Laura Chapot Cannot Be Caught in Opening Jumper Classes at Pennsylvania National Horse Show
If you wanted to win in the jumpers at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show on Wednesday, October 15, you needed to be named Laura Chapot. There were two classes on offer, beginning with the $10,000 1.30m Two Phase, followed by the $10,000 1.40m Two Phase, and Chapot won both, riding Tyson Fury and C&C Willow, respectively.
A regular at the Pennsylvania National, Chapot was looking to get a good start to her week in the opening rounds. She had three horses in the 1.30m class, and “Tyson” was the second of her three rides.
“She is a pretty competitive horse,” said Chapot of the Irish Sport Horse mare. “In fact, she’s probably more difficult to slow down than to go forward. So, for her, I wanted her to just have a good experience, and for sure she could be competitive to win the class, but also just a positive, forward experience, because as I said, her biggest fault might be that she jumps too high, and she’s a little bit difficult in between the jumps if you try and slow her down too much. So just trying to keep it smooth and keep her focused on the fences, and then she gives it her all every time.”
Chapot has had the 8-year-old mare since the end of her 4-year-old year and has been gradually bringing her up the levels. They will stick to the 1.30m classes this week as competing indoors is a new experience for the mare.
Because Tyson is quite feisty, Chapot felt confident she would put in a good showing despite being on the greener side. They stopped the clock in 26.39 seconds, giving her a comfortable win margin over another of her mounts, Calafornia, who finished second with a time of 27.14 seconds. Steven Bluman took third with Over The Top Stables LLC’s Cachemire De Braize (27.53 seconds).
“She’s just a very quick horse, and she wastes no time,” Chapot said. “She’s quick across the ground, and even though she sometimes jumps a little bit big, she’s quick in the air and gets right to the next fence. So, they say sometimes it’s easier to go faster than slower with her.”
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