Bridgehampton, NY – August 28, 2018 – If riders could create a theme song for Tuesday morning’s Open Jumper classes, it would be something like “keep away from fence 10-A.”

There were two sections of Tuesday morning’s $10,000 1.40m Open Jumper class, sponsored by Jaguar and Shamrock Ventures respectively. Between the two classes and a total of 80 rounds, fence 10A fell more than two dozen times.

Four-time US Olympic veteran and the current reigning Longines FEI World Cup TM Champion, Beezie Madden (USA) of Cazenovia, NY, won section B, sponsored by Shamrock Ventures, aboard Jiva, owned by Abigail Wexner.

Course designer Michel Vaillancourt of Aiken, SC, built a new course for the second section, but pesky fence 10A remained the ‘bogey’ jump of the morning.

In a much closer finish, Madden  and the 9-year-old bay Belgian Warmblood mare (Concorde 84.4140 x Nonstop) had no penalties attributed to them and stopped the timers in 59.052 seconds for the victory.

Beezie Madden’s winning time was just fractions ahead of Ireland’s Richie Moloney (IRL) and Slieveanorra (Voltaire x Flagmount Diamond), who finished with a clean run and a time of 59.8886 seconds.

Santiago Lambre (MEX) & Casino N (Careful x Ahorn) completed the podium backed by a penalty-free effort in 60.970 seconds.

“I really tried to have a very smooth round,” explained Madden. “She’s been doing some bigger classes, so I just wanted this to be a nice class for her. In trying to be smooth and neat we ended up being quite fast. Being really efficient from one jump to the next paid off.”

Unlike Madden who went quite late in the jump order, second placed Moloney went in sixth, and knew he had to just go clean and hope for the best.

“I didn’t overdo it – my horse is quite quick – but there’s probably three places I could have done one less stride,” said Moloney. “I was early to go so I wanted to make sure I went clear. I thought someone might catch my time. I had to leave the jumps up.”

The Hampton Classic is one of the most spectacular equestrian events in the nation, showcasing the highest levels of show jumping competition. From now through Sunday, hundreds of top riders and horses from all over the nation and world will compete for over $750,000 in prize money. The week builds towards the $300,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix CSI4* Presented by Douglas Elliman on Sunday, September 2, where the $30,000 LONGINES Rider Challenge will be awarded to the rider amassing the highest number of points in the show’s Open Jumper competitions.

For those who can’t make it to the show grounds, complimentary live webcasts of all Grand Prix ring competitions air on the Hampton Classic website, produced by ShowNet and courtesy of LONGINES. In addition, WVVH-TV, the official Long Island television station of the Hampton Classic, broadcasts up to five hours of competition and highlights each day during the Classic. These broadcasts can also be seen on line at www.wvvh.tv.

Most of the Classic’s other classes are also available on ShowNet.biz .

For more information on the Hampton Classic Horse Show, please visit the Hampton Classic website at www.hamptonclassic.com or call (631) 537-3177.