McLain Ward won the grand prix qualifier Friday at the Hampton Classic Horse Show, a competition where he has enjoyed many victories for decades.
He was aboard Robin Parsky’s First Lady with the fastest time in the jump-off of the $116,100 Douglas Elliman 5-star Grand Prix presented by Longines. The feat was memorable because he had to go first in the 12-horse tiebreaker, an unenviable position. But his 43.930-second effort was enough to edge Nayel Nassar on Orphea HQ in 43.950.
McLain Ward and First Lady (Kind Media Photo)
“It’s always nice to be in the winner’s circle here,” said McLain of one of his favorite destinations at the Long Island show. He just returned from a stint with the U.S. team at the World Championships in Aachen, Germany, where he rode High Star Hero.
Calling First Lady “a great partner,” McLain noted, “she’s a very quick horse and very reliable, so I didn’t mind going early in the jump-off.
“Being the first can be extra challenging if you haven’t seen (how others ride) the track, and I knew with the number behind me, there were some very fast ones. I did the best I could everywhere and hoped things would fall a little my way. There are certainly some moments in certain competitions when you want to be at the end, where it becomes a ‘take every risk’ situation, but a lot of the time, going early isn’t such a disadvantage when you know your horse well.”
There were 39 entries tested over the course designed by Nick Granat, as their riders sought berths in Sunday’s featured $400,000 Longines Hampton Classic Grand Prix.
First Lady is staying on the sidelines for that class. McLain instead will be aboard what he called, ” a relatively inexperienced horse here this year, Lestro VD Valckenborg, owned by a great supporter of ours, Marta Mattox from Texas.”
He commented that Lestro has “performed well at some big events already. He’s a big jumper, and I think he’s ready to perform here on Sunday. The Hampton Classic always has a challenging Grand Prix. It’s a 5-star level, the highest in our sport, and we have a pretty strong group of riders here this year. I think it’s going to be a good challenge.”
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