Daniel Bluman HITS the mark in $300,000 grand prix

Daniel Bluman couldn’t have cut it any closer.

A heartbeat. An instant. Little more than a 10th of a second was all that separated the winner of the 4-star HITS $300,000 Grand Prix from runner-up McLain Ward in a hold-your-breath jump-off on Sunday.

Daniel and 12-year-old Gemma W., a mare he has ridden since she was five, had the benefit of going last in a six-horse tie-breaker, culled from a starting field of 41 in Saugerties, N.Y.

“It’s always an advantage to have the pole position, as we call it,” said Daniel, who rides for Israel internationally.

“You get to see what everyone does. I knew exactly what I had to do in order to win.”

McLain, the U.S. gold medal Olympian who is the number six-ranked show jumper in the world, had just set a flying pace of 40.16 seconds over the shortened eight-fence route with Contagious, whose heart and speed never disappoint.

Daniel, world-ranked number 19, finalized a plan as he stood at the ingate and watched McLain go. The jump-off course started out with a left turn by the statue of Liberty jump before a vertical in the middle of the ring, and that was to Daniel’s advantage, since as he said, “I know my horse off the left has a very quick lead, so I get a little bit from McLain there.

“Where I thought he left the door a little bit open was to the last jump,” said Daniel, referring to the turn from a vertical on the rail to a the red, white and blue Great American Insurance Group oxer near the middle of the arena.

“I thought he was a little bit out,” at that point, Daniel said, referring to McLain’s path, so he made a tighter turn with his Dutchbred mare, and that did the trick in 40.02 seconds, a mere 0.14 seconds faster, but it was just enough to claim the $99,000 first prize.

It was the second grand prix win this month for Daniel, who topped the 5-star $425,000 grand prix at the Hampton Classic on Labor Day weekend with Ladriano Z, the third time he had won that competition. He noted that both his horses are “proven winners, so I know that any given day, I have a shot.”

This was the first show back for Contagious, a 14-year-old Zweibrucker German gelding, who had time off after a freak injury–he hurt himself when he fell down on his way to the stable on the Aachen, Germany, show’s opening day in June. He definitely is back in form, and may be part of the team for this autumn’s Pan American Games, as the U.S. tries to qualify for the Paris Olympics next year.

When judging his prospects for the HITS class, McLain took note of Daniel’s prime position in the jumping order.

“I knew Daniel was behind me, he’d beaten me with this horse a couple of times. I know it’s a very fast horse, I know he’s going to be very ambitious to win. I really didn’t have any option but to lay down a very good round,” McLain said.

“I felt if I had a fast four, I was going to be up near the top of the results either way. My horse runs a little bit to the right on the left lead and so when I jumped the second to last, he leaked out a little and I didn’t pick up on the first distance. I also knew I had left a little room there.”

But he was thrilled with Contagious, noting “he performed great.”

Third place went to a rider from the next generation, 17-year-old Zayna Rizvi on Exquise du Pachis, clocked for a clean round in 41.27 seconds. It’s interesting to see a teen up against Olympic veterans such as 47-year-old McLain and 33-year-old Daniel, but that’s not a novelty for Zayna.

As she said on a similar occasion, “It’s awesome to compete against all these professionals. It’s a great experience for me and I learn so much from it.”

McLain called her “a super-competitive rider,” but noted the age difference among the top placing riders is not unusual.

“We’re seeing young people up at the top of the ranks every week.”

The time allowed of 86 seconds for the first round was really tight, and 15 starters had time faults, while six retired or were eliminated.

“I thought it was a good and challenging course,” said McLain of the route designed by Oscar Soberon.

“I thought the standard of the course and the challenge of the course matched the prize money.”

It really was an impressive effort by Oscar, someone I met for the first time at this show.

“What I really enjoyed seeing was a mix between seasoned riders and up-and-coming riders. That shows it’s rideable, it’s jumpable, there were faults everywhere, which I think was good,” Oscar said, meaning there was no “bogey” fence in the Douglas Elliman Arena.

While he agreed the time allowed was “a little snug,” he pointed out “in this ring and this footing, the horses really gallop super fast. There were many places to gallop and make up for time. ”

While he called time “a factor, I don’t think it was too tight, but definitely a challenge.”

The change at the showgrounds since my previous visit to HITS Saugerties last year is amazing, from the footing to the landscaping and the bathrooms.

HITS was started by Tom Struzzieri, but now the Saugerties facility, like four other HITS venues around the country, is owned by private equity firm Traub Capital Partners, a New York-based strategic private equity firm that is investing heavily in its properties.

As Daniel referenced, “It’s a world class ring with world class jumps, a beautiful warm-up area. I think it’s a fantastic venue. I’m very impressed.”

The grand prix ended the facility’s big show jumping competitions for the year, while marking the end of phase one of improvements.

“For the new HITS, we’re so excited to be building a facility that really caters to the top show jumpers and every client who’s ever been part of the HITS family” as Joey Norick, HITS’ chief customer officer, put it.

Phase 2, which starts in October, is the next stage in a multi-year plan involving “anything we can do to create a great environment for our clients and their horses. We’re aiming to make this one of the nicest facilities in North America,” Joey said.

jumper and hunter rings already have been improved, and other rings will also be redone, while the parking lot will become a jumper ring and parking will be improved in another location on the grounds.

Another innovation is the exhibitors’ lounge, where riders, owners and their families can take advantage of covered seating and free food.

“We look to give back to the exhibitors and really appreciate them being part of our horse show series,” explained Joey.

“It’s always exhibitors first,” he said, while noting shade has been provided around the property and chairs are everywhere, so spectators have a place to sit.

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