Megan McDermott & Nintendo Play for Keeps in the $32,000 Great Oak Speed Stake CSI 2*

By Jumper News USA on September 20, 2026

North Salem, New York – September 19, 2026 – Following her second-place performance in Friday’s $32,000 Old Salem Farm Welcome Stake CSI 2*, Megan McDermott (USA) flew to the top of the leaderboard in the $32,000 Great Oak Speed Stake CSI 2*, presented by Old Salem Farm on Saturday. She and Nintendo tripped the timers in 53.91 seconds with their picture-perfect gallop and ultimately secured the win four seconds ahead of their fellow competitors.

Twenty-eight horse-and-rider combinations representing eight countries challenged Ken Krome’s 13-effort, 1.45m course in Saturday’s Great Oak Speed Stake, but none could match McDermott’s early time to beat (53.91 seconds) aboard Counter Balance’s 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding. This win, along with Da Vinci DV Z’s podium finish in the Welcome Stake, added quite the celebration to McDermott’s birthday on Friday.

“I loved today’s course to begin with,” McDermott said. “I love Kenny Krome; his courses agree really well with this horse specifically. I think he builds kind of tricky, and my horse tends to ride smooth over the more awkward jump angles and lines. My horse is also really, really fast in the air. Over a speed track like this, he might be even faster than in a jump-off. He’s making up time in the air no matter what, so the more jumps there are, the more time he makes up. That four-second margin feels crazy, but I think it’s just that the course was long enough to give him that edge.

“I’ve had him for five years,” she added. “It’s kind of crazy; he’s the longest-term horse in my life, and for sure the horse I’ve had the longest jumping at such a high level. Even in five years, he’s still hard to figure out. He can be kind of spooky and sharp — like, he could just spin me off in the path to the schooling ring — but in the show ring, he really gets his game face on.

“We’ve been here since last week, so this week was a chance for both my horses to jump a little beneath their level and get more of a breather. We love seeing such great results. Old Salem is also about fifteen minutes from our home base, so it’s nice to ride and take care of everything there before coming here to show.”

**Vanessa Hood** (USA) & **FBW Graphik**

Israel’s Vanessa Hood (USA) finished second with a 57.90-second time aboard FBW Graphik, Take Two’s 13-year-old DSP mare.

**Daniel Kerins** (IRL) & **Malou Blue PS**

Ireland’s Daniel Kerins (IRL) stopped the clock in 58.02 seconds for third aboard Malou Blue PS, a 13-year-old Hanoverian gelding owned by Gotham Enterprizes.

With the beautiful backdrop of Westchester County’s surrounding horse country, the Old Salem Farm September Horse Shows feature world-class competition on par with what everyone has come to expect from Old Salem Farm. The 2026 Shows host a CSI4*/2*, September 8-13, and a CSI 2*, September 15-20, with both weeks rated USEF ‘National’ for hunters. Additionally, Old Salem’s September schedule will include a USEF National/Level 2 event, September 24-27, featuring the $10,000 Old Salem Farm Jumper Classic.