McLain Ward rode HH Azur to victory in the $50,000 Douglas Elliman Grand Prix Qualifier at the 40th Annual Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. -- McLain Ward could not be denied victory in the $50,000 Douglas Elliman Grand Prix Qualifier at the 40th Annual Hampton Classic. As the seventh of 10 riders in the jump-off, Ward and HH Azur made a tight turn to the third fence that no one before him had attempted, slicing the leading time by more than 2 seconds. Ward's time (39....

Abigail McArdle and Cosma 20 won the $15,000 Merrill Lynch Speed Derby at the Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. -- Abigail McArdle rode Cosma 20 speedily around the Grand Prix Ring to win the $15,000 Merrill Lynch Speed Derby at the 40th Hampton Classic. The pair also won the $10,000 Shamrock Ventures Open Jumper on Tuesday. McArdle's time (69.62 seconds) easily bested Sydney Shulman on Wamira (72.27) and McLain Ward on Azibantos (74.05 seconds). McArdle, 21, of...

Lexington, Ky . – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) is pleased to announce the creation of the USEF Elite Training Center Designation Program. The program will, initially, allow venue owners, who have hosted at least one USEF sanctioned team, developing rider or horse training session within the last year, in one of the nine disciplines that the USEF runs programs for developing and preparing teams to compete internationally, to apply for their venue for Elite Training Center...

Chris Sorensen (second left) of Canada and Wriomf won the Equis Best Turned-Out Horse and Presenter Award at the Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. - Cesar Hirsch wants the horse inspection required at all FEI-recognized show jumping competitions to be a big deal, so this year his Equis equestrian boutique began sponsoring an award for the Best Turned-Out Horse and Presenter. Canadian rider Chris Sorensen, with Wriomf, was named the winner of the first Equis Best Turned-Out...

Shane Sweetnam of Ireland and Eregast Van't Kiezelhof turned in the winning performance in the $10,000 Bright Side Farm Open Jumper at the Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. -- Shane Sweetnam of Ireland notched his second straight open jumper class at the 40th annual Hampton Classic, stopping the jump-off timer in 33.90 seconds to win the $10,000 Bright Side Farm Jumper Class. On Eregast Van't Kiezelhof, Sweetnam, 34, just edged Peter Leone on Wayfarer (34.46 seconds) and...

Scott Stewart rode Lucador to win the Regular Conformation Hunter Championship at the 40th annual Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. -- As has been true for the last several years, Scott Stewart was the man to beat in the Anne Aspinall Ring, home of the hunters at the 40th annual Hampton Classic. Horses he rode or trained won two championships and three reserve championships. The 2015 Hampton Classic professional hunter champions were: Huntland First Year Green:...

Venturo 9 and Shane Sweetnam of Ireland won the $10,000 Marders Open Jumper at the 40th annual Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. -- Shane Sweetnam became the third Irish rider to win a class in the Grand Prix Ring at the 40th annual Hampton Classic when he urged Venturo 9 to victory in the $10,000 Marders Open Jumper on Wednesday afternoon. Sweetnam's jump-off time of 41.01 seconds was just enough to hold off Amanda Derbyshire of Great Britain on Lady Maria Bh (41.65)...

Lorcan Gallagher of Ireland guided Esquina Van Klapscheut to the top of the $20,000 Royalton Farms Jumper Challenge at the Hampton Classic. (McMillen photo) Bridgehampton, N.Y. - Lorcan Gallagher of Ireland rode Esquina Van Klapscheut to an unbeatable jump-off time that claimed the $20,000 Royalton Farms Jumper Challenge on the first afternoon of show jumping at the 40th annual Hampton Classic. Gallagher's time of 32.07 seconds was more than a second faster than Todd Minikus on Paratrooper...

Bridgehampton, N.Y. - Shane Sweetnam became the third Irish rider to win a class in the Grand Prix Ring at the 40th annual Hampton Classic when he urged Venturo 9 to victory in the $10,000 Marders Open Jumper on Wednesday afternoon. Sweetnam's jump-off time of 41.01 seconds was just enough to hold off Amanda Derbyshire of Great Britain on Lady Maria Bh (41.65) and Richie Moloney of Ireland on Ypaja Yando (42.16). Derbyshire also claimed fourth on Cannavaro Bh (42.95), while Sweetnam took...

Lexington, Ky. - The country's best examples of hunter breeding will be on display this week on both coasts to compete in the 2015 Sallie B. Wheeler/US National Hunter Breeding Championship. Judges Mindy Minetto, of Wellington, Fla., and Chris Wynne, of Virginia Beach, Va., will travel to both coasts to assess the entrants. On August 26, young horses on the West Coast will meet at the Showpark All Seasons Summer Tournament in Del Mar, Calif. The championship then moves to the East Coast to...