Laura Chapot’s Win in the $75,000 Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Closes 2024 Lake Placid Horse Shows
Win Closes Out Lake Placid’s Famed Grass Field With New All-Weather Footing Being Installed for Next Year
An emotional win by Laura Chapot and Chandon Blue in the $75,000 Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix closed the 55th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows (LPHS), Sponsored by Bainbridge Farms, LLC, and Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC. With the announcement that Lake Placid’s Grand Prix Ring will be converted to an all-weather surface for next year, Chapot’s win, her eighth Grand Prix win in Lake Placid, seemed fitting for the horse show’s final class on the grass.
Located in the historic Olympic town of Lake Placid, NY, the annual LPHS offer two weeks of exciting equestrian competition in a setting no other horse show can match, surrounded by breathtaking views of the Adirondack Mountains and the chance to enjoy countless activities that help make the Lake Placid Horse Shows, “The Best Two Weeks of a Horseman’s Summer!” LPHS hosts competitions for riders of all levels and ages ranging from young children on polished ponies, to glistening hunters, to Olympic veterans aboard their grand prix mounts.
by Nick Granat, entered the ring, the only clean round had been turned by 18-year-old Mia Bagnato. Chapot forced the jump-off by going clean on her 19-year-old mount. Bagnato then rode Ballyoskill Big Bucks to a clean ride over the eight-effort tiebreaker course, finishing in 36.581 seconds. Chapot followed on Chandon Blue and blazed to a clean ride in 34.286 seconds to earn the emotional win.
“With only one clean, being the last one to go is not really the best position to be in because you put a little extra pressure on yourself to go clean,” Chapot said. “I just tried to focus and put in the best round I could.
“My horse is a little tired after two weeks up here, but he tried his heart out. He really wanted to win this class. This is the last time we’re out here on the grass which makes me really sad. He loves the grass field, we love the grass field and to win this means a little extra because of that.”
Coupled with her second-place finish in the first week’s $75,000 Grand Prix of Lake Placid, Chapot earned the Richard & Diana Feldman Perpetual Trophy for Excellence, given to the rider with the best combined performances in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix events, for a record fifth time.
Prior to the Grand Prix, Mia Bagnato won both the Deeridge Farms 1.35m Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic and the Eastern Hay and Grain 1.45m Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic, a member event of the Show Jumping Hall of Fame Jumper Classic Series. Bagnato rode Ariso to the win in the 1.35m Classic, finishing with two clean rounds and the fastest jump-off time of 34.087 seconds. Brian Sweeney placed second on Zappa, with third going to Corinne Sweeney on Tara M.
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The Lake Placid Horse Show Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization. Further information is available by calling the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at 518-523-9625 or online at www.lakeplacidhorseshows.org
