BRIDGEHAMPTON, N.Y.--Israel’s Sydney Shulman Desiderio on Villamoura won the $30,000 Open Jumper Challenge over a field of 41 representing eight countries, clean in the jump-off in 37.744 at the Hampton Classic on Sunday, Aug. 25..
Sydney Shulman Desiderio on Villamoura (Photo by KindMedia)The Hampton Classic runs Aug. 25-Sept. 1, with the FEI Jumper division beginning Thursday, Aug. 29, with the $10,000 Open Jumper CSI2* and $32,000 CSI5* Speed Stake.
Shulman Desiderio was one of the earliest riders to return in the 15 horse jump-off over the course set by Nick Grsnat, and she set an uncatchable time of 37.744 seconds.
She also placed fifth in 39.335 seconds on Django Semilly.
“I’m really excited to be here, and it was a great start to our week,” Shulman Desiderio said. “I give a lot of credit to my team at Back Country Farm, the business I run with my mom, Jill Shulman. We’ve been prepping for the Hampton Classic for the last month. We gear up to this; it’s the end of our summer show season. They’re amazing, and there is no better way to start with a win. The horses also know it’s a special location and really rise to the occasion in this massive ring."
“With a horse like Villamoura, very rarely do I go full-tilt and not end up on the podium,” she said. “I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve been beaten after going as fast as I can. I really thought I put it all on the table today and tried to make the others catch me, and I think going early actually changed the rhythm of the class since it was such a fast time to beat. Villamoura couldn’t have performed better. I’ve had her for almost nine years now, and I know her so well. We’ve done everything together, from 5* grand prix and Nations Cups to speed and winning-round classes, which she excels in. She performed beautifully today, and it was so much fun.”
Zayna Rizvi on Excellent placed second, clean in 38.129 seconds, Christian Coyle of Ireland on Ma Pomme De Tamerville was third, clean in 38.901 and Peter Lutz on Katriona was fourth..
LAURA BOWERY of Bridgehampton, N.Y., earned the highest scores in both rounds of the $10,000 Local Hunter Derby and finished first and second, respectively, on Cloud 9, with 189 total points, and Margaux, with 185 total points.
The first round, over a course designed by Lynn and Sarah Mullins, had 10 fences before the top pairs returned for an eight jump handy round.
“I love this class,” Bowery said. “It’s such a fun class, and I really gear up for it. The three horses that I chose to enter today are derby experts, and I really like doing derbies with them. My second-placed horse, (Margaux, and fifth-placed horse, In Bocca Al Lupo, are both owned by Stephanie Bronfman, and I’m super proud of them. They are amazing. The horse I won on, Cloud 9, is one of my sister’s clients. I usually ride him a little bit at shows here and there. This week, we really tried to win this class and trained him quite a bit with this on our mind. I think everyone is really happy with the result.”
Brianne Goutal-Marteau of Annapolis, Md., was third with a total of 172.5 points on Iladin Du Rouet.
