“She was just fantastic right from the first fence,” said Engle of Hidden Creek’s Laurel. “She galloped right up to the first fence and her turns were great. I really took a shot at the Crown Royal jump in the middle of the course, and she just did that beautifully.”

Aaron Vale took a third in the Crown Royal class piloting Nonix Le Parc to a four-fault finish in 48.507. Fourth was awarded to another United States Olympic Team member, Lauren Hough, who rode Windy City. The pair posted four faults and stopped the clock in 52.394 seconds.

Engle was also the show’s Leading Jumper Rider and Laurel earned the Winthrop Gardiner Perpetual Trophy for being the high point open jumper. The Hermes Style of Riding award, given to the rider with the best style of riding, was awarded to McLain Ward, a past two-time winner of the Crown Royal Grand Prix.

Prior to the grand prix on Sunday the $50,000 BestSelections.com East Coast League Finals showcased the most promising five and six year old show jumping prospects competing in the United States. Winning the five-year–old division was Erin Haas riding Soubrette. Haas of Chelsea, MI, finished the year fault–free with the young jumper. Trained by Olympic rider Laura Kraut, Haas is looking forward to competing in Monterrey, Mexico for the finals.

In the six-year-old division, Olympic alternate Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, FL. won for the second consecutive year, this time aboard The Fly. Minikus led coming into the Eastern League Finals and was able to hold it riding the consistent jumper.

“He’s been a very very good horse,” said Minikus. “He was a little feisty when I got him but it’s made him a good horse. He’s won a tremendous number of classes. Not only did he win five or six six-year-old classes, but he has been very competitive in the low and high preliminary classes.

“There are some horses that are good horses and there are some horses that are show horses and he’s a show horse,” he added.

Minikus and the rest of this year’s Olympic show jumping squad kept themselves tuned-up before heading to Sydney by competing in the $25,000 Prudential Grand Prix, a World Cup qualifier and qualifying class for the $150,000 Crown Royal Grand Prix, presented by David Yurman. On Friday, September 1, Engle, Hough, Minikus, Nona Garson, and Laura Kraut competed in the qualifier along with 57 other horse and rider combinations.

Topping the class was Leslie Howard riding S’Blieft. Eight horses advanced to the jump-off and only three, including Howard, had double clear rounds. Howard and S’Blieft stopped the clock in the second round in 41.208, just 5/10ths of a second faster than second-placed finisher, Aaron Vale aboard Elan Florestan. Howard’s win made her eligible for the $100,000 New Things Bonus Challenge which ultimately went unclaimed when Margie Engle won Sunday’s Crown Royal Class.

In the prestigious Calvin Klein Show Jumping Derby another one of Kraut’s students went home with the blue. Paige Johnson, 14, of Washington, DC, piloted Dominique to the only clear round out of a field of thirty junior and amateur riders.

“I was really worn out because I had done two before Dominique, but Laura said wake up!” said Johnson who did wake up to win the class. The 13-year-old mare has been teamed up with Johnson for almost three years and she admits that they clicked right away. Dominique and Johnson also earned the junior jumper championship.

In the $10,000 Calvin Klein Equitation Championship Jennifer Jones led the two–phase class to take top honors. Jones, of Ocala, FL, rode Pacific D to the championship. Second was awarded to Jennifer Tytel of Mill Neck, NY, and third went to Cody Baird of Greenwich, aboard Pretendent.

In the Prudential Pony Jumper Classic Haylie Jayne of West Palm Beach, FL, rode Ingrid to top honors. Second was awarded to Dorothy Grubb of Whitehouse, NJ. Daughter of Michele and Olympian Tim Grubb, the young rider collected the ribbon aboard Jiggly Puff. Grubb also earned the champion in the small pony division riding Strike A Pose. In the medium pony division Addison Phillips collected the championship for the second consecutive year. This year she rode Blue Mist to the tri-color.

The large pony hunter championship was awarded to Jennifer Berol Bliss for her consistent performance on Hillcrest Blue Wishes. The horse’s show record includes a grand champion finish at the pony finals and a third overall in this year’s 2000 Prudential Pony Finals. The 10-year-old grey mare currently leads the country in point standing in the large pony division. Bliss, 15, of Bedford, NY, also rides Jolie in the junior hunter division.

In the junior hunter division Georgina Bloomberg, 17, of New York, NY, dominated the classes finishing with the large junior championship riding Diplomacy and the small junior hunter championship on Dialog L. Not surprisingly, Bloomberg also earned the Best Child Rider Trophy.

Bloomberg’s trainer, Jefferey Welles of New Canaan, rode Dialog L to the reserve championship in the regular working hunter division. Champion in that division and grand champion hunter was awarded to Caroline Moran’s Saint Nick, who was ridden by Havens Schatt. Moran also collected the championship in the amateur-owner hunter 35 and under division riding Saint Nick herself.

In the green conformation division Holly Hays and Lyman T. Whitehead battled it out for the championship. Hays rode Aspen to the reserve champion finish just behind Whitehead aboard Pamela Vance’s Dutch Chocolate. Hays did, however, collect the second-year green division championship riding Regall, owned by Cathy Zicherman. This time Whitehead took the reserve riding Stapless, Nancy Benzel’s horse. Hays was also named the leading hunter rider.

Not only was the horse show a success at the Hampton Classic, but so was Cablevision’s Kid’s Day on Saturday, September 2. Children of all ages came out for a day of fun before going back to school. In the Horse Exhibition Tent and Show Yard located behind the main grandstands flocks of children gathered around Alcazar the Magician to witness his sleight of hand. They also learned to juggle, plate spin and stilt walk from the National Circus Project.

With balloon in hand kids discovered a world of horses, llamas and were able to get and autograph from Olympic rider Laura Kraut.

The Hampton Classic Horse Show benefits the Southampton Hospital, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the United States Equestrian Team. Offering up the best in show jumping, there is no other competition that brings together the hunter-jumper circuit with thousands of spectators, extravagant social events, celebrities, shopping and fine dining in the Hamptons.

For more information on the Hampton Classic be sure to visit the web site at www.hamptonclassic.com, call 631-537-3177 or e-mail to classicomm@aol.com