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Babington captures Voltaire

LAKE PLACID — Irish Olympic veteran Kevin Babington rode Shorapur to victory Friday in the $30,000 Voltaire Design Jumper Classic at the 2019 Lake Placid Horse Shows, Sponsored by Bainbridge Farms, LLC and Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC.

Thirteen of 37 entries reached the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 15-effort, first-round course designed by Eric Hasbrouck. Babington advanced three horses to the jump-off.

Laura Chapot, fourth to try the eight-jump tiebreaker course, took an early lead in the jump-off when she finished clean in 37.572 seconds on Chandon Blue. Three rides later, Devin Ryan moved into the lead with a clean ride in a fast time of 36.614 seconds on Cooper.

Babington, who won last year’s $100,000 Prevost Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix with Mark Q, was last to go on Shorapur, the horse on which he won the Prevost Grand Prix in 2016. He blazed over the course and finished clean in 35.933 seconds to claim the win.

“I watched Devin’s ride carefully and I knew I had to add a stride to the Swedish after the double,” Babington said, “but my mare is so fast that even when you’re adding a stride, she’s always covering ground and making up speed. I knew it was going to be really hard to catch his time but she came through as she has done here before.”

Ryan, 2018 World Equestrian Games team gold medalist, and Cooper placed second and Chapot and Chandon Blue finished third. Babington took fourth on Mark Q and fifth on Super Chilled.

Earlier in the day, Chapot took the top two places in the $5,000 Dartbrook Rustic Goods 1.40m Jumper Class. She won the class on Zealous and placed second on Calafornia. Two-time Olympic Silver Medalist and Show Jumping Hall of Famer Anne Kursinski finished third on UK.

Babington added a win on Dundee in the $2,000 Pepsi Beverages Co. 1.35m Jumper Class. It was the second win of the week for Babington and Dundee.

Celebrating 50 years of show jumping in Lake Placid, the Lake Placid Horse Shows, held at the North Elba Show Grounds, feature four show rings with more than 100 classes of competition each week. Action begins at 8 a.m. daily and runs until approximately 5 p.m. Each show is USEF Premier rated for hunters and 6* rated for Jumpers.

Admission to the horse shows is $2 on weekdays and $5 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more.

  All competition in the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field can be seen live on the Lake Placid Horse Shows website at www.lakeplacidhorseshows.com. The livestreaming is sponsored by ShowNet and Marshall & Sterling.

Weekend highlights of the Lake Placid Horse Shows include:

Saturday — $20,000 CMJ Sporthorse 1.40m Open Stake; $7,500 High Peaks Resort Low Junior Jumper Classic; $7,500 Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort Low Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic; $5,000 J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines Adult Amateur Jumper Classic; THIS National Children’s Medal; $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby presented by Lukens Horse Transportation; WIHS Pony Equitation; Various Hunter & Jumper Classes

Sunday — $5,000 The Wild Center Children’s Jumper Classic; $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic; Juliam Farm Lead Line Class (1:00 PM); Saratoga Horseworks Parade of Champions (1:30 p.m.); $100,000 Prevost Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix (2 p.m.); $1,000 MMG Adult Amateur Hunter Classic; $1,000 MMG Children’s Hunter Classic; Various Hunter, Jumper, & Equitation Classes

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