Kevin Babington and Shorapur (Shawn McMillen)
Brianne Goutal of New York City rode Nice De Prissy to second place (0 faults/40.34 seconds), and Richie Moloney of Ireland rode Freestyle De Muze to third place, with 4 faults in 44.26 seconds. Ramiro Quintana of Argentina guided Whitney to fourth place, with 8 faults in 38.58 seconds.
The Hampton Classic Grand Prix was an FEI-sanctioned qualifier for the Longines FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas next April.
Moloney's third-placed finish was more than enough to put him on top in the $30,000 Longines Leading Rider Challenge for the second consecutive year, earning 300 points from the week's 10 open jumper classes. Fellow Irishman Darragh Kenny held on to the runner-up spot with 283 points, even though he left on Saturday night for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. Quintana finished third (195) and Shane Sweetnam of Ireland finished fourth (177.5).
"It was nice to go into the jump-off and know that I'd done it already. I had a great week, and winning the Longines award was a great way to finish it off," said Moloney, of Wellington, FL.
Babington's day ended better than it started: As the first rider in the ring at 8:00 a.m. for the 7/8-Year-Old Jumper Championships, he fell in the water jump. Since he was completely soaked, he had to wear his back-up jacket for the grand prix, the one missing the lowest front button. "Maybe I should start wearing this jacket for good luck," he quipped.
Guilherme Jorge's course proved considerably challenging to the 33 riders from five nations who attempted it. Jorge agreed with the three winners' evaluation that the second half of the course was especially demanding. "It was certainly a long course, but I was very happy that the faults were spread out all over the course," he said.
Moloney led off the jump-off round in front of the 15,000 fans who surrounded the Grand Prix Ring, sitting in the grandstands, the VIP tents and the corporate chalets. He said that Freestyle De Muze, 10, is relatively inexperienced at this level of competition and isn't a fast horse. Plus, he knew before the class that he only had to finish fourth to win the Longines Award, meaning he was guaranteed of that prize, even if he was the slowest rider.
So he approached the shortened course conservatively. Freestyle De Muze knocked down only the second-last fence, the Longines oxer.
Quintana's plan was clearly to better Moloney's time, and he did it easily, but at the cost of two rails. That left the door wide open for Babington.
"I had planned to go medium fast, even before I watched Richie and Ramiro go," said Babington, who lives in Gwynedd Valley, Pa. "It was a careful jump-off-you had to jump all the jumps before you worried about your speed. But she's naturally a very fast mare, so I can have a fast time without even trying."
Goutal, 25, who has dual U.S. and French citizenship, said that she "didn't want to go crazy fast, but I think I played it a little too safe."
Babington said that this was the first 1.6-meter grand prix for Shorapur, 9, and that he'd only decided to enter her, instead of another horse, after she'd done a $10,000 class in the Grand Prix Ring on Friday. "I thought she felt a little too brave over those smaller jumps and that it was time to move her up," he said.