Postcard: 2007 Hampton Classic
Bridgehampton, N.Y., September 2, 2007 -- There's nothing else like it in this country. I'm referring, of course, to the fabulous Hampton Classic. This eight-day fixture, which ends with a flourish on Labor Day weekend, might be seen by some as a festival of excess, from the tremendously tempting shopping to the over-the-top table decorations and of course, the impossible traffic.
As I sat in long lines of cars for more than four hours the other day on my way to the showgrounds, I wondered if the agonies of the trip were worth it. They are. The Classic is similar to a European show, with its ranks of VIP tables and chalets around the grand prix arena, the fabulous boutiques and the celebrities on hand to provide an exclamation point of excitement.
The competitions are what it's really all about, though, but before I get to that, let me just segue to the shopping. This morning, I almost bought a horse for $8,900. Well, I certainly would have if I had that kind of money.
This was a low-maintenance animal, a stately rocking horse, carved from English oak and meant for your living room. A creature with a real mane and tail, it can carry an adult (actually two adults at the same time) as well as a child (I know, I rode it!) There is no bucking, manure or shoeing bills. The Queen of England owns two, I was told. I'd like to have just one.
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Then it was on to the hats. I tried an elegant black straw job trimmed with peacock feathers. Only $1,150. But this would have been just the thing had I been invited to sit at one real estate agency's table, set with tall vases of pastel pom-pom flowers and topiary-wrapped flat-screen TVs showing the firm's listings. It also would have suited me for a chair at a nearby table featuring statuettes of rearing horses covered in giant daisies. Champagne, whether Louis Roederer or Moet, was everywhere, flowing faster than a horse could gallop in a timed jump-off.
Which brings me to the show's feature event, the $150,000 FTI Grand Prix. I had a feeling this was going to be difficult. Course designer Conrad Homfeld knows how to test both horse and rider to the Nth degree.
In the morning's $25,000 Calvin Klein Show Jumping Derby for juniors and amateurs, no one went clean. The three 4-faulters did come back for the tie-breaker, however, with Tracey Weinberg nailing the only clean round on her sparky little Linda Z.
"I'm so overwhelmed, I can't begin to tell you," said Tracey breathlessly after collecting her blue ribbon.
"I got this mare a little over a year ago. She's quite tough and I think you always need about a year to get together with your horse. I felt it click today. It was sort of a defining moment for me and my horse being a partner."
Tracey, who went on to win the Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship, particularly wanted to snare the Calvin Klein ribbon for her trainer, Joe Fargis.
Listen: Tracey Weinberg talks about winning the Calvin Klein ribbon for her trainer, Joe Fargis
By the bye, I was told Joe looks good on Kent Farrington's former mount, Madison, with whom he was 10th in a $7,500 jumper class earlier in the week. Don't forget, Joe won two Olympic gold medals on Touch of Class, another hot bay mare. Anyway, when I saw how challenging the Calvin Klein was, I had an inkling that the afternoon's $150,000 FTI Grand Prix was going to be a doozy. And so it was, with only three of 30 starters (who had qualified on Friday for the class) finishing with clean rounds to qualify for the jump-off.
A good number of people came close. My heart broke for Georgina Bloomberg on the floatastic (just made up that word) gray gelding, Cim Cristo. She had put in a clear round until the very last fence, a tricky and delicate gate. It came down just as the finish line was in sight. What a disappointment for her and her father, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was on hand to watch from the front row with his girlfriend, Diana Taylor. The defending champ, Anne Kursinski with Roxanna, toppled a piece on the faux brick wall to scuttle her efforts toward back-to-back victories.
McLain Ward, a three-time winner of the grand prix, told me after walking the course that he wished he were riding his gold medal Olympic mount, Sapphire. Instead, he was aboard Quo Vadis, a far less-tested ride who knocked down the second fence.
"He stumbled, and I overrode it," sighed McLain on his way out of the ring.
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