Hampton Classic course designer Nick Granat challenged 33 horse-and-rider combinations representing eight countries with a winding 16-effort, 1.45m course in Wednesday morning’s $40,000 CME Group National Grand Prix. After 13 made it to the jump-off, Mark Bluman (COL) led the victory lap for his blistering 36.252-second time aboard Phelina De Septon.
The only rider to have two entries in the jump-off, Bluman set an early time to beat about his first mount, a 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare owned by Mario Deslauriers Inc. He nearly caught his own time with his second mount, S & L Hello Sunshine, but the stallion posted a four-fault score in 36.332 seconds to drop from the podium.
“The mare I was riding is pretty quick across the ground,” Bluman said. “Even though she’s new to me, I know her quite well. We made a plan before the jump-off, stuck to it, and hoped it was going to pay off. And it did. When you go that early in the jump-off, the only thing you have to do is follow your plan, hope for the best, and sometimes have a little bit of luck.”
American JJ Torano and Kadley Farms LLC and North Run’s 11-year-old Hanoverian stallion Lyon 50 were the only other combination to come within a second of Bluman and Phelina De Septon’s time, posting a double-clear score of 36.426 seconds for second place. Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza rode Onslow De Roju, Ammann Equestrian LLC’s 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding, to third place in 37.474 seconds.
Full results here.
Free livestream here.
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