Press release from HITS Hudson Valley – Saugerties, edited by World of Showjumping

Thursday, July 23, at the HITS Hudson Valley venue in Saugerties, New York, featured yet another win for Mark Bluman (ISR). The young Israeli rider has been blazing a trail throughout the first two weeks of the HITS Hudson Valley Jumping Tour™ and continued on his hot streak in the $62,480 CSI3* Welcome Stake.

Boasting impressive entry numbers across disciplines, the second of the three-week series was highlighted by both a CSI3* division, as well as a World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) designation, bringing out the nation’s best in both jumper and hunter competition. As he has already done multiple times in the most recent two weeks, Bluman led off the victory gallop at the completion of the $62,480 CSI3* Welcome Stake, besting a field of 35 horse-and-rider duos aboard S&L Hello Sunshine (Diamant de Semilly x Cosimo). 

Representatives from eight nations elected to contest FEI Level 3 course designer Ken Krome’s (USA) opening track, which made careful use of both related distances and a tidy time-allowed to test the entries. Bluman was one of several entries to qualify in the first half of the opening round, but with a strong field of opponents still to come, the qualifiers for the short course turned out to be an even dozen. 

After narrowly missing out on the victory in Wednesday’s $31,020 Equestrian Gardens CSI3* Jumper Classic, the pairing of Bluman and the S&L Farms’s nine-year-old Selle Français stallion were out for blood. Determined to take the victory, Bluman turned on the afterburners across the jump-off and set an early challenge for the remaining competitors with a finishing time of 38.460 seconds. 

“Hello Sunshine is a horse I started riding when he was only seven years old, and he’s nine now,” explained Bluman. “He already has an amazing resume. He’s won a two-star grand prix; he won a three-star grand prix, and he’s won a couple 1.50m classes, like this one. He’s just a super competitive horse. He’s fast and game, and we’ve built a very nice relationship.”

Hello Sunshine is one of multiple partners Bluman has acquired through his partnership with S&L Farms. The relationship has proved fruitful for both parties, as Bluman followed up his victory with another win in the $10,000 Alliant Private Client Cup with S&L Sole Sister. 

“I’ve been working with S&L Farms for around three years now, and we actually started with only a couple of four-year-olds,” detailed Bluman. “Owner Sam Edelman wasn’t that much into it at the time; he was kind of just bringing up young horses, but when we started building a relationship, he got motivated for me to get a group of horses to ride.

“Sam and his wife have been unbelievable supporters, and a big part of the success that we are having,” he added. “He’s creating a very nice string of horses.”

Wednesday’s winner Brian Moggre (USA) once again found himself in the podium placings as he traded positions with Bluman and accepted the second-place honors. Mounted on longtime partner Vivre Le Reve (Ustinov x Chello II), the 17-year-old Westphalian gelding owned by Major Wager LLC, Moggre clocked in a time of 38.640 seconds for the reserve. Ireland’s Jordan Coyle rounded out the top three with his aptly named For Gold (For Fashion x Heraldik), Falkirk Farm, LLC’s 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding, after posting a time of 39.100 seconds. 

Both international show jumping and national-level jumper, hunter, and equitation competition resumes Friday, July 24, 2026. The day will feature the best in WCHR competition as the morning kicks off with the $25,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Great American Insurance Group. Action continues with one highlight to the next, including Saturday’s $116,050 Core Specialty Insurance CSI3* Grand Prix, as well as qualifying opportunities for the prestigious ClipMyHorse.TV Hunter Classic Final.