Rain slips up Hamps horses

A host of top riders pulled out of the prestigious Hampton Classic, which wraps on Sunday with a $300,000 Grand Prix prize, because the ground in Bridgehampton was completely soaked — even before Ida arrived — and there were concerns the jumping horses could slip or get injured.

Fewer horses jumped this year, and organizers were rushing to fix the problem, which forced them to pull up the grass of the Grand Prix field and replace it with sand after a number of horses slipped.

They had to take action despite already having completed a $1 million renovation of the Bridgehampton showground, frequented by a host of the Hamptons’ biggest names.

Spokesman Marty Bauman said, “There was a problem with the footing in the Grand Prix Ring and the Hampton Classic leadership took immediate, decisive action.” He said that the deluge from Ida actually helped, as rain packed the sand down. “We are scheduled to return competition to the Grand Prix Ring Friday morning and the Grand Prix is scheduled to be held in the Ring on Sunday as always,” he said. “We are not aware of anyone having pulled out because of this. I would also like to emphasize that there were not any falls last Sunday and no horse or rider was hurt.”

He added that almost 1,000 horses competed this week, and 25 to 30 horses are expected to be in the lineup for the Grand Prix.

Long Island’s premier equestrian competition was forced to revise its schedule after the grass on the showground failed to hold up during last Sunday’s opening. A third of the 45 riders withdrew from the jumping competition, which requires tight turns at high speed and negotiating numerous obstacles.

“It became apparent very early that the footing did not take hold,” said Bauman.

Competitors in the past have included Bruce Springsteen’s daughter, Jessica, and Michael Bloomberg’s youngest daughter, Georgina.