Bridgehampton, NY — The Hampton Classic Horse Show has announced that it is delaying the start of this year's event until Wednesday due to the anticipated effects of hurricane Irene.

Originally scheduled to open on Sunday, the Classic is delaying its start because of the need to take down all tents and horse stalls and then reconstruct them. All competition originally scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, and some of the competitions originally scheduled for Sunday’s opening day, will be rescheduled for later in the week.

Horses will be allowed onto the grounds starting Tuesday at 12 noon. Vendors and boutiques may also begin set up starting Tuesday at noon.

"Our conversations with the National Weather Service and the Town of Southampton's head of emergency management have made it clear to us that we need to be prepared for hurricane force winds," said Shanette Barth Cohen, Executive Director of the Hampton Classic. "Therefore in addition to keeping horses off the grounds until Tuesday, in the interest of safety we now must take down the tents and stalls. We will put them back up on Monday and Tuesday morning and be prepared for horses to arrive starting Tuesday after 12 o'clock. On a positive note, the weather forecast for the rest of the week looks beautiful."

The ASPCA Adoption Day, scheduled for Monday, will not be held. However the Hampton Classic and ASPCA are working on developing a virtual adoption day on the Hampton Classic website. Details will follow as they become available.

The 36th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show will run through Sunday, September 4, and will culminate with the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix. The Classic asks all interested parties to watch the Hampton Classic website (www.hamptonclassic.com) for updates and a revised schedule. Updates will also be posted on the Hampton Classic's Facebook page.