Daniel Bluman Wins $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix
Bluman’s Third Hampton Classic Grand Prix Win Caps Horse Show’s Greatest Week
A star-studded field descended on the Hampton Classic Horse Show’s beautiful Bridgehampton showgrounds for a week filled with world-class equestrian competition. Seventeen countries were represented in the Classic’s international division, which saw Israel’s Daniel Bluman best a field of 40 starters representing 12 countries in the show’s culminating event, the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix.
One of the world’s most prestigious horse shows, the annual Hampton Classic features competitors at every level from young children in leadline to Olympic, World, and World Cup Champions. The Classic also has competitions for riders with disabilities. This year’s Classic was rated USEF ‘Premier-6’ for both hunters and jumpers with FEI 2* and 5* classes. Ireland’s Alan Wade served as Grand Prix Ring course designer.
The Classic attracted its usual list of celebrities throughout the week, including Jane Seymour, Billy Joel, Brooke Shields, Gayle King, Michael Bloomberg, Lorraine Bracco, Donna Karan, Kelly Klein, Bill Evans, and Jill Rappaport.
Only two horse-and-rider combinations made it to the jump-off of the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix on Sunday, September 3 – Bluman, a two-time Olympic veteran, and the USA’s Adrienne Sternlicht, who helped the U.S. earn Team Gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.
In the end, only Bluman finished on a double-clear score, claiming the Hampton Classic Grand Prix title for the third time – twice aboard his 2022 FEI World Championship and 2023 FEI World Cup Finals mount, Ladriano Z (2017 and 2023) and once with Gemma W (2021).
For the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix, Alan Wade set a highly technical 1.60m track featuring 17 jumping efforts, and spectators watched with bated breath as the first 30 riders racked up faults around the ring. Sternlicht was the first to successfully complete the task aboard Starlight Farms 1 LLC’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Faquitol-S. Bluman wasn’t far behind with the 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding he co-owns with Blue Star Investments and Over The Top Stables LLC, guaranteeing the crowd a jump-off.
“Adrienne had a beautiful first round, so I just focused on what I had to do,” Bluman said. “I had to ride a very fast track around the course in case I knocked one down so I could still finish in second. Ladriano is a very special horse, and it’s been rare in his entire career that he has more than one rail down. I was very confident and very grateful for this horse today.”
Sternlicht ultimately took second for her four-fault jump-off score, while Luis Fernando Larrazabal (VEN) finished third with the fastest four-fault initial round in 79.70 seconds aboard Condara, Victoria Heurtematte’s 11-year-old Mecklenburg mare.
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Press Releases (hamptonclassic.com)
