Upperville, United States — June 06, 2026 — On Saturday, McLain Ward (USA) stepped on the gas to win the $30,000 Salamander Collection Upperville American Standard Grand Prix at the 2026 Upperville Colt & Horse Show CSI 4*, presented by Mars Equestrian. Riding Michael A. Smith’s Supersox ter Ledonck, Ward secured the victory by a razor-thin .158 seconds over Campbell Brown (USA) and HK Horses’ Messini LTD while Devin Ryan (USA) finished just 1.2 seconds behind Brown in third place riding his own Novick W.

Only nine of the 36 starters cleanly navigated Tommy Brawley’s track, delivering rounds that showed exactly how much precision the course demanded. Only those nine made it through to the jump‑off, and three more stayed fault‑free over the jumps but picked up time penalties, underscoring how tight the clock really was.

“Supersox arrived in this country a week ago,” explained Ward. “He’s an eight-year-old owned by Mike Smith and he’s a horse we were very excited to acquire to accomplish big goals.”

“I am very excited about his performance today,” said Ward, Brewster, N.Y. “I did a couple of smaller classes this week and he felt confident, so we decided to put him in this 1.45m class and he was brilliant.”

“Supersox reminds me of my great partner Sapphire; he has a very big stride, a lot of scope and is an incredible athlete,” he said of the chestnut Belgian Warmblood. “I think there’s a balance between running a horse too much in the jumpoff and a horse learning to be quick and look for the jumps. I decided to set a pace that I thought was educational, would place well and benefit him for the future; he responded and a couple had a rail down and that was a little bit lucky.”

“I didn’t see Supersox go live until McLain brought him to Upperville,” said owner Michael A. Smith of Middleburg, Va. “I didn’t see McLain really going for it today; I thought he’d cruise around, but he is so efficient and so good at reading the jumps, he knew what McLain wanted and he gave it to him.”

The $30,000 Upperville American Standard Grand Prix is 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 173rd year.

Sponsors of the 2026 Upperville Colt & Horse Show presented by Marts Equestrian™ include Ethel M. Chocolates, Dr. Betsee Parker, Michael Smith, Lugano, The Salamander Collection, B&D Builders, Markel Insurance, Delta Air Lines and the Postage Stamp Farm Foundation.

Final Results – $30,000 Salamander Collection Upperville American Standard Grand Prix

1) McLain Ward (USA) & Supersox ter Ledonck – 0 / 0 – 40.918

2) Campbell Brown (USA) & Messini LTD – 0 / 0 – 41.076

3) Devin Ryan (USA) & Novick W – 0 / 0 – 42.347

Source: Press Release from Upperville Colt & Horse Show

Photo: © UCHS / Erin Gilmore Photography

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