Let’s say your equestrian accomplishments have never gone much beyond a nicely fenced paddock. And you are more likely to be found on the comfortable and safe spectator side of the field sipping your Official Sponsor Louis Roederer Champagne and nibbling your Official Caterer Robbins Wolfe Eventeurs hors d’oeuvres. The good news is people like you and me might still claim some sort of distinction. Just by showing up enough.
I recently tallied my time in attendance at the Hampton Classic—virtually all day every day during the week of competition, year after year, decade after decade, and it starts to sound like one of those staggering trip-to-the-moon-and-back comparisons. But at least I’ve managed to absorb a little something hanging out and drinking champagne. Over the years this all too visible and persistent presence has led people to mistake me for a kind of go-to information booth. So I’ve heard the questions and I’ve figured out the answers. In order of frequency, here are the most common queries and responses.
Just how old is the Hampton Classic?
There is no one-word answer. If it had a birth certificate, the year would be 1976. Or maybe 1978. Or maybe…well, let me explain. First Neck Lane overlooking Lake Agawam in Southampton had more open fields and fewer hedged estates back in the early 1900s, thus the perfect site for a local horse show. Dropped during World War I, the show was revived in the 1920s at the Southampton Riding and Hunt Club located on Major’s Path. This stylish equestrian showcase, with stables and a posh clubhouse, flourished until the disruptions of another war caused it to shut down.
Yet another horse show was revived in the post- World War II years, but America had changed too much by then, socially and economically. Without the hunt club site or the glamour and energy of those particular kinds of surroundings, this new show never quite caught on.
Circumstances finally seemed right again in 1970s. Riding and show jumping were becoming more competitive and more serious. Rather than an elitist activity or social occasion for the wealthy, it became more of a real sport with well-trained and disciplined riders and a new generation of serious spectators. In 1976 the Southampton Horse Show was expanded from a one-day competition to a five-day A-rated event that would draw in top riders and horses, and two years later, in 1978, it was officially launched with the Hampton Classic name. It moved to its current 60-acre location in Bridgehampton in 1982, and was then extended to a seven-day show spanning two weekends.
Is there something about the Hampton Classic and the weather?
Yes. A hurricane delayed the start of that 1976 show by a day and a half, and it will always be remembered not only as the birth of the Classic but the first of many times that disastrous weather has struck. In 1982, the first year at the Bridgehampton location, a freak tornado ripped through the stabling tents, and 1985 is referred to as “The Year of Mud.” (Picture an eighteen-wheel transport imitating a hippopotamus.) Hurricane Bob, with 80-mph winds, roared through in 1991, forcing the dismantling and lashing down of the tents. Thanks to a lot of preventative effort, there was remarkably little damage. Don’t even ask about some of the other years.
The show has survived downpours, weeklong rains, mud, hurricanes and tornados. By now the crews have had plenty of practice. Just last year the tents had to be taken down and rebuilt as Hurricane Irene whipped the East End. Maybe it’s just the time of year in the Hamptons, or maybe the weather gods want to crash the party. But on balance nothing takes away from the sheer joy of equestrian activity when the sun is shining and an ocean breeze at less than tropical storm velocity cools you down.
Is the Hampton Classic the country’s biggest horse show?
It’s right up there on most standards. The Hampton Classic has grown over the years, becoming one of the largest and most important equestrian events in the United States—and certainly the most beautiful. More than $700,000 in prize money is offered. The $250,000 Grand Prix purse is among the richest in the United States, so it’s certainly tempting enough for riders to try to shave off an extra second jumping to victory. And the prestige of wining in Bridgehampton is immense. Beginning this year, a $200,000 Triple Crown Challenge prize is being offered to any horse and rider combination skilled enough to win the FTI Grand Prix at the Hamptons Classic, the Wells Fargo Grand Prix at the Devon Horse Show, and the Alltech Grand Prix at the Alltech National Horse Show.
More than 1,600 horses will be exhibited in 2012 Some 50,000 people will attend, and 3,000 guests will be seated in the VIP patrons’ tents, something no other show can match. Competitions are held in two jumper rings and four hunter rings, and you can almost always find activity in the six schooling rings as well.
At this point the Hampton Classic cannot get any bigger—additional stabling tents cannot be accommodated, divisions or classes cannot be extended—so the emphasis by Executive Director Shanette Barth Cohen and her staff and the board of directors is on making the show better and better—a considerable challenge for an event that already operates so expertly. But somehow they manage to keep improving it and making it even more exceptional.
What were the best equestrian moments?
So many great ones! In 1988 the Classic was chosen as the final selection trial site for the American Olympic team. While it was a great honor for the show, it upset the normal schedule of both riders and spectators (and who knows what the horses thought) since the event was advanced to the end of July from its normal last August/early September date to permit the lengthy quarantine of horses heading to Seoul.
In 1989, Michael Matz and his wife D. D. Alexander survived the terrible Sioux City plane crash just a week before the Classic. With everyone rooting for them, Alexander won the Warner Communications Jumper Classic and Matz won the Classic’s featured Grand Prix in a breathtakingly exciting competition.
Margie Goldstein-Engle made history as well as thrilling the crowds by taking the Grand Prix cup in 2000 (a few days before leaving for the Sydney Olympics) and again in 2001 and 2002. But the excitement never stops. Just last year McClain Ward rode into history and tied Engle’s record of placing first in three consecutive featured Grand Prix competitions and set a new record with six total wins for that top Classic contest.
Who chooses the annual poster artist?
It’s seems to be a politburo type secret committee. But any artist can submit ideas and artwork up to March 1st. The 2012 poster is by 26-year old Brittany Brett, and it’s stunning.