A star-studded field descended on the Hampton Classic Horse Show’s beautiful Bridgehampton showgrounds for a week filled with world-class equestrian competition. Seventeen countries were represented in the Classic’s international division, which saw Israel’s Daniel Bluman best a field of 40 starters representing 12 countries in the show’s culminating event, the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix.
Only two horse-and-rider combinations made it to the jump-off of the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix on Sunday, September 3 – Bluman, a two-time Olympic veteran, and the USA’s Adrienne Sternlicht, who helped the U.S. earn Team Gold at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.
In the end, only Bluman finished on a double-clear score, claiming the Hampton Classic Grand Prix title for the third time – twice aboard his 2022 FEI World Championship and 2023 FEI World Cup Finals mount, Ladriano Z (2017 and 2023) and once with Gemma W (2021).
For the $425,000 Longines Hampton Classic 5* Grand Prix, Alan Wade set a highly technical 1.60m track featuring 17 jumping efforts, and spectators watched with bated breath as the first 30 riders racked up faults around the ring. Sternlicht was the first to successfully complete the task aboard Starlight Farms 1 LLC’s 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding Faquitol-S. Bluman wasn’t far behind with the 15-year-old Zangersheide gelding he co-owns with Blue Star Investments and Over The Top Stables LLC, guaranteeing the crowd a jump-off.
“Adrienne had a beautiful first round, so I just focused on what I had to do,” Bluman said. “I had to ride a very fast track around the course in case I knocked one down so I could still finish in second. Ladriano is a very special horse, and it’s been rare in his entire career that he has more than one rail down. I was very confident and very grateful for this horse today.”
