Marking the end of summer is the annual Hampton Classic Horse Show. The current show has grown into one of the largest horse events in the United States. It features the top equestrians from around the world, with over 1,400 horses competing in more than 200 events. The total prize money for the high-stakes competitions is just under a million dollars.
For over a century, the Hamptons have hosted some of the most elaborate horse shows, but the Hampton Classic stands out as a category of its own. Since 1976, the event has benefited the larger Hamptons community through a portion of the proceeds, which have been donated to Southampton Hospital, the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research, Turtle Rescue of the Hamptons, the Bridgehampton Childcare Center, several food pantries, and for sponsoring Animal Adoption Day. For the local economy, the estimated 50,000 spectators are expected to generate $6 million or more in revenue through food, hospitality, and shopping.
However, one of the biggest standouts from other horse shows is not celebrity watching, nor the new fashion trends, but the youthful energy each year brings to the sport.
From the tens of thousands of spectators, a new generation of equestrians finds inspiration to become the next contender in future competitions. One such person is 15-year-old Olivia Agovino, a resident of Bay Shore.
“We [Olivia and her father Mark] used to walk the trails around Belmont and would pass the stables for the Babylon Riding Center. We would see the horses, and Olivia always asked if she could learn to ride. They said when she turned seven. Once she turned seven, she wanted to go to the stables every Saturday and Sunday and become a ‘barn rat’ – taking lessons, cleaning, and grooming the horses, spending as much time as possible at the stables. From then on, we went from lessons to leasing a horse to buying a horse,” explained Olivia’s father, Mark Agovino.
Her current 12-year-old Hanoverian mare’s official name is Raffaellina, but her barn name is Xena, the warrior princess. Together, they compete in various equitation, hunter, and jumper events. In the “rated” shows covered by the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), she has finished first or second in several classes in the .90m jumpers, but not in the division as a whole (combined score over three classes). The last “wins” were a Grand Champion (first place) at the 2023 Suffolk Classic at Old Field Farm, and Reserve Champion (second place) in the 2023 Gold Coast Classic at Old Field Farm. She placed fifth out of a field of 27 in the Jr Amateur Classic (.90m jumpers) at the 2024 HITS on Hudson horse show,” stated Mark.
The dream of a 15-year-old taking a championship title at the Hampton Classic is not an unachievable goal. In 2006, 12-year-old Alexandra Thornton of Bedminster, New Jersey, became the youngest grand junior hunter champion at the Classic, breaking the age record of the first major title for a young rider, 16-year-old Marlene Sinclair, who won the Classic in 1984 (Junior Jumper).
With over 10% of Americans riding horses for recreation, events such as the Hampton Classic have been romanticized for generations. However, locally, the event has inspired young, ambitious riders who keep the sport alive with starry-eyed dreams of becoming a Grand Prix winner.
