Upperville, United States — June 07, 2025 — Exhibiting speed across the ground and through the air, American Chloe Reed (USA) and Chelsea 179 couldn’t be caught in the $31,5000 Ingram Family Upperville Speed Stakes CSI 4* at the 172nd Upperville Colt & Horse Show presented by MARS Equestrian™ on Saturday, June 7. Reid, who completed the course in 58.76 seconds, defeated Colombia’s Mark Bluman (COL) aboard Kenya RM (59.53 seconds) and fellow American Samantha Schaefer (USA), who rode Frasier (59.54 seconds).

“Chelsea has a lot of personality,” laughed Reid, who is based in Ocala, Fla. “At home, she’s like a puppy dog and I can put anyone on her to ride. But at the show, she knows it’s game time.”

Chelsea 179, owned by Live Oak Plantation, enjoyed her week at Upperville with plenty of space to hand graze in the mornings and afternoons, and this additional opportunity to relax placed the nine-year-old Oldenburg mare in an extra happy mood that clearly carried over to her performance in the third international class of the show.

“She was ready to play today, and I was just there for the ride,” explained Reid. “I hoped that I would see a distance because she was going for it! She is a naturally fast horse, so I simply must not get in the way.” Reid continued, “Chelsea is spicy in the warmup, so a big part of my job is to keep her happy and calm and keep her mind relaxed because I think it’s already going super-fast. That is part of the preparation to make sure she is ready.”

Reid’s strategy was to ride the Speed course off her eye and not count as much as one usually would and jump from a longer stride, trusting her eye and allowing her horse to gallop and jump her best. This strategy worked, as their time was nearly one second better than second-placed Bluman.

“When you have a horse like Chelsea, who automatically shows you those distances, it’s a great combination that works for us,” explained Reid.

The $31,5000 Upperville Speed Stakes CSI 4*, presented by The Ingram Family was part of a full week of FEI and national-level jumper competition at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest horse show in the United States, now in its 172nd year.

Final Results — $31,5000 Ingram Family Upperville Speed Stakes CSI 4*

1) Chloe Reed (USA) & Chelsea 179 — 0 — 58.76

2) Mark Bluman (COL) & Kenya RM — 0 — 59.53

3) Samantha Schaefer (USA) & Frasier — 0 — 59.54

Source: Press Release from Upperville Colt & Horse Show

Photo: © UCHS / Erin Gilmore Photography

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