals at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2006 and 2014, and she was the FEI World Cup™ Champion in 2013. In addition to her plethora of Grand Prix victories and participation on numerous gold medal-winning FEI Nations Cup™ teams, Madden became the only woman rider to ever win the prestigious Longines King George V Gold Cup in Hickstead, England in its 109-year history, a victory she scored consecutively in 2014 and 2015.
Ireland's Kevin Babington, winner of the Hampton Classic Grand Prix in 2014, will be seeking to reclaim his title after a streak of successes on the circuit this year, having most recently won the $75,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix of Lake Placid in July. Fellow Irishman Shane Sweetnam, will be heading to Long Island after a successful summer of competition in Europe, which included several top-ten placings along with two recent victories in his homeland at the Dublin International Horse Show. Paul O'Shea, winner of the $40,000 LONGINES Cup at last year's Classic, will also be competing this year and will be stiff competition for his countrymen.
American rider Richie Moloney, who won the Classic's $30,000 LONGINES Rider Challenge in 2013 and 2014, has also entered, as have crowd favorites Jessica Springsteen, winner of the 2014 $200,000 American Gold Cup, along with Georgina Bloomberg, Ward's teammate on the U.S. Bronze medal-winning team at the 2015 Pan Am Games.
Other top U.S. riders slated to compete include Olympic veterans Leslie Howard, Mario Deslauriers, Peter Leone and Peter Wylde. Additional riders include Callan Solem, who took seventh place at the 2016 FEI World Cup™ Jumping Final in Sweden where she was the best placed U.S. rider - and highest placed female rider - which earned her a spot on the short-list for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Show Jumping Team. Charlie Jacobs, who also competed at the 2016 FEI World Cup™ Final, will also be there.
Olympic and FEI World Equestrian Games™ veteran Daniel Bluman of Columbia is also entered for the Classic again this year, which will be his first show back on U.S. soil after competing at the 2016 Olympic Games. Bluman has also had a very successful 2016 competition season, having earned several top-ten placings at elite international shows in Belgium, China, France, Germany, Spain, England and Monte Carlo.
"We are really looking forward to welcoming these Olympic and world-class riders to the Hampton Classic Horse Show," said Shanette Barth Cohen, the horse show's Executive Director. "With the increase in prize money and the additional classes this year, we know the competition is going to be fierce and even more exciting than ever!"
The Hampton Classic Horse Show hosts more than 200 thrilling classes of competition for horses and riders of all ages and abilities. A wide range of hunter, jumper and equitation classes are offered at all levels, from leadline all the way up to grand prix level. Classes are also featured for riders with disabilities.
In addition to the six show rings, the Hampton Classic features a unique shopping experience like no other horse show in the nation. The Boutique Garden hosts more than 70 vendors for an amazing shopping where visitors can purchase anything their heart desires, whether it be a new car, designer clothing, jewelry or Hampton Classic merchandise. You can even adopt a new pet on Monday, August 29, when the ASPCA will host the 7th Annual ASPCA Adoption & Animal Welfare Day. There is also wide selection of dining options as well as a Farmer's Market, all on its immaculate 60-acre show grounds.
For those who can't make it to the show grounds, a complimentary live webcast of all Grand Prix ring classes will air on the Hampton Classic website, produced by ShowNet and courtesy of LONGINES. In addition, WVVH-TV, the official Long Island television station of the Hampton Classic, broadcasts up to five hours of competition and highlights each day during the Classic. These broadcasts can also be seen on line at www.wvvh.tv. Most of the Classic's other classes will also be available on ShowNet.biz. Official radio partner WLNG will broadcast live Wednesday-Sunday during the classic also courtesy of LONGINES.
For a link to this coverage and for more information on the Hampton Classic Horse Show, please visit the Hampton Classic website at www.hamptonclassic.com or call (631) 537-3177. Hampton Classic Horse Show, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation.