The Hampton Classic Horse Show welcomed many familiar faces on Sunday for the $30,000 Open Jumper Challenge, including the class’s winner, three-time Canadian Olympian Mario Deslauriers.

Setting the time to beat at 73.522 seconds, Deslauriers rode Wishing Well Farm LLC’s Emerson to the first of only two clear rounds in a field of 27 riders. Carly Anthony of Redmond, Wash., and Heavenly W, owned by Portfolio Horses LLC, placed second with a time of 74.056 seconds as the only other pair to jump clear.

“I was coming here mostly just to go around, not really thinking about the win,” Deslauriers said. “(My daughter) Lucy and I went to Europe for most of the summer. We were kind of in the Olympic spirit, both fighting for a spot on each of our teams. Sometime after June 15, I got my spot to represent Canada, and Lucy had a great summer in a couple of Nations Cups for the United States. This was our first show back.”

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