2023 Hampton Classic Opening Day

2023 Hampton Classic Opening Day I Photos by Richard Lewin

The 48th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show opened Sunday with classes featuring Long Island’s top horses and riders in what is commonly referred to as “Local Day.” Among the day’s champions was Laura Bowery of Bridgehampton, NY, who secured the Grand Local Hunter Championship and South Fork Perpetual Trophy for the second consecutive year.

The Hampton Classic, August 27-September 3, is one of the world’s most prestigious horse shows, featuring competitors at every level from young children in leadline to Olympic, World, and World Cup Champions. The Classic also has competitions for riders with disabilities.

The Classic traditionally reserves Opening Day competition for the Long Island equestrian community, with classes open exclusively to horses stabled in Nassau and Suffolk counties for at least 75 days since January of the calendar year. Many local hunter and equitation riders took center stage in the show’s beautifully manicured rings, vying for top honors before Sunday afternoon’s featured classes, the $30,000 Hampton Classic 1.40m Jumper Challenge and $10,000 Marders Local Hunter Derby.

This year, Bowery once again earned the most points in any local hunter division aboard Denise Landman’s 12-year-old Westphalian gelding Capote. Their outstanding performances in the Local Professional Hunter Section B Sponsored by Barbara Borg not only earned them the Grand Local Hunter Championship but also the Eddie Horowitz Memorial Trophy and overall Local Working Hunter Professional Championship.

Bowery walked away with a second championship thanks to her ride on Rocklyn, Anne Byers’ 12-year-old Zangersheide gelding, in the Local Professional Hunter Section A Sponsored by Yvette Rechler Newman. Earning the Section C Championship was Donrato X, a 7-year-old Holsteiner gelding owned by Maxine Orens-Williams and ridden by Michael Zukerman of Mill Neck, NY.

Other top honors included the Miller & Associates Local Junior Hunter Championship, which was earned by Grace Majoros of New York, NY, and her 13-year-old Warmblood gelding Edgewood’s Wonder. In the Local Non-Professional Hunter division, Danae Oliveri of West Islip, NY, piloted Orpen Horses’ 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Lurango to the championship. Coeur De Leon, the 14-year-old Warmblood gelding owned and ridden by Cynthia Sulzberger of Wellington, FL, earned top honors in the Local Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship.