McLain Ward wins all of the show’s biggest jumper prizes.

Still out of breath, McLain Ward sat quietly dazed for a moment, awaiting the start of the press conference for the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic.

“Sorry,” the always composed and charismatic Ward apologized, “I only had seven minutes between the first round and the jump-off, and I think I’m still recovering!”

Ward’s brilliant jump-off performance aboard Sapphire in the competition’s featured jumper class, Aug. 23-30 in Bridgehampton, N.Y., clinched him his seventh major grand prix win of the year. He added yet another FTI-sponsored event to his résumé after claiming the $400,000 FTI Consulting Finale Grand Prix in Wellington, Fla., last winter.

The ample first-round course proved challenging to the field of 35 riders, with an open water line early on and a combination over double liverpools toward the end. Judy Garofalo Torres, on her 19-year-old stallion Oliver, was the only other rider to jump clear in the first round after starting out of the 11th slot in the order.

Ward went last in the class, giving Torres a nail-biting experience.

“I’m not going to lie. I wouldn’t have been upset if he had a rail!” said Torres with a laugh. “But he’s the best rider in the world on the best horse in the world, so I figured he’d go clean and we’d have a jump-off.”

She was correct.

“Judy rode exactly the right strategy in her jump-off, riding a smart, clean round. She really put the pressure on me!” said Ward.

Ward characteristically took on the challenge, returning in his jump-off round clean and 6.07 seconds faster.

This was Ward’s fourth winning performance in the Hampton Classic’s featured grand prix—he won on Twist Du Valon in 1997 and 1998, and on Sarah Willeman’s Hurricane in 2003—breaking the record he shared with Margie Engle and Rodney Jenkins.

It seems as if Ward and Sapphire, the show’s open jumper champion, are unbeatable these days.

They also won the $50,000 Spy Coast Farm Grand Prix Qualifier. “We always say we’re lucky to be in her life, not her in ours,” he said of his dynamic partnership with the 14-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare.

Torres, Dover Plains, N.Y., also feels fortunate to have Oliver in her life as well.

“I was actually surprised that so many people had trouble with the course because Oliver jumped it so well,” said Torres.

Their confidence may have something to do with their result. Torres acquired Oliver in Norway 10 years ago as her first grand prix horse, and the duo has been competing successfully ever since. Time is no replacement for preparation, however, as Torres noted.

“I really geared up for this. I wanted this class to be the class of the year, the main event for him,” she said. “Coming in second to McLain is very, very exciting. I’ll take it!”

To add to his substantial earnings at the show, Ward, Brewster, N.Y., also piloted Goldika to victory in the $30,000 FENDI Cup, allowing him three grand prix wins on three consecutive days. 

Williams Is Back East

Emily Williams has always been a force to be reckoned with in the hunter ring, but her graceful, accurate rides have been missing from East Coast show rings for some time now.

“I was working in Texas for the past few years,” she said. “But now I’m back!”

Williams made it her goal to have her East Coast comeback at the Hampton Classic, and she didn’t disappoint. She rode All Seasons Farm’s In The Black to the regular working hunter championship, picking up the reserve honors for Brad Wolf on Andiamo as well. That one-two finish clinched the leading hunter rider title as well. But Williams had no idea she was being awarded the honor.

“I was just standing in the [VIP] tent, and somebody ran over and told me they were giving me an award!” said the always-humble Williams. “It just means so much to me.”

The award struck her as especially poignant because it coincided with her reunion with longtime trainer, mentor and friend, Tom Wright. Williams returned from Texas to work for Wright in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they both immediately felt a personal and professional reconnection.

“Tom and I just click,” she said. “I appreciate our relationship so much. He taught me since I was on ponies. He can tell just by the look on my face if I’m nervous, and he knows exactly what to say to get the best out of me. It’s like clockwork.”

Wright agreed. “Having Emily back just seems right. We have a very simpatico relationship. She really completes our group.”

Prior to the Hampton Classic each year, Wright takes his horses to the Curry’s River Circle Farm in Nashville, Tenn., to give them a chance to practice on grass.

“Even the hunters get a full prep in a grand prix field, with bending lines and anything that could be thrown their way in the show ring,” Wright said.

The strategy paid off, but Williams never doubted that In The Black would be ready and able to excel in the Hamptons.

“He’s so solid. Every time he goes in the ring he gives 100 percent. You can always count on him,” she said.

Jerremy Jumps To The Top

When trainer Andre Dignelli went looking for a jumper for his student Natalie Johnson four years ago he wasn’t that impressed with the horse that Emile Hendrix trotted out for him. But the Dutch horseman wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“He was wild, cross-cantering all over the course,” recalled Dignelli. “I turned to him and said, ‘What do you want me to do with this?’ He just said, ‘I don’t care how this goes, you need to buy this horse.’ We’ve had such a great run with him. Every time he wins I call him and thank him for making me buy the horse.”

Dignelli, of Heritage Farm in Katonah, N.Y., had to make yet another international phone call after the Hampton Classic when Victoria Birdsall and Jerremy topped the $25,000 Carolex Derby and won the junior jumper championship.

“He wants to win,” said Dignelli. “He clears everything so easily, and he’s scopey and light like a Thoroughbred and naturally fast. Still, he doesn’t go like most horses. He’ll cross-canter around the course, but he’s been the winner since we got him.”

Birdsall has been riding the chestnut for two years, accruing plenty of top finishes, including sixth place individually in the North American Junior And Young Rider Championships (Ky.) in July. While Birdsall has plenty of ride time in between her own jumpers, equitation mounts and catch rides, she described her partnership with the 18-year-old gelding as unique.

“He’s a really special horse,” said Birdsall. “He and I make a great team; I really trust him. If I go forward I know he’ll be right there with me.

“In the jump-off [for the derby], I knew Tracey Weinberg was going after me and that she’s always so fast, so I took some major risks,” Birdsall added. “He was right there for me, just like he always is.”

Though she’s from a non-horsey family, Birdsall’s parents have embraced the equestrian lifestyle. They own Silver Oak Equestrian Center in Hampton Falls, N.H., where the Fidelity Jumper Classic is held and where Birdsall keeps a few mounts. The self-sufficient 16-year-old keeps her horses legged up on her own at home and meets Dignelli and Jerremy (Ahorn—Bo) at shows.

“I get so much out of my lessons with Andre. It helps me think about what I need to work on at home,” said Birdsall, Topsfield, Mass. “I set up my own courses and my own gymnastics; at this point I know what I need to practice.”

While Birdsall admitted that she’d love to win a major equitation final (she finished second in last year’s ASPCA Maclay Final), she’s already looking at bigger fences and challenges.

“I’d really like to ride in the grand prix classes and bring up some young jumpers,” she said. “I haven’t had much chance to do work with younger ones, but that’s what I’d like to do after my junior years.”

A Catch Ride Gone Right

When Emil Spadone asked David Raposa if his daughter Schaefer would ride a horse in the National PHA Equitation class at I Love New York in Lake Placid, she was unenthusiastic to say the least. She was done riding for the day and wanted to go home. Then, after some grumbling, she sat on her charge.

“It was pouring rain and just gross out, and I did not want to ride,” recalled Schaefer. “Then I got on, and he was just fantastic.”

Schaefer and that catch ride, the 2007 USEF Talent Search Finals-West winner Y2K, went on to solidify their partnership at the Hampton Classic, topping the Wölffer Estate Equitation Championship. Dignelli picked up the $10,000 trainer award for her win as well as coaching five of the other top 10 riders.

To prep for the class, which takes place on the formidable grass grand prix field, Schaefer and her barnmates practiced natural elements at home.

“I’d never done an open water before,” she said. “I practiced on the same horse, and I knew he’d be fine, but I wanted to give him the right ride.”

Schaefer nailed all of the elements—including the open water—in the first round to earn an 89. Heavy rain overnight prompted several riders to opt out of the final round of competition, leaving her second behind Birdsall whose spectacular first round earned 94 points. Schaefer clinched blue on the second day with a forward ride over the open course with plenty of unrelated distances.

“I was nervous,” said Schaefer, Clinton, N.Y. “The jumps always look big to me on the field. Today I was more nervous because of the footing and the rain.”

Hap Hansen’s Y2K, an all-around superstar from the West Coast, has proven his mettle as an equitation mount, but he’s also topped formidable jumper classes and picked up a string of ribbons in the USHJA International Hunter Derby series.

“I didn’t know he was that well known before I got here,” said Schaefer. “But as I’m riding around seven or eight people said to me, ‘Is that Y2K?’ and I figured it out.”

As the daughter of professionals David and Kara Raposa, the 15-year-old appreciates the chance to sit on plenty of horses, but readily admitted that she takes instruction better when it doesn’t come from her parents.

“I like to get their opinions. For example, I’ll talk to my dad or my mom after I walk a course, but when they train me we can fight,” she said with a laugh.

Making A Rare Chance Count

Since heading to college four years ago, Jordan Calabro hasn’t had many opportunities to show. But she made her ring time at this year’s Hampton Classic count, riding off with the adult amateur, 18-35, and grand adult amateur titles aboard her sister Kelsey Calabro’s Renoir.

Jordan showed the Hanoverian twice over the summer before tackling the biggest show on her calendar. “He’s really nice to ride,” she said. “Once I get him to listen he’s so trusting. I can ask him anything, and he’s right there.”

A member of the Calabro family since he was 3 years old, Renoir, now 12, showed Kelsey the ropes in the children’s and junior hunters and has now settled into his role as a perfect 3-foot horse.

During the school year Jordan competes in Intercollegiate Horse Show Association competitions for Skidmore College (N.Y.) and trains with Laura Bowery back in Water Mill, N.Y.

“I’ve been with Laura for five years, and she’s really great,” said Jordan. “The balance between working hard with the team at school and then coming home and getting to ride anything is fantastic.”

When she’s home, Jordan, 21, helps her mother, who manages the family’s Pinnacle Farm, and also picks up tips from an unlikely source: Kelsey.

“When I was younger I used to be scared, but she’s always been gung ho,” said Jordan of her younger sister. “She’s 19 and a professional, and she’s always really helpful when I’m at home. It’s a good relationship.”

Back at Skidmore, Jordan stays busy with a five-day-a-week riding schedule on top of her rigorous biology coursework. Inspired by a summer-long trip to Madagascar where she worked as a research assistant documenting lemur behavior, Jordan aims to attend veterinary school after she graduates this year.

To that end, she spent her non-riding time over the summer working for a local veterinarian who shares an interest in exotics, Jordan’s preferred branch of veterinary science.

With a week off between the show and the start of classes, Jordan joined her family on a trip to Argentina to visit a young horse they bought at auction last year and experience the Argentinean equestrian scene.