Alex Matz Blazes Ahead in the $32,000 Two-Phase CSI 5* at the 50th Hampton Classic Horse Show

By Jumper News on 2025-08-28

Bridgehampton, New York, United States – August 28, 2025 – Thursday afternoon’s $32,000 Two-Phase Challenge CSI 5* at the 50^th annual Hampton Classic CSI 5* & CSI 2* perfectly showcased both the experience of Olympic show jumping veterans and the talent of young riders climbing up the sport’s ranks. In the end, American Alex Matz (USA) blazed ahead of his fellow competitors with a fault-free score of 24.36 seconds, emerging victorious aboard longtime partner Cashew CR.

Celebrating 50 years of world-class equestrian competition in 2025, the Hampton Classic Horse Show takes place in Bridgehampton, NY, August 24-31, featuring FEI CSI 5* and CSI 2* show jumping and USEF Premier hunter competitions with more than $1 million in prize money. The highlight of the week is the $400,000 Longines Hampton Classic Grand Prix CSI 5*, one of the world’s premier show jumping competitions, on Sunday, August 31.

**McLain Ward** (USA) & **High Star Hero**

Some might have said that when World #8 McLain Ward (USA) and High Star Hero took the lead in 25.74 seconds during the middle of the 1.45m class on Thursday, no one could catch them. However, with 68 horse-and-rider combinations representing 14 nations contesting Nick Granat’s 15-effort, 1.45m track, spectators had more to look forward to.

**Skylar Wireman** (USA) & **Barclino B**

Immediately following Ward in the order was 20-year-old Skylar Wireman (USA) aboard Barclino B, her double-gold winning mount from the 2025 Gotham North/North American Youth Jumping Championships presented by USHJA. The pair sliced and diced their way to a blistering, faultless time of 24.83 seconds, knocking Ward from the top spot and keeping the lead until Matz entered the ring during the final ten rides. He and Dorothy Matz’s 17-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Cassini II x Quinar Z) shaved almost half a second off Wireman’s time, clinching the win in 24.36 seconds.

“My horse is naturally very, very fast,” Matz said. “He’s 17 now, and we’ve been together for nine years. He’s an incredible competitor. Skylar had a fantastic round; I didn’t know if we would be fast enough, but Cashew felt unbelievable in the warmup. During the first phase, I put him in a couple of compromising positions, but he didn’t want to come close to touching the poles so I felt pretty confident that he was in top form. Luckily, he did the rest.”

Wireman and her, Shayne Wireman and the Wireman Investment Group’s 9-year-old Holsteiner gelding walked away with second place for their efforts. Ward and the 12-year-old Belgian Sport Horse gelding owned by Michael and Wendy Smith finished third.

Matz’s and Wireman’s placings catapulted them to the top of the leaderboard in the $20,000 Longines Rider Challenge for the FEI 5* division, which will be awarded after the $400,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix on Sunday. Matz currently leads with 150 points, while Wireman sits second with 120 points. Overnight leader Mark Bluman (COL) is third with 116 points.