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Bridgehampton, NY – Sept. 4, 2021 – Alex Matz (USA) cruised to victory on Saturday in the Hampton Classic’s $73,000 LONGINES Cup. He piloted Erdento Van De Leeuwerk, Horseshoe Trail Farm LLC’s 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion, to the only double-clear ride in a field of 29 riders. 
 
The challenging 15-effort, 1.60m course designed by Ireland’s Alan Wade set a tight time allowed of 76 seconds, and only two entries returned to jump off for the win. Daniel Bluman (ISR) was the first to return with Colestina H, the 11-year-old German Sport Horse mare owned by Blue Star Investments and Kim Douglas. They had the faster time of 38.390 seconds but knocked a rail at the last fence for a four-fault finish. Matz then jumped clear in a time of 42.090 seconds to claim the win.
 
Alex Matz and Erdento Van De Leeuwerk soared to victory in the $73,000 LONGINES Cup © Kind Media
 
“I thought it was a really nice course,” said Matz, son of Show Jumping Hall of Famer and three-time U.S. Olympian Michael Matz and Pan American Games team Bronze Medalist D.D. Alexander Matz. “People had fences down all over the place, so I thought it was fair. The time being so tight made it a bit tricky, so I just tried to hustle as much as I could in the first round while also giving my horse a chance at each of the fences.”
 
Matz’s blue ribbon in the LONGINES Cup marks his first victory in a major event at the Hampton Classic, and his third Grand Prix win overall after successful back-to-back weekends at the Lake Placid Horse Shows this summer. 
 
“My strategy going into the jump-off was to try to leave all the fences up,” Matz said with a smile. “I didn’t know if I could be faster than Daniel, but I thought I’d try to leave them all up and that luck would be on my side. It definitely changed my thinking a bit when Daniel dropped the rail, but I just focused on trying to have a clear round. I was fortunate that my horse jumped great today.”
 
Alex Matz and Erdento Van De Leeuwerk © Kind Media
 
“It was a great course,” said Bluman, two-time Olympic veteran and 2017 Hampton Classic Grand Prix champion. “I thought it was challenging. Alan had to test the field a little bit to see how it would hold for tomorrow’s Grand Prix, and he definitely made the course more difficult than yesterday. It turned out to be a really exciting class for everyone.”
 
Daniel Bluman and Colestina H © Kind Media
 
Three American riders – Georgina Bloomberg, Molly Ashe Cawley, and Carly Anthony – rounded out the top five with one time fault each. Bloomberg was the fastest with a time of 76.790 seconds, taking third place with Gotham Enterprizes LLC’s Manhattan, a homebred 9-year-old Warmblood gelding. 
 
“This is an important horse show for me, having friends and family here and being as close to a local show as we can get this year,” Bloomberg said. “Manhattan is also a really special horse. Not only because I think he’s a championship-level horse, but also because I rode his mother and father. They’re both horses that I had a good go with during my career, and their son means a little more to me. I’ve been taking things more slowly with him and letting him develop over time, and it makes it even more satisfying to be able to pull something off like today.”
 
Georgina Bloomberg and Manhattan © Kind Media
 
After his competitive finish in the class, McLain Ward (USA) still leads the $30,000 LONGINES Rider Challenge with 418 points. Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) holds second place with 260 points, and Adrienne Sternlicht (USA) is just behind him with 225 points. The Challenge will be awarded after Sunday’s $300,000 LONGINES Hampton Classic Grand Prix Presented by Land Rover. 
 
The LONGINES Cup was also part of the Jump for JustWorld Program. With this partnership, LONGINES donated meals through JustWorld International to children in need for every clear jump over the LONGINES obstacle. By the time the class ended, a total of 5,000 meals were donated. 
 
In the hunter rings, highlights included the $2,500 Pony Hunter Classic, won by Clara Propp of New York, N.Y., aboard Aquitaine Equine’s News Day. Propp took home the Horse Haven Trophy for her successful performance. Agatha Lignelli, also of New York, N.Y., rode her Chiccobello to a second-place finish. 
 
Airport 48, owned by John & Stephanie Ingram LLC and ridden by Martha Ingram of Nashville, Tenn., won the Whitman Team Amateur-Owner 3’3” Hunter, 18-35 Years Championship and the Breitling Trophy sponsored by MeadowView Farm. The Human Touch Amateur-Owner 3’3” Hunter, 36+ Years Championship went to Arriana Boardman of Palm Beach, Fla., and her Adelina. 
 
For full show results, visit shownet.biz.
 
Each year approximately 50,000 people – including many A-list celebrities – come to watch the nation’s best equestrian athletes compete at the Hampton Classic. The Hampton Classic features more than 200 classes in six show rings, the Agneta Currey Boutique Garden with more than 70 vendors, and a wide selection of dining options, all on its world-class 60-acre show grounds. This year’s Hampton Classic features five FEI classes showcasing elite riders from around the world, including Olympic and World Equestrian Games veterans. There are also kid-friendly activities throughout the week including pony rides, petting farm animals, daily special attractions and more.
 
Daily admission to the Classic is $20 per carload. Admission is free on Monday, and seniors are admitted free on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Grandstand tickets for the $300,000 Hampton Classic Grand Prix on Sunday, September 5, are $45 per person for reserved bucket seating, which are available for purchase on the Hampton Classic website.
 
The Hampton Classic is pleased to continue its relationship with ShowNet by offering its services FREE to all exhibitors. Services include: Orders of Go; Live Ring Status; Live Results; and Post Round Video. 
 
For those who can’t make it to the show grounds, complimentary live webcasts of all Grand Prix ring competitions air on the Hampton Classic website, produced by ClipMyHorseTV and courtesy of LONGINES. ClipMyHorseTV is also providing a complimentary live webcast of all Anne Aspinall ring competitions and archive video, all available on the Hampton Classic website. In addition, WVVH-TV, Hamptons Television, broadcasts up to five hours of competition and highlights each day during the Classic. These broadcasts can also be seen online at www.wvvh.tv. 
 
For more information on the Hampton Classic Horse Show, please visit the Hampton Classic website at www.hamptonclassic.com or call (631) 537-3177. Hampton Classic Horse Show, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable corporation.