North Salem, N.Y.—May 21  

Andrew Ramsay went on quite a roll at the Old Salem Farm Spring shows. During Week 1, on May 14, he claimed second in the feature grand prix, the $50,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix.

Then in Week 2 of the series, he kicked it up a notch. On Saturday, he relegated hometown favorite and World No. 2 McLain Ward to second place in the $35,000 Old Salem Farm Jumper Classic, taking the win aboard Stranger 30. And then he capped the week by leading the victory gallop in the $130,000 Empire State Grand Prix aboard Cocq A Doodle on Sunday.

Andrew Ramsay and Cocq A Doodle. Photo by The Book LLC

The only double-clear effort of the grand prix belonged to Ramsay, who stopped the clock at 45.50 seconds over a jump-off track built by 2017 Longines FEI World Cup Final course designer Alan Wade of Ireland.

Katie Dinan had the speed to beat Ramsay, but pulled a single rail late in the jump-off to settle for second place in 45.17 seconds riding Dougie Douglas, owned by Grant Road Partners, LLC. Third went to Lauren Tisbo, who was the first rider to jump clean in the opening round. She and Brindis Bogibo, owned by Tequestrian Farms, LLC, finished on 4 faults in 49.68 seconds.

Christine McCrea was clear over the first-round track, but had 1 time fault to finish fourth riding Nektarina B, owned by Candy Tribble. The fastest four-fault round belonged to Ward and HH Carlos Z to round out the top five.

“It has been a while, probably two or three years, since I’ve won a grand prix,” said Ramsay, who hails from San Francisco, Calif., but is now based in Wellington, Fla. “It is a great feeling to do it again. It has been fantastic to have Doodle here on the field and be good enough today to get it done. It’s been a very good weekend.”

Ramsay’s winning mount, Cocq A Doodle, is a 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Tolan R x Niagara) that joined his string from fellow U.S. grand prix rider, Molly Ashe.

“She really thrives on these bigger fields where I can let her gallop some,” said Ramsay. “She’s really a fighter, a trier, and she really wants to do it. That’s what really counts. Today, I’d say it was about 90 percent her and 10 percent me. I just pointed her at the fence, made some bobbles, and she took care of the rest.”

Second-place rider and New York local, Dinan, joined the victory gallop in front of a hometown crowd with Dougie Douglas, a 12-year-old Irish Sport horse gelding (VDL Douglas x High Roller). Dinan has missed out on participating in this week’s competition at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows in the past while studying at Harvard University, but now a recent graduate, she is happy to be competing at Old Salem Farm again. She said, “I think because of the prize money, the venue, and the crowd, this horse show has always stood higher in importance relative to its actual FEI ranking.

“People always bring good horses here and try to win the grand prix,” continued Dinan, whose family owns a farm in North Salem, N.Y. “I think a grand prix of this level, you should be rewarded with FEI points. That’s great for the competitors, but I think it also means something to the spectators to know that this is an international competition. The same crowd comes every year. They actually get to know the horses and the riders. It’s a real local following in North Salem, and for this community, Old Salem and the Gold Cup are real highlights. People make a priority of coming here. As a competitor, I think that makes it really special.”

Tisbo earned a third-place ribbon on a mount she started riding this past fall. Brindis Bogibo, an 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (Grand Pilot I x Pacific), came to her from U.S. rider Andrew Welles, and Tisbo has been taking her time getting to know the mount.

“All of a sudden, it seems to be clicking and he’s been really consistent since the last week of [the Winter Equestrian Festival (Fla.)],” she said. “He has been clear or had 4 faults in his last three shows. I am very happy with the progress. I still need to work on jump-offs, but very happy!”

Results: $130,000 Empire State Grand Prix CSI3*, presented by The Kincade Group

1. Cocq A Doodle, Andrew Ramsay, The Doodle Group, 0/0/45.50

2. Dougie Douglas, Katherine Dinan , Grant Road Partners LLC, 0/4/45.17

3. Brindis Bogibo, Lauren Tisbo, Tequestrian Farms LLA, 0/4/49.68

4. Nektarina B, Christina McCrea, Candy Tribble, 1/80.09

5. HH Carlos Z, McLain Ward, Double H Farm, 4/71.88

6. Stranger 30, Andrew Ramsay, The Stranger Group, 4/72.97

7. Avon, Mattias Tromp, Beyaert Farm, Inc., 4/74.03

8. Prof De La Roque, Andrew Kocher, Postage Stamp Farm, LLC, 4/75.43

9. HH Callas, McLain Ward, Double H Farm, 4/76.39

10. Manodie Ii H, Georgina Bloomberg, Gotham Enterprises, LLC, 4/76.41

11. Cylana, Cloe Hymowitz, Kessler Show Stables, 4/76.58

12. Day Dream, Jimmy Torano, Jimmy And Danielle Torano & Isalou Inc., 4/77.02