Show Jumping Will Return to Hamilton

After a three-year hiatus, a major equestrian event returns to Hamilton Sept. 10-12 as part of the Myopia Hunt Club's 110th annual Myopia Horse Show.

The inaugural Boston Jumper Classic was founded by well-known local equestrian and sportsman Donald V. Little and is sponsored by Putnam Investments.

"Bringing the highest level of equestrian show-jumping competition to the Greater Boston area has been a lifelong ambition of mine," said Little. "Thanks to Putnam Investments and our many sponsors and patrons, this dream will become reality with the inaugural Putnam Boston Jumper Classic."

This horse show will be of the same caliber as the Fidelity Jumper Classic, which was formerly held in Hamilton, but moved to New Hampshire in 2007.

The level of competition will certainly be high with two premier events, the $30,000 Grand Prix and the $10,000 Speed Stake on Sunday, Sept. 12. The courses are being designed by Canadian  Hall-of-Fame Olympian Michel Vaillancourt.

The event's advisory board includes Olympians Chris Kappler and Leslie Burr Howard, and renowned Grand Prix champion Schuyler Riley.

"This show is the perfect combination of rich tradition and high-level talent, and I am honored to compete among some of the top equestrians in the world," said Kappler, an Olympic gold and silver medalist, who also noted that the Grand Prix purse sets it apart from most hunter/jumper shows.

"It feels great to be returning to the Boston area with a show of this level," said Anne Canny Wargo, the event's communications director. "It means a lot not just from the point of view of the equestrian event, but from a style and social aspect."

Wargo said there is a palpable excitement about bringing a show of this quality back to the Boston area and the North Shore.

"With the event being on the grounds of the Myopia Hunt Club, we will be at one of the most beautiful and exciting clubs in the Northeast," she said.

A recent preview event at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston raised that level of excitement for many of those in attendance as Little and another Grand Prix jumper demonstrated show jumping on the waterfront grounds of the hotel.

In addition to the prestigious money events, the Boston Jumper Classic will also have a strong commitment to community service, a goal that goes along with Little's history of military service and charity work.

"Don is an Air Force veteran and he and (U.S.) Sen. Scott Brown will be honoring our veterans on Sept. 12 by celebrating the construction of the Fisher House Boston," said Wargo.

Fisher House Boston is an organization that provides free housing for families of wounded military personnel while they get medical treatment.

"It's a charity that is very near and dear to Don's heart," Wargo said.

Scott Brown's daughter, former American Idol finalist Ayla Brown, is also expected to take part in the event's festivities, singing the national anthem and possibly several other songs. Entertainment will include a vendor fair, family day, skydivers, acrobatic airplanes, antique cars, dog agility and the Myopia foxhounds.