Saugerties, New York, USA – July 18, 2024 – The marquee event of the day on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at Hits Hudson Valley in Saugerties, New York, was the $62,480 Welcome CSI 3*. Hits-on-the-Hudson IV marks the first of three weeks of international show jumping competition as part of the Hudson Valley Show Jumping Tour® Series. After two exciting rounds of sport, Megan McDermott (USA) claimed the top spot with her super partner Nintendo.

In a field of 42 elite horse-and-rider combinations, a total of 19 found the clear path over the course designed by Megan Rawlins (CAN). Of those, three elected to withdraw from the jump-off to save their horses for the rest of the week, leaving 16 to race for the win.

“I liked today’s course a lot,” commented McDermott. “There were a lot of rollbacks and other areas that could have been challenging, but I’m lucky because I know my horse really well and he has a wonderful canter, so everything was really smooth.”

As the time to beat got faster and faster, riders took chances to shave even more time off the clock, causing rails to fail across the short course. McDermott put the pedal to the metal, racing through the timers in 43.92 seconds.

“The jump-off was a little tricky and it was definitely a precision round,” detailed McDermott. “I know my horse is really quick, and I took advantage of the long gallops. I almost overdid the long gallops so that I could slow down to be slow in the turns and then keep going. I know Nintendo is so reactive, so I’m able to do that with a lot of confidence.”

McDermott began riding the 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Nintender x Chaco Blue), owned by Counter Balance LLC, after Bluman sent him to her from Europe. While both Bluman and McDermott always agreed on Nintendo’s impressive talent, they also knew that his quirks meant McDermott would really need to develop a relationship with him. Now three years later, the pair have gone from strength to strength, including a win earlier in the season in the $75,000 CWD Grand Prix during HITS-on-the-Hudson II, and the day’s $62,480 Welcome CSI 3 .

“I give him a lot of treats,” shared McDermott. “He’s a really high-stress horse and he’s traffic-shy and super spooky. Because he’s so sharp, sometimes it’s hard to train him, so we try to relax him a lot. At home he’s in the field as long as he can be every day. We try to just focus on the basics. He really is the best horse, and I love him so much.”

International competition culminates on Saturday, July 20, with the $116,050 Core Specialty Insurance Grand Prix CSI 3*.

Final Results – $62,480 Welcome CSI 3*

1) Megan McDermott (USA) & Nintendo – 0 / 0 – 43.92

2) Nayel Nassar (EGY) & Igor van de Wittemoere – 0 / 0 – 44.26

3) Daniel Bluman (ISR ) & Gemma W – 0 / 0 – 44.53

Source: Press Release from Hits Horse Shows

Photos: © ESI Photography

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