Sugerties, NY – World-renowned course designer Alan Wade (IRL) constructed his debut course for the week for a field of 35 horse-and-rider combinations. Eight nations had representatives in the starting lineup, including Canada, Egypt, Great Britain, Ireland, Israel, Lebanon, Venezuela, and, of course, the home nation of the United States. Riders took on the opening power phase, followed by the second half of the course, consisting of the speed portion.

Photos ©ESI Photography

A majority of the contenders brought their A-Game to HITS Hudson Valley, Saugerties, N.Y, with the lead changing hands a variety of times over the entirety of the class. However, as the class crossed the halfway point and the pressure intensified, Nassar made his single performance one to remember, flying to a speedy finish of 35.50 seconds with Ivory TCS, the Evergate Stables LLC’s 12-year-old KWPN mare (Falaise de Muze x Ukato). 

“I think the whole way around she was fast,” said Nassar. “She’s generally a very quick mare, but she hasn’t shown in a little while, so I was going to just see how she felt in there. Sometimes it takes her a day or so to get dialed in, but she was very focused.

Ivory TCS “Dials In”

“I felt like the jump-off suited her well,” he continued. “It had a nice blend of longer gallops, but not absurd flat-outs, combined with a few rollbacks, which she’s always very good at. I figured I’d give it a crack, and it worked out pretty well today.”

While the partnership is on the more recent side, with the two only being together for approximately a year and a half, they have found tremendous success in their time together.

“Ivory has been super competitive for us and she’s just a fighter,” detailed Nassar. “I feel like I have her on my side and we have a good way of communicating. She’s a smaller type with a smaller stride, so you kind of have to adjust your course plan a little bit to suit her, but there hasn’t been one class where she hasn’t come out and tried her all.”

For Nassar, who says the Evergate Stables team has had a quieter summer than usual, HITS Hudson Valley provides the perfect venue to fine-tune the string before a busy winter. 

“We stayed a little more local this summer and came out here for a couple of weeks in July,” he added. “Then we did some traveling, and now we’re staying local again. It’s really nice to have these beautiful shows within a couple of hours’ driving distance from home.”

It proved to be a good day for the Evergate Stables team in its entirety as Philip McGuane (IRL) piloted My Lady van de Krekel, the Evergate Stables eight-year-old KWPN mare (Aganix du Seigneur x Numero Uno), into the runner-up position as the class came to a close with a time of 37.37 seconds. The USA’s Samantha Schaefer rounded out the top three after putting in a clean and clear effort in 37.93 seconds aboard her impeccable partner, Frasier, Bonne Vie LLC’s 15-year-old KWPN gelding (Carambole x Padinus).