With Firefly, he scores a three-peat.
Bridgehampton, NY-Aug. 29, 2013-For the third consecutive year, Phillip Richter rode his Firefly to the Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship after winning the $5,000 Strong’s Marine Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic at the Hampton Classic. Richter’s jump-off time of 37.38 seconds easily defeated the time of 38.22 seconds Tracey Weinberg posted on Linda Z.
Danielle Cooper rode Vegas Du Houssoit to third place (40.33).
Richter, 43, has ridden at the Hampton Classic since its earliest days and won a pony hunter championship here in 1983. His godmother, Christophe de Meniel, was one of the show’s founders, and now he’s on the Hampton Classic Board of Directors.
“So, obviously, this show is very special to me, a part of my life. And Firefly loves this horse show too,” said Richter.
Richter co-founded the investment firm Hollow Brook Wealth Management in 2001, and since Firefly is stabled at mother Judy Richter’s Coker Farm in Bedford, N.Y., and his office is in Manhattan, Phillip doesn’t get much chance to ride. He said that he hadn’t ridden Firefly since winning the championship at the Lake Placid Horse Show in July, and he credits grand prix rider Norman Dello Joio with working Firefly, now 17, between shows.
“I know how to jump, and Firefly knows how to jump, so it’s just a matter of keeping him fit and ready. He’ll do whatever I ask of him,” said Richter. “I’d rather win once at a show like this than win championships at another eight shows. This show is the peak of the year for me, every year.”
The Hampton Classic is also a special show to Cloe Hymowitz, who won the Junior Jumper Championship, because she lives in Bridgehampton. Hymowitz, 17, earned the championship after winning the $5,000 Entrust Junior Jumper Classic on Bon Vivant.
Hymowitz In has been showing at the Hampton Classic since she was 3 years old, and in 2011 she won the Local Non-Pro Hunter Championship.
Hymowitz rode Bon Vivant to a clear jump-off round in 34.74 seconds to defeat Brianne Link on two horses-E-Bay (36.21 seconds) and Zycarla Z (37.05 seconds). Link, 15, lives in East Islip, N.Y.
“He’s an amazing horse-he loves to go really fast and jump,” said Hymowitz. “I knew I had a chance in the classic. I knew I had to just let go of the reins, and he’d do the rest for me.”
The 38th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show runs through Sunday, September 1 and features world-class show jumping competition, as well as magnificent shopping and a variety of entertainment attractions. The Classic features six show rings with more than 100 classes of competition for horses and riders of all ages. A wide range of jumper, hunter, equitation, short stirrup and leadline classes are all part of the Classic’s schedule, as well as competitions for riders with disabilities.
Firefly and Phillip Richter won the $5,000 Strong’s Marine Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic and the Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship at the Hampton Classic. (Shawn McMillen photo)
The Classic features an FEI-recognized Grand Prix on three consecutive days – the $50,000 Spy Coast Farm/Young Horse Show Series Grand Prix Qualifier Presented by Longines on Friday, the $40,000 Longines Cup on Saturday, and the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix and FEI World Cup™ Qualifier on Sunday. The world-class field of riders will also be looking to win the new Longines Rider Challenge that awards $30,000 to the rider who accumulates the most points in the horse show’s Open Jumper division.
The FTI Grand Prix is part of the Taylor Harris Triple Crown Challenge which awards a $200,000 bonus should the same horse-and-rider combination win the $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon, $250,000 FTI Grand Prix at the Hampton Classic, and $250,000 Alltech Grand Prix at the Alltech National Horse Show. McLain Ward won the Wells Fargo Grand Prix of Devon on Rothchild in May and now stands to win the $200,000 bonus should he ride Rothchild to wins in the remaining two events in the Taylor Harris Triple Crown Challenge.
For those who can’t make it to the show grounds, 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 telecasts can also be seen online at www.WVVH.com.
Free live webcasts of all Grand Prix Ring competition will be available, courtesy of ShowNet, at www.HamptonClassic.com. Competition in other rings will be available on a pay-per-view basis at www.shownet.biz.
Further information on the Hampton Classic Horse Show, please visit the Hampton Classic website at www.hamptonclassic.com or call (631) 537-3177. Hampton Classic Horse Show, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation.
