Riders vie for big prizes on Hampton Classic final day

The 60-acre grounds of The Hampton Classic Horse Show, all dried-out Saturday after a soaking from Hurricane Earl, were a whirl of children, parents, dogs, petting-zoo animals, horses and riders - and the prestigious show's organizers predicted a similarly sizeable crowd Sunday for the event's final day.

"We've already been getting calls for tickets to Sunday's $250,000 FTI Grand Prix and FEI World Cup Qualifier," said spokeswoman Michelle Clopp, referring to the weeklong show's top-dollar prize event, which features riders and horses of international caliber.

Proceeds from The Hampton Classic, which has a total of $600,000 in prize money, benefit Southampton Hospital. The nationally known show, held in Bridgehampton, is in its 35th year.

The final weekend of The Hampton Classic is a magnet for celebrities, some of whose children ride in the show. Hillary Dobbs - nationally syndicated radio host Lou Dobbs' 22-year-old daughter, who recently passed the $1-million mark in show-jumping earnings - was the winner in Saturday's $30,000 Fendi Cup. On Sunday, Georgina Bloomberg, 27, the world-class equestrian daughter of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is to compete in the $250,000 FTI Grand Prix and FEI World Cup Qualifier.

Other celebs who put in appearances during the week included supermodel and Hamptons fixture Christie Brinkley, television host Kelly Ripa and her husband, actor Mark Consuelos, comedian Joy Behar, entertainment correspondent Jill Rappaport, "Today" show host Matt Lauer, film director Ed Burns and supermodel wife Christie Turlington.

On Tuesday, with Hurricane Earl off the Bahamas and approaching the North Carolina coast, show officials met to discuss what to do to protect horses staying on the grounds and minimize any of the storm's effects on the show.

About 1,600 horses participate throughout the Classic, which began Aug. 29, and hundreds at a time stay in stalls under tents on the show grounds. Prior to Saturday, about 750 horses were slated to participate during the final weekend.

"We started making arrangements to find places for the horses last Tuesday, when we had meetings about the approaching storm, and we called around to area barns," Clopp said.

About 650 horses were trailered back to their owners' stables or sent to local barns to board before the wind and rain spawned by Earl occurred Friday night. About 100 horses stayed on the show grounds throughout the storm, Clopp said.

"We knew the tents could withstand the winds and rain, and everything worked out," she said.

On Friday, two events were moved ahead of schedule when the show opened at 8 a.m. The $10,000 Sotheby's International Realty Welcome Stake was first, followed by the $15,000 Speed Derby at 10 a.m., which ended at 11:30 a.m. When the rains and wind began to kick in, Clopp said, the small boutiques of clothing, jewelry and horse-related items closed at 1 p.m.

"The show ended about 2 p.m. on Friday, and all the VIP tents and stables survived the storm," she said. "We just took down some smaller tents, but everything went on as planned."

In addition, the oncoming storm caused organizers to shift the FEI $50,000 Spy Coast Farm Event Grand Prix - the qualifying class for Sunday's top-dollar prize event, which originally was scheduled for Friday - to Thursday.