Press release from Hampton Classic Horse Show

Seven-time Hampton Classic Grand Prix champion McLain Ward and defending champion Daniel Bluman head an impressive list of entries from 13 countries for the 46th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, which returns August 28-September 4 with a full schedule of world-class equestrian competition offering more than $1 million in prize money. 

Each year approximately 50,000 people come to watch the nation’s best equestrian athletes compete at the Hampton Classic. The Classic is rated USEF ‘Premier-6’ for both hunters and jumpers with FEI 2* and 5* classes. Ireland’s Alan Wade serves as Grand Prix Ring course designer.

The Hampton Classic features more than 200 competitions in six spectacular show rings, the Agneta Currey Boutique Garden with more than 70 vendors, and a wide selection of dining options, all on its world-class 60-acre show grounds. Offering more than $1 million in prize money, the Classic is highlighted by the $410,000 Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix on Sunday, September 4.

Looking to defend his 2021 Grand Prix title against other international competitors is Daniel Bluman, who rides for Israel and will return to this year’s Classic with last year’s winning mount, Gemma W, alongside other horses for both the 2* and 5* competitions. Bluman has competed in two Olympic Games, three FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG), and two Pan American Games, leaving his mark on the international stage with many successes at the Grand Prix level. 

Five-time U.S. Olympian McLain Ward has won the Hampton Classic Grand Prix a record seven times and hopes to add to his record in the featured event. Always a top contender on the international stage, Ward has earned four Olympic medals (Team Gold in 2004 and 2008, Team Silver in 2016 and 2021), competed in four WEG (earning Team Silver in 2006, Team Bronze in 2014 and Team Gold in 2018), and taken home two Gold medals from the Pan American Games (2011, 2015). He also won the LONGINES FEI World Cup™ Finals in 2017. 

Ireland’s Richie Moloney also hopes to reclaim the Hampton Classic Grand Prix title. With eight FEI Nations Cup and multiple Grand Prix wins under his belt, Moloney claimed victory in the 2016 Hampton Classic Grand Prix and has won the Classic’s LONGINES Rider Challenge as the overall leading rider on four occasions, more than anyone else. 

Returning to the Classic after his Grand Prix win in 2019, three-time Canadian Olympian Mario Deslauriers will not make things easy for his fellow athletes, including his daughter Lucy who placed second to him in 2019. Deslauriers is a three-time WEG and two-time Pan American Games competitor and remains the youngest rider ever to win the FEI World Cup™ Final, a title he won in 1984 at age 18. 

Among the other international veterans set to compete in this year’s Hampton Classic is Brazil’s Rodrigo Pessoa, one of the most decorated riders in show jumping history. Among Pessoa’s achievements are six Olympic Games (winning Team Bronze in 1996 and 2000 and Individual Gold in 2004), six WEG (including Individual Gold in 1998), and 13 FEI World Cup™ Finals (including three consecutive titles, 1998-2000). He is the only rider to win the World Cup™ Final three consecutive years.

Three-time Olympian Beat Mändli of Switzerland also brings many Grand Prix titles to the Classic. His career spans three WEG, nine FEI World Cup™ Finals, and five European Championships (including Team Silver in 1999 and Team Bronze in 2003). He won the World Cup™ Final in 2007.

The Hampton Classic’s FEI competition begins Thursday, September 1, with the $10,000 Citarella Open Jumper CSI2* and $37,000 Hampton Classic 5* Speed Stake and continues throughout the weekend with seven 2* and 5* classes. FEI competition also includes Friday’s $37,000 Wölffer Estate 2* Jumper Classic and $74,000 Douglas Elliman 5* Grand Prix Qualifier, Saturday’s $74,000 Hampton Classic 2* Grand Prixand $74,000 5* LONGINES Cup and the culminating $410,000 Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix on Sunday, September 4.