Hampton Falls, NH – September 18, 2010 – The Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic presented by Porsche had a beautiful afternoon for show jumping competition at the Silver Oak Equestrian Center. Located in the beautiful seacoast town of Hampton Falls, NH, the Jumper Classic is New England’s premier equestrian event. This elite level competition attracts the country’s top riders, past Olympians and local equestrians who compete for over $200,000 in prize money. The Jumper Classic runs through Sunday, September 19, with the highlight class, the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix, on Sunday. Olympic course designer Linda Allen is designing the tracks in the Coldwell Bankers Previews Grand Prix Field this week.

Please visit The Jumper Classic Facebook page to see exclusive video interviews, photos, and more!

The afternoon’s competition in the Coldwell Bankers Previews Grand Prix Field began with the $12,000 Millbrook Ventures Speed Derby, followed by the $1,200 Merial Pro/Am Class. The winner of the $12,000 Millbrook Ventures Speed Derby was Olympic gold medalist Leslie Howard with Jeans Glove Varnel. They were the fastest by far over the course that included natural obstacles such as the ditch oxer, liverpool, grob, open water, and the Brook Ledge derby bank.

Peter Leone and Charmer descend the Brook Ledge Derby Bank

The class was held in a Faults Converted format. Jeans Glove Varnel put down a blistering time of 96.143 seconds, and four seconds were added for a final time of 100.143 seconds for the win.

Howard’s second horse, Lennox Lewis II, was just behind in second place with a time of 101.377 seconds. Following Howard in third was Kent Farrington on Samar, owned by RCG Farm. They had a clear round in 102.628 seconds.

Kent Farrington and Samar

Farrington was the early pacesetter, but it was all Leslie Howard in today’s speed derby. Howard is known for her incredible speed in jump-offs, but she has also had great success in derby classes.

Jeans Glove Varnel, a 13-year-old mare, is nine-tenths American Thoroughbred, and Howard believes that is the key to her speed. “You can feel the Thoroughbred racehorse in her. She can accelerate her step faster than any horse I’ve ever had. It’s amazing,” Howard related. “You can be boxing her up, then you land and open her up and it takes her one stride to be back out on a 16 foot stride.”

What also helps Howard be successful while carrying a fast pace is her trust in her horse. In addition to great footspeed, there was a part of the course where she made up time too. “I know her so well that from one to two, I would daresay that I did less strides. I could jump the right side of one and literally go almost sideways to two, give her one stride, and hop over it. Trust is the key,” she agreed. “If you’re riding at that speed, you have to trust your horse and know them. I know her so well and I have confidence in her.”

Leslie Howard and Jeans Glove Varnel

Jeans Glove Varnel has won speed derbies at Spruce Meadows, Southampton, Boston, and at the Jumper Classic just this year. “She has a lock on it,” Howard smiled. “That’s her niche. She loves them. I’ve been riding her for years and we were always hoping she’d be a top 1.60m grand prix horse. She would like to be, but it’s not quite within her grasp. She’s won a lot of national level grands prix this year. Anything up to 1.50m, she’s so incredible. She wins a class just about every week.”

Lennox Lewis II, an 11-year-old Oldenburg gelding, is no slouch in the speed derby department either, having placed third in the $175,000 Nexen Cup Derby in Spruce Meadows this year. While it may be an unusual move for some, Howard occasionally uses the speed derby as a warm-up for the grand prix. She explained, “It’s not a usual preparation to go in the speed derby for the grand prix, but it seems to work with him. I’ve had a lot of success with him going really fast over low jumps the day before the grand prix. It’s almost soothing for him to jump low jumps and get into a gallop. He’s a pretty quick horse. Knock on wood, it will pay off and he’ll be clear tomorrow. If not, at least he got a check today!”

Leslie Howard and Lennox Lewis II

Howard said of the class today, “It was a fun course and (Linda Allen) used the field beautifully. There were some hairpin turns to slow you up a few places. It’s such a shame they don’t have more of these classes, but the problem is that you need a big field. This venue has this, and it’s good that they show it off. It’s a fun event for spectators, and it’s a gas to ride in too.”

The $1,200 Merial Pro/Am Relay class was a fun way to end the day, and 13 teams attempted the course, which paired junior/amateur riders, who rode the first half of the course, with a professional rider, who finished the second half of the course. The winning pair was the “Scratch N Sniff” team, composed of professional Darren Graziano of Holmes, NY, and seventeen-year-old Kayleigh Holroyd of Roxbury, CT. They had a combined time of 80.330 seconds for the win, helped along by Graziano’s great gallop to the final fence.

Holroyd rode her horse Roxanna, who she thought would be great for the speed aspect of the class. “My horse is really fast, so if you ride her well she’ll be the fastest horse on the field. Roxanna. I just wanted to go as fast as I can. She’ll turn really fast and sometimes she’ll jump me out of the tack, so another part of my plan was to hang on!” she said with a laugh.

This was the first time Holroyd has done a relay class. “It was a lot of fun! It feels great to win. I’ve been wanting a cooler!” she exclaimed.

Graziano said, “I got a slow start because you have to start out of the box, but after the in and out, he really picked up and opened his stride. This is my favorite show all year. I love this place. It’s a rider friendly environment, and we have so much fun.”

The Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic presented by Porsche concludes tomorrow with the $15,000 Equine Insurance Speed Stake presented by Great American followed by the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix.

For more information and full results, please visit www.jumperclassic.com.

Final Results: $12,000 Millbrook Ventures Speed Derby
1   99  Jeans Glove Varnel, Leslie Howard: (4) 100.143
2   96  Lennox Lewis 2, Leslie Howard: (0) 101.377
3   156 Samar, Kent Farrington: (0) 102.628
4   230 Sandstone Montecristo, Kyle King: (4) 104.309
5   228 Riptide, Kyle King: (4) 105.842
6   88  Maestro Du Desert, Johnathon Corrigan: (8) 107.229
7   100 Goed Zo, Leslie Howard: (0) 111.862
8   41  Reflection, Peter Leone: (4) 112.729
9   60  Sandra Z, David Tromp: (8) 114.154
10  161 Victor VDL, Jonathan Mc Crea: (8) 115.065
11  295 Canasucre, Andrew Bourns: (4) 115.245
12  207 Uptimes, Norman Dello Joio: (8) 115.549

Final Results: $1,200 Merial Pro-Am Relay
1   Team Scratch N’ Sniff: Darren Graziano/Kayleigh Holroyd: (4) 84.330
2   Team Field: Chloe Field/Marshall Field VI: (0) 86.431
3   Team King: Ahmed Alali/Candice King: (0) 86.687
4   Team Blonde Bombshells: Candice King/Brittni Raflowitz: (0) 87.233
5   Midnight Decision: Carlene Wilkish/Tim Hooker: (0) 91.892
6   Team Leaping Lizards: Leslie Howard/Elizabeth Maloney: (0) 95.219
7   Team Creature Comfort: Jeff Papows/Greg Prince: (0) 100.462
8   Team Wembley: Tattie Belknap/Andrew Welles: (4) 97.496

The Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic presented by Porsche, now in its 21st year, annually attracts some of the nation’s most elite equestrian athletes as well as international competitors.  The show offers five days of competition and culminates in the premier event, the $75,000 Fidelity Investments Grand Prix, held on one of the top grass grand prix fields on the east coast. For more information on the Fidelity Investments Jumper Classic presented by Porsche, please visit www.jumperclassic.com.

Fidelity Investments is one of the world’s largest providers of financial services, with assets under administration of $3.3 trillion, including managed assets of nearly $1.5 trillion, as of July 31, 2010. Founded in 1946, the firm is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, brokerage, benefits outsourcing and many other financial products and services to more than 20 million individuals and institutions, as well as through 5,000 financial intermediary firms. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit www.fidelity.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Kendra Cecieta, Director of Media Relations, media@jumperclassic.com  

EDITORAL CONTACT: Pamela Mansfield, Editor In Chief, pmansfield@jumperclassic.com

PHOTO CREDIT: Photos © Flashpoint Photography.  These photos may only be used in relation to this press release and with full photo credit.

WEBSITE: www.jumperclassic.com, Press Releases and Photos are available for download.