Brian Moggre of Flower Mound, Texas receives his awards after winning the Lake Placid Horse Show Grand Prix on June 30 at the North Elba Show Grounds. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — It’s safe to say that Brian Moggre’s first-ever trip to Lake Placid has been pretty good so far.

On the final day of the Lake Placid Horse Show on Sunday, June 30, Moggre, of Flower Mound, Texas, rode his horse MTM Vivre Le Reve to a first place victory in the $75,000 Lake Placid Horse Show Grand Prix at the North Elba Show Grounds.

“It’s always great to win a Grand Prix, but its even more special at place you’ve never been before,” Moggre said. “Going into this, I had great recommendations on the ground and how the horse show ran. It’s a bit quiter this year, but I’m really glad that I fit it into my schedule.”

Moggre, 22, was one of the four competitors — and seven horses — who made it through the opening round with a fault-free performance. In the eight-jump tiebreaker round, he came through with another clean ride, while recording a winning time of 35.576 seconds.

Laura Chapot, who has won seven grands prix in Lake Placid, placed second on Chandon Blue with a clean ride in 36.614 seconds. Mia Bagnato, 18, was the only other rider with a clean round in the jump-off placing third in in 37.336 seconds on Ballyoskill Big Bucks.

Mia Bagnato competes in the jump-off during the Lake Placid Horse Show Grand Prix on June 30 at the North Elba Show Grounds. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

Chapot’s second horse C&C Willow made it through the tiebreaker round, but placed eighth. Veteran rider Schyler Riley also had two entries in the jump-off, with Corbawido PS placing fifth and Garance De Vains earning sixth.

Moggre, who described Chapot and Riley as two of the fastest riders out there, said competing against veteran riders has helped make him a better competitor.

“I think the best part about moving up the ranks and jumping in these bigger classes is wanting to beat the people that you’ve always looked up to,” Moggre said. “Not only wanting to beat them, but become one of them. It’s always great to have good competition and I think it brings out the best in both horses and riders.”

Caitlin Boyle and her horse, Prianti Van Het Mikkenhof, were the other horse-and-rider combination to reach the jump off and placed fourth.

Prior to Sunday’s day of competition, it was announced that all competitions on the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field would be held on the combined Hunter Rings because of the rain. This meant that all riders would have to compete on a dirt field rather than the typical grass course.

But for Mogree, who has been riding Vivre Le Reve for around eight years, the changing of the course didn’t seem to be an issue.

“Whether it’s grass, sand or turf on a grade, I know him so well that I know the adjustments to make with him,” he said. “I think this is a very unique grass field with a bit of a slant to it. My horse loves jumping on the grass, so I knew that wouldn’t be a problem for him. But he’s also a great sand jumper. I think for younger horses there’s more thought that goes into it, but the best thing about Viva Le Reve is that I know him so well and you can really put either of us into any scenario and I know I can really rely on him.”

Vivre Le Reve is a 15-year-old horse, and while Moggre said he’s on the older side, he made it clear that he didn’t push his horse beyonds his means and ability during the jump-off.

“It worked out in my favor that he was fast enough,” he said. “Giving him the best ride that I can is most important. Of course the other fast riders added pressure, but today he was game and he felt amazing. It worked out for us.”

Sunday’s opening round included 15 entries who were chasing down the prize money. The top 12 finishers earned paychecks, with Moggre collecting $22,500 for first place, second place was awarded $16,500 and third won $9,750.

Moggre said he’ll be competing in the I Love New York Horse Show, which started on July 2. He added that he plans on coming back to Lake Placid next year to defend his grand prix crown.

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1.40M open stake

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Mia Bagnato rode Florida N to the win in the $10,000 1.40m Open Stake, on the June 29 featured class at the 55th annual Lake Placid Horse Shows.

Saturday’s competition in the Richard M. Feldman Grand Prix Field was highlighted by the 1.40m Open Stake, 1.20m Amateur Jumper Classic and the 1.20m Junior Jumper Classic.

Six entries rode clean over the 15-jump first-round course in the 1.40m Open Stake, with two going clean over the seven-jump, jump-off course. In the jump-off, Bagnato claimed the win with the faster of the two clean rides, riding Florida N to a time of 26.808 seconds to earn the win over Matthew Boddy who finished clean in 28.938 seconds on Fantastic de San Isidro.

In the 1.20m Amateur Jumper Classic, Ashley Shaw topped a field of 23 entries with two clean rounds on Adico and the fastest jump-off time of 30.219 seconds. Hudson Warren placed second with a clean jump-off ride and a time of 31.339 seconds on Pembrey Condors Diamond, while third went to Mackenzie Cianciolo who had the only other double clear and a jump-off time of 33.434 seconds on Firestone CZ Z. Taking top honors in the 1.20m Junior Jumper Classic was Jenna Bach on Cajulio.

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Adirondack Jumper Classic

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Christian Coyle rode Ma Pomme de Tamerville to the win in the $30,000 Adirondack Jumper Classic on Friday, June 28.

Coyle was one of five entries to advance to the jump-off by riding clean over the 15-jump first-round course. Brian Moggre was the first to return for the eight-jump tiebreaker, and he set the mark to beat with a clean ride in 35.073 seconds on his longtime partner, MTM Vivre Le Reve. Laura Chapot followed Moggre and moved him out of the lead with a clean ride in 34.528 seconds on the 19-year-old Oldenburg, Chandon Blue.

Coyle, who won the Jumper Classic in 2022 on Coco Mercedes, followed Chapot and rode his 12-year-old mare to what proved to be the winning ride, finishing clean in 33.780 seconds. Chapot’s time held up for second place, with Moggre finishing third.

In the $5,000 Jumper Stake, Caitlin Boyle turned in the only double-clean ride to take the win. Boyle finished the jump-off clear in 37.332 seconds on Prianti Van Het Mikkenhof to beat Mia Bagnato, who placed second with four jump-off faults in 34.023 seconds on Cordiamo, and Hayley Alcock, who was third with four jump-off faults and a time of 41.304 seconds on Joule.

Brian Sweeney rode Zappa to the win in the 1.30m Junior-Amateur Jump-off with his daughter, Corinne Sweeney, taking second on Calgary 5. Corinne also finished fourth on Tara M.