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O’Shea on a jumping hot streak before Lake Placid

LAKE PLACID – Lake Placid horse show grand prix champion Paul O’Shea has kicked off the summer circuit with a bang, winning both the $100,000 Grand Prix of Devon, and the $75,000 Upperville Jumper Classic.

At the Devon Horse Show held from May 22-June 1 in Devon, Pennsylvania, O’Shea bested a field of 31 entries over a difficult course set by Olaf Petersen, Jr., who frequently serves as course designer in Lake Placid. O’Shea qualified both of his mounts, Primo De Revel and River Dance Semilly, for the jump-off. O’Shea was double clear with both horses, and it was Primo De Revel that put in the blisteringly fast jump-off round of 38.95 seconds to bring home the championship honors. River Dance Semilly ended up in fifth place with a time of 43.63 seconds.

Just a few weeks later, O’Shea was successful again, this time at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show hosted in Upperville, Virginia from June 2-8. Of the 28 starters, only three horses were able to jump clean over the course set by Marina Azevedo to qualify for the jump-off. Two of those horses were piloted by O’Shea.

O’Shea’s fifth-place mount from the Devon Horse Show, River Dance Semilly, put in a speedy jump-off round of 41.72 seconds. But an unfortunate fallen rail dropped them to second place. O’Shea’s second horse, Skara Glenn’s Sienna, put in a clear jump-off round in 48.12 seconds, catapulting them to the top of the class.

O’Shea is no stranger to success in the grand prix ring. At last year’s Lake Placid Horse Shows O’Shea claimed the championship honors in the $75,000 Grand Prix of Lake Placid aboard Primo De Revel. O’Shea’s big win in 2013 marked the fourth consecutive year that a rider hailing from Ireland won that Grand Prix.

Darragh Kenny won in 2010, followed by Jonathan McCrea in 2011 and Kenny again in 2012. Coming off of two big wins at the Devon and the Upperville Horse Shows, O’Shea now looks to defend his title and make it a fifth consecutive year that an Irish rider takes home the top prize in the Grand Prix at Lake Placid.

The 45th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC will host three weeks of horse show competition this year for the first time ever, running from June 24-July 13.

One of the premier stops on the nation’s hunter-jumper horse show circuit, the Lake Placid Horse Shows feature the nation’s best horses and riders competing in four show rings. The horse show features more than 100 classes of competition each week, hosting all levels ranging from young children on ponies to grand prix competitors and Olympic medalists. All three weeks are USEF ‘AA’ rated for hunters and 6* rated for Jumpers.

The Lake Placid Horse Show will take place June 24-29 and is highlighted by the $75,000 Devoucoux Grand Prix of Lake Placid, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC, on Sunday, June 29. The I Love New York Horse Show will take place July 1-6, highlighted by the $75,000 I Love New York Grand Prix, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC, on Sunday, July 6, along with the $15,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, Presented by Eastern Hay & Purina Animal Nutrition, on Saturday, July 5. The inaugural Adirondack Horse Show will take place July 8-13, highlighted by the $100,000 Woodlea Farms Adirondack Grand Prix, Presented by Sea Shore Stables, LLC, on Saturday, July 12.

The horse show also features a boutique area with a wide range of shopping. There are a variety of dining options throughout the show grounds as well. An assortment of special events also takes place throughout the horse shows that are entertaining for the entire family.

More information on the Lake Placid Horse Show Series is available by calling the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at 523-9625 or visiting online at www.LakePlacidHorseShow.com.

Starting at $1.44/week.

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