Lake Placid, NY – July 10, 2016 – Paul O’Shea of Ireland rode NLF Newsflash to the win in the $100,000 Equine Insurance Services/Great American Grand Prix Sunday to conclude the I Love New York Horse Show, the second of two weeks comprising the 47th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows, presented by Sea Shore Stables LLC.
Four of 29 entries reached the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 15-jump course designed by Show Jumping Hall of Famer Steve Stephens. O’Shea claimed the win on his Irish Sport Horse when he completed the eight-jump tiebreaker course with the best score of four faults in a time of 38.187 seconds. David Raposa of Clinton, NY finished second on the Belgian Warmblood, S&L Sage with five faults and a time of 40.269.
“It was an unusual jump-off to be sure with the first two not finishing,” said O’Shea. “I was fortunate to go last and I knew what I had to do. I wound up having the same rail down as David so I moved it a little faster to try to get the win. Flash is a great Irish horse. He has a fantastic mind and he can adapt to anything.”
Paul O’Shea rode NLF Newsflash to the win in the $100,000 Equine Insurance Services/Great American Grand Prix
Finishing third on Quointreau Un Prince was Laura Chapot of Neshanic Station, NJ, who also placed fifth and eighth on a pair of Irish Sport Horses, ISHD Dual Star and Thornhill Kate. U.S. Olympic veteran Peter Leone of Greenwich, CT, tied Chapot for third on the Danish Warmblood, Wayfarer. Because of rains on Saturday and Sunday morning, the class was held in the E.R. Mische Jumper Ring rather than the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field.
Following the Grand Prix, Laura Chapot was honored as the winner of the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence for the best combined finishes in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix events. In the first week’s $75,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix, Chapot finished second on Quointreau Un Prince, third on ISHD Dual Star and seventh on Thornhill Kate.
Laura Chapot won the Richard and Diana Feldman Perpetual Challenge Trophy for Excellence
Samantha Cohen topped a field of 19 equitation riders in the prestigious Kathy Scholl Equitation Classic presented by Kate Levy & Family. All of the riders had to qualify by finishing first or second in equitation classes over the two weeks of the Lake Placid Horse Shows. “Qualifying for this class was definitely one of my goals in coming here,” said Cohen, 15, who is trained by Stacia Madden and who was competing in Lake Placid for the first time. “I really like these bigger classes where the pressure is really on and my horse was just great. I’m very happy to have won!”
Samantha Cohen won the Kathy Scholl Equitation Classic
In the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby presented by Eastern Hay & Purina Animal Nutrition, Grand Prix veteran Jimmy Torano took top honors on Levland. Levland won both rounds, receiving scores of 185 and 204 for a total of 389 points from judges Denise Perry, John Barker, Kitty Barker and Scott Williamson. Second place went to Cassandra Kahle on Fandago HX with 373 points.
“This is a great class and the horse was really, really good,” said Torano. “Running back and forth between the hunter and jumper rings might seem like a lot, but I’ve gotten to used to it so it’s not as hard for me as it might seem.”
Sunday’s final day of competition also saw wins by Hannah Janson on Dolce Van’t Breehof in the $7,500 Price Chopper Low Junior Jumper Classic; Charlotte Jacobs on Cyrina Z in the $7,500 Bainbridge Farm Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic; Christian Currey on Paramount in the $5,000 J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines Adult Jumper Classic; and Samantha Takacs on Topeka King in the Pony Hunter Classic presented by Beacon Hill Horse Transportation.
Additional information on the Lake Placid Horse Shows, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC is available by calling the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at 518-523-9625 or on line at www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.
Great American Grand Prix Top Ten:
