The Hampton Classic in 2026 elevated the summer season in a spectacular fashion.
Only two entries made it to the jump-off in Sunday’s $400,000 Longines Hampton Classic Grand Prix with top ranked Kent Farrington and McLain Ward. Farrington claimed his third Hampton Classic Grand Prix title riding Greya, one of his two championship mounts from the 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Final in Texas. Farrington is now one of five riders to have won the Grand Prix on three occasions, having topped the field with Voyeur in 2012 and Zafira in 2013.
Celebrating 51 years of world-class equestrian competition in Bridgehampton, the Hampton Classic featured FEI CSI5* and CSI2* show jumping and USEF Premier hunter competitions with more than $1 million in prize money. The marquee event saw 31 horse-and-rider combinations representing 10 nations compete over Nick Granat’s 17-effort, 1.60m course, which was a highly technical challenge with faults scattered around the track. Farrington and his 12-year-old Oldenburg mare were the first to go clear in the initial round, but that feat seemed nearly impossible as the entries that followed were caught by fallen rails or the tight time allowed.
“I think Greya’s results speak for themselves,” Farrington said. “I’m a big sports fan, and stats don’t lie. She is incredible. She’s a phenomenal athlete, and she really showed that today. Jump-offs like these are actually the most uncomfortable for me, because you’ve got a guy like McLain who can pull off something crazy at the end. It’s really exciting with how much risk you want to take. If I go all-out and have one down, I hand him the win, but if I don’t put enough pressure, he can take those extra risks and beat me. It’s really a measurement of how much risk to take. I tried to measure that well today, and luckily, it paid off. But it was still too close for my comfort.”
(By The Knockturnal)
To celebrate the Hampton Classic’s final day, many VIPs decorated their tables to match the beauty and uniqueness of the rings they overlooked while outdoing each other in the Hampton Cottages & Gardens Table (HC&G) Décor Awards. HC&G’s Clinton Smith judged the competition alongside guests Kelly Klein and Gabby Karan de Felice. The Compass table took blue-ribbon honors for the best- decorated table, with the teams at Quince and Wölffer Estate earning second and third for their work, respectively. Special categories included Best Overall Theme, won by Frank & Eileen; Most Innovative, won by XO Lignelli; and Best Floral Design, won by Aquitaine Equine.
(By The Knockturnal)
