Making the Rounds at Hampton Classic 2023: A Mix of People & Personalities

It all starts between 4 and 5 a.m.

Before thousands of competitors, spectators, dignitaries, celebrities, families, tourists and luxury shoppers crowd into the 48th annual Hampton Classic Horse Show, across the sprawling 60-acre property at Snake Hollow Road in Bridgehampton, grooms get to the barns to prepare the horses for their long, athletic day ahead.

They feed them, give them plenty of water, supply medication, make sure they’re relaxed, clean the stalls, brush them, bathe them, clean their hooves, place their saddles and saddle pads on, and wrap their lower legs for protection.

After each show throughout the day, they hose the horses down so they don’t overheat and then provide any maintenance needed again.

“I love horses. I’ve been working with them my whole life, and I like getting them ready for the competitions,” says Hernandez, originally from Mexico, who’s been doing this for more than 20 years.

“You have to like your job. If you’re happy and you like what you’re doing, they’ll know immediately,” says Perez Ortega, who’s been at it for 22 years since he was a teenager in Mexico. “They’re so smart. I love what I do.”

So begins a day of love and affection toward the animals as they’re ready to be ridden.

While there aren’t usually a lot of career ambitions when you’re 3, 4 or 5 years old, a sense of purpose kicks in early in the equestrian community.

Making the rounds this past Saturday, September 2 — the second-to-last day in the weeklong end-of-summer outdoor extravaganza — most of the child and adult amateur riders under the decked-out stabling tents and in and around the show rings say they were atop a pony or horse as young as 3, 4 or 5.

But not only that, they were also forming strong bonds with the equine, developing their primary passion in life, training and competing by then, too.

“I was always the kid who wanted to spend hours at the barn every day riding. I just always wanted to be around it,” says Lily Barnard, 26, of Locust Valley, who has been riding competitively since she was little, after sitting on a pony for the first time at 4. “This sport keeps me motivated, grounded and full of gratitude. It teaches you to not be a sore loser and to live in the moment.”

Strapping spurs to her boots and throwing on her green jacket inside the tent, Barnard gets ready to show in the Amateur-Owner Hunters with her Trakehner horse, Cantina, who’s hooked to a halter in a stall and getting cleaned up by the grooms. 

“He’s the most personable horse I’ve ever had. I think the key to our success is the bond we have when we’re not riding. Spending time together, grazing, just hanging out. When we’re out there, it’s a euphoric feeling a little bit.”

Grace Stenbeck-Werner, 10, was just 6 months old the first time she was on a horse and started riding in shows when she was 3. “It’s all she wants to do,” says her mother, Sophie Stenbeck, watching her daughter celebrate in a ring.

The reserve champion among the Small Pony Hunters on Saturday, Stenbeck-Werner has been with her pony, named Faramore State of the Art, or “State,” for two years.

In this time, she’s connected with him and learned his personality. “He’s really the best, he’s pretty perfect,” Stenbeck-Werner said.

Terri Gunderman, 12, who’s been riding since she was 5, feels the same way about her 7-year-old pony, Peanut. “I’m constantly thinking about him, spending time with him. It’s all about the connection with the horse.”

Amid the rigorous training throughout each week and shows, these riders miss lots of school, sacrifice free time, take physical risks and work hard year-round for a genuine love of what they do — and a shot at earning ribbons and cash prizes.

Claps and cheers and loud shouts of “Woooo! Woooo! Woooo!” fill the air as riders-and-horses jump rails in the rings. 

Trainers of the children amateur riders (15 and younger) yell out directions.

One says, “We’re gonna stay patient … that doesn’t mean you have to pull, just means don’t chase … keep that nose up!”

Another says, “Walk connected, don’t walk maniacally. Slow everything down. Thaaaat’s right.”

KatieMae Sweeney, 15, originally of Wantagh, had a friend in preschool who rode horses. Wanting to join the fun, she took up lessons ahead of her own birthday party being held at a local horse barn when she was 4 years old. And never stopped riding.

That same summer, a photograph in Newsday of the young winner of the leadline at the Hampton Classic prompted her to tell her mom, “This is what I’m going to do next year.” Sure enough, she was a competitor there in August 2014 and won First Place in her division at age 5.

The past week marked her return to the prestigious Hamptons event since moving a few years ago to North Carolina, where she’s competed at Tryon International and branched out to Bruce’s Field in South Carolina, the World Equestrian Center in Florida and more, mostly with her Hanoverian horse, Sammy.

Here, she was reunited with her original trainer, Michael Zukerman of Lynnewood Stables. But because Sammy recently had to undergo surgery and was rehabilitating in North Carolina, Sweeney trained since Tuesday with a horse she hadn’t ridden before, a 13-year-old Gelding named Union Jack.

Before preparing her jumping and flat classes, her mother, Erin King Sweeney pointed out Jack’s ears were pinned back, meaning that he’s “grumpy.” “I try to stay out of it, parents have a place. It’s exciting but you always get a little bit nervous,” King Sweeney said. “You have to rely on the trainers and can’t get into the kids’ head. (KatieMae) was so competitive yesterday, I guess you got to be in this world.”

Following an unlucky rail during the jump class, Zukerman says, “Not the results we were hoping for, but overall on a horse that neither of us saw before Tuesday, the overall product was quite good. The horse he is on Tuesday might be different than the horse on Saturday. That’s horses! KatieMae has a very nice feel for the horse. A hard worker. Determined.”

Afterward, Sweeney says, “It’s been a really cool experience to be here. (Jack)’s really great and really fun, just a lot different from ones I’m used to. You have to remember that they’re still animals. I’ll be here again next year … hopefully with Sammy, that’s the plan.”

Another plan of hers is to one day ride in the highly-coveted Grand Prix on the grounds, featuring international and national champion hunter competitors and Olympic medalists.

From far away, on the other side of the expansive ring of the Grand Prix grandstand, a figure in red suddenly emerges, hurrying toward a rider who fell off their horse. Fortunately, the rider landed just right and quickly bounced back up, letting the red-draped rescuer know she was “OK.”

After the close call, over at the VIP tent, amid barriers with red rope sits Alan Keeley, the official ringmaster of the Hampton Classic since 1991.

He’s dressed in a traditional festive red jacket with lines of yellow and a gold-tinged top hat, and he sounds the coach horn at the beginning of the class. Afterward, the volunteer firefighter/EMT and decades-long farmer and horseman monitors the event and aims to protect everybody inside the ring, including the horses if they start running wild. But, he says, “My protocol is: humans first.”

“Every one of these horses is six feet tall and they’re moving at a high rate of speed, so for a horse to just stop dead and a rider to be dislodged … you can never control what is going to happen and you hope that the worst doesn’t,” says Keeley, 60, of North Salem.

He points to a shamrock pin on his lapel. “Unfortunately, we did have the worst happen here about five years ago,” he says, referring to Kevin Babington, an Irish equestrian who became paralyzed from the neck down after being launched off his saddle at the Hampton Classic’s Grand Prix in 2019. “I was the first one to him, holding cervical spine stabilization. It was horrible because he knew me and in his Irish accent, he said, ‘Alan, why can’t I move my hands and my legs?’”

Also the ringmaster in Lake Placid, at the Devon Horse Show and in Old Salem, Keeley’s other responsibilities here include keeping the show moving, assisting with the presentation of awards at the end of shows, and protecting the seating areas and tables of dignitaries who pay exorbitant amounts to be in the VIP tent. Some of the patrons here even own horses in the show.

“We’ve had some horror stories about people pushing in here and getting belligerent, like, ‘Oh I’m sitting here!’” Keeley says, laughing. “I’ve seen people wearing fancy clothes and then stealing food or bowls of chips, taking a chip, dipping it, taking a bite and then double dipping!”

Eyes fixed on the show the whole time, Keeley lets out a “Go, go, goooo!” at Darragh Kenny of Ireland in the ring. “For a lot of these riders, it’s a lifetime to get to this level. That was an amazing ride.”

At the end of the class, that flash of red was back in the ring presenting awards to the winners.

After the show on Saturday, John Patrick, in the VIP tent as an affiliate of Douglas Elliman, says, “It really takes your breath away to watch the horse rider and the horse jump together. Your heart stops, your breath goes, and then when they make it, you just go, ‘Oh my God …’ The first time I ever came here was Thursday, I came back Friday, and I’m back here today.”

Out on the field, amid the long rows of onsite clothing, jewelry and equestrian shops, Emma Bernier of East Hampton, runs the Sage & Madison vendor booth, with its wide variety of horse-based items on display.

But Bernier has a closer connection to the Hampton Classic beyond a horse-embroidered pillow. 

“I used to ride in this when I was younger, so it’s very nostalgic for me,” says Bernier, who started when she was 4 years old and stopped at about 15. She competed at the Hampton Classic for two summers. “It was exciting but very stressful and intense. I know exactly what they’re going through.”

She says it’s been bittersweet seeing the young riders at the event. “I wish I had stuck with it a little bit more. Watching everybody and just remembering how much I loved it, building a connection, seeing them all cantering and jumping … seeing the horses trot around, I wanna get on there!”

Learn more about the Hampton Classic at hamptonclassic.com