48/ JULY 2021 THE RIDER


Back-to-Back Grand Prix Wins by Alex Matz Highlighted the 2021 Lake Placid Horse Shows


Lake Placid, NY – July 13, 2021 – Back- to-back Grand Prix wins by Alex Matz highlighted the 2021 Lake Placid Horse Shows, Sponsored by Bainbridge Farms, LLC and Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC. Matz became just the sixth rider to sweep both Lake Placid Grand Prix events in the same year. One of the premier


stops on the nation’s hunter- jumper horse show circuit, the 2021 Lake Placid Horse Shows, June 29-July 11, featured more than 100 classes of competition each week awarding more than $600,000 in prize money. Matz’s first career


Grand Prix win highlighted the first week of competi- tion. Riding Cashew CR in the $100,000 Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix, Matz was the first to try the 15-


to take second. “I have a fast horse


who gave it his all today so I thought there was a chance that our time might hold up even with so many fast ones going after me,” Matz said. “I came into the final com- bination on quite a strong angle and Cashew was re- ally good to me there. He stayed straight and gave me a big effort and I think that’s probably where I won the class.


“It’s very special with


both my parents here and most of my family and this is such a special place to win. I couldn’t be any hap- pier!”


Matz then rode David-


son to victory in the second week’s $100,000 Great American Insurance Group Grand Prix presented by Al- liant Private Client. Six of 30 entries reached the jump-


Volo, but a rail down cost him four faults and left him in ninth place. “I wasn’t really sure if


Back-to-back Grand Prix Winner Alex Matz with Davidson (c) KindMedia


Leslie Burr Howard, Debbie Dolan-Sweeney, Margie Engle, Jeffery Welles and Darragh Kenny as the only riders to sweep Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix


faults and a time of 38.602 seconds on Blossom Z. Following the Grand


Prix, Matz was presented the Richard & Diana Feld- man Perpetual Trophy for Excellence for the best com- bined finishes in Lake Placid’s two Grand Prix events.


Zayna Rizvi also rode


to back-to-back wins, claim- ing victory in both $10,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame


Junior/Amateur Alex Matz and Cashew CR (c) KindMedia


Jumper Classics. Rizvi rode Excellent to the win in the first week’s $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic, turning in two clean rounds and a jump-off time of 34.280 sec- onds. Riding fifth of the six in the jump-off, Rizvi edged out Grace Debney, who had held the lead through most of the jump-off with a clean jump-off ride in 34.404 sec- onds on Boheme De La Roque. Rizvi won the second


week’s Classic on Quivive SZ and also placed third on Chaplin W with second place going to Eva Fisher- man on Contara 15. Rizvi finished as champion of the division on Quivive SZ and as Reserve on Chaplin W. She was among the horse show champions honored before the Grand Prix in The Clothes Horse Parade of Champions. The first week also


Jordan Coyle and Boston Ask CR (c) KindMedia


jump first-round course de- signed by Alan Wade and he turned in the first of 11 clean rides. The 24-year-old son of Show Jumping Hall of Famer Michael Matz and Pan American Games Bronze medalist D.D. Alexander Matz then set the mark to beat when he rode clean over the eight-jump tiebreaker course with a time of 36.860 seconds. He then watched and waited as the remaining 10 entries tried and failed to beat his time. Coming closest was Laura Chapot who finished clean in 38.875 seconds on Diarado’s Flying Dutchman


off by riding clean over the 16-jump, first-round course designed by Ken Krome. Carly Anthony was first to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker course and she set the mark to beat with an- other clean ride and a time of 42.269 seconds on Jet Blue, owned by Portfolio Horses LLC. Each of the next four entries had faults leaving it up to Matz, the last to go. Matz blazed over the


course fault-free on David- son, owned by 5 Star Part- ners, and finished in the jump-off’s fastest time of 38.320 seconds to join


events in the same year. “My horse was at his


best today, he was just phe- nomenal,” said Matz. “He did everything I asked of him, especially when I called on him and needed him so it’s a real tribute to him. It was a great two weeks here and I really look forward to coming back.” Matz also finished


fourth with a four-fault ride in 40.750 seconds on Flash with third going to McLain Ward, competing in his final event before going to Tokyo for his fifth consecutive Olympic Games. Ward fin- ished the jump-off with four


saw Jordan Coyle ride Boston Ask to victory in the $30,000 Adirondack Jumper Classic. Coyle was one of five entries to reach the jump-off by riding without penalty over the 15-jump first-round course. The rider from Ireland then claimed the win by riding clean over the seven-jump tiebreaker course with the fastest time of 34.453 seconds. Second place went to Heather Caristo-Williams who fin- ished the jump-off clean in 35.696 seconds on High- lander MVF. “This is my first time


here and I really couldn’t believe how great the field was,” Coyle said in refer- ence to the day-long rain. “There are very few rings that can match one this even when they have perfect con- ditions. I felt I was a little slow over the first part of the jump-off so I took a


chance over the last two jumps and fortunately it paid off.” In week 2, Laura


Chapot rode Chandon Blue to victory in the $30,000


my score would hold up but I was really happy with how my horse performed in the jump-off,” Chapot said. “He was fast, he was careful and he took a stride out to the last fence. I thought I did as much as I could do with him and I just kept my fingers crossed that it would hold up.” Amanda Steege rode LaFitte De Muze, owned by Cheryl Olsten, to victory in the $15,000 USHJA Interna- tional Hunter Derby pre- sented by Eastern Hay & Purina Animal Nutrition. Eleven finalists contested the two Derby courses set by course designers Ken Krome and Joe Carnicom in the all-grass Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field.


champion in his division every year but this is the first time I’ve ever shown him in this big grass field. I was really looking forward to it.


“It wasn’t on the


course chart that you had to hand gallop the last fence but it seemed appropriate to me with that long run to the last jump to show off his gallop a little bit. The handy felt so smooth and easy, it almost felt like he knew the course. I just have to think what I want to do and he seems to know it.” Sophia Mitchell took


top honors in the Kathy Scholl Equitation Classic, open to first and second place finishers in the Dover Saddlery USEF Hunter Seat Medal, ASPCA/NHSAA Maclay, Platinum Perform- ance USEF Talent Search, National PHA and WIHS


Zayna Rizvi and Excellent after winning the $10,000 Mirror Lake Inn Junior/Amateur Jumper Classic (c) KindMedia


Laura Chapot and Chandon Blue won the $30,000 FarmVet Jumper Classic (c) KindMedia


FarmVet Open Jumper Clas- sic. Ten of 30 entries reached the jump-off by rid- ing clean over the 16-jump, first-round course. Chapot was the second to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker course and she set the mark to beat with another clean ride and a time of 40.233 seconds. The remaining eight entries tried and failed to catch her with Hardin Towell coming closest on Joris VD Bisschop. They finished clean in 40.677 sec- onds for second place. Jor- dan Coyle actually beat Chapot’s time, finishing in 39.286 seconds on Centriko


Judges Scott Fitton and Leslie Emmerson (Panel 1) and Scott Williamson and Kevin Giblin (Panel 2) scored Steege and LaFitte on top in both rounds, giv- ing them a score of 182 in the Classic Round and a score of 204 in the Handy for a two-round total of 386. “He was just so re-


laxed and so happy to be out on the grass,” Steege said of LaFitte who was honored in the first week’s Saratoga Horseworks Parade of Champions as High Per- formance Hunter champion. “This is his third year show- ing here and he’s been


equitation classes. The trainer’s award went to Frank Madden. The horse show hon-


ored two great contributors with its Outstanding Friend or Official Award. Honored during Week 1 for his con- tributions to the horse shows’ success over the decades was Butch Martin and honored Week 2 for her many contributions was Liz Soroka. Week 1 featured the


Juliam Farm Lead Line class and Week 2 featured the horse show’s annual


Continued on Page 49


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