Saugerties, New York, USA – July 25, 2024 – The second of three consecutive weeks of international show jumping action at HITS Hudson Valley resumed bright and early on the morning of Thursday, July 25, 2024. The week is part of the popular Hudson Valley Showjumping® Tour Series that welcomes the best of equestrian sport to the iconic Hudson Valley venue. Fresh off their top placings in the previous week, the USA’s Megan McDermott (USA) and Nintendo raced to the front of the pack once again in the day’s highlight event, the $62,480 Welcome Stake CSI 3*.
In a truly international first-round field, 22 of the 44 total entries managed to navigate a clear jumping and time effort to advance to Ken Krome’s (USA) short course. While two competitors decided to save their mounts for another day, Krome designed a delicate test for the remaining jump-off contenders, which saw faults incurred from ten entries. Ultimately, nine duos posted a double-clear effort, but McDermott and the Counter Balance’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Nintender x Chacco Blue) proved unbeatable with a time of 40.99 seconds.
Always fast across any track, Conor Swail (IRL) raced forward into second place aboard My Lady Lavista. Running just under two seconds slower than McDermott, Swail guided the Cherokee Show Horses Inc’s 10-year-old Holsteiner mare (Mylord Carthago HN x Levisto) to cross the timers in 41.88 seconds.
Swail’s fellow Irishman Philip McGuane (IRL) rounded out the top three with Evergate Stables’ 10-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare (Emerald x Epleaser van’t Heike), Orphea HQ, in 42.41 seconds.
“He’s the best horse ever,” enthused McDermott. “I knew I wanted to have the most competitive plan possible that would make sense for this horse. I had a lot of confidence that I could take risks that I maybe wouldn’t do on another horse, but I know he’s going to be there for me.
“I was second to return for the jump-off, so I knew I had to go for it,” she continued. “There was one spot in particular where the three years we’ve had together really came into play, but overall I know he’s really adjustable. It worked out really nicely for us that the jump-off had several big, sweeping turns.”
Final Results – $62,480 Welcome Stake CSI 3*
1) Megan McDermott (USA) & Nintendo – 0 / 0 – 40.99
2) Conor Swail (IRL) & My Lady Lavista – 0 / 0 – 41.88
3) Philip Mcguane (IRL) & Orphea HQ – 0 / 0 – 42.41
Source: Press Release from Hits Horse Shows
Photos: © ESI Photography
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Categories: CSI 3*, English, Jumper News USA
