Chloe Reid Races to Victory in the $31,500 Ingram Family FEI 4* Upperville Speed Stakes at the 172nd Upperville Colt & Horse Show Presented by MARS Equestrian™

The Speed Stakes is presented by the Ingram Family.

UPPERVILLE, VA — Exhibiting speed across the ground and through the air, Chloe Reid and Chelsea 179 couldn’t be caught in the $31,5000 Ingram Family FEI 4* Upperville Speed Stakes at the 172nd Upperville Colt & Horse Show presented by MARS Equestrian™ on Saturday, June 7. Reid, who completed the course in 58.76 seconds, defeated Colombia’s Mark Bluman aboard Kenya RM (59.53 seconds) and fellow American Samantha Schaefer, who rode Fraiser (59.54 seconds).

“Chelsea has a lot of personality,” laughed Reid, who is based in Ocala, Florida. “At home, she’s like a puppy dog and I can put anyone on her to ride. But at the show, she knows it’s game time.”

Chelsea, owned by Live Oak Plantation, enjoyed her week at Upperville with plenty of space to hand graze in the mornings and afternoons, and this additional opportunity to relax placed the 9-year-old Oldenburg mare in an extra happy mood that clearly carried over to her performance in the third international class of the show.

“She was ready to play today, and I was just there for the ride,” Reid explained. “I hoped that I would see a distance because she was going for it! She is a naturally fast horse, so I simply must not get in the way.” Reid continued, “Chelsea is spicy in the warmup, so a big part of my job is to keep her happy and calm and keep her mind relaxed, because I think it’s already going superfast. That is part of the preparation to make sure she is ready.”

Reid’s strategy was to ride the Speed course off her eye, not count as much as one usually would, and jump from a longer stride, trusting her eye and allowing her horse to gallop and jump her best. This strategy worked, as their time was nearly one second better than second-placed Bluman.

“When you have a horse like Chelsea, who automatically shows you those distances, it’s a great combination that works for us,” Reid said.

The $31,5000 FEI 4* Upperville Speed Stakes, presented by the Ingram Family, is part of a full week of FEI and national-level jumper competition at the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest horse show in the United States, now in its 172nd year. For full results and livestream access, visit upperville.com.

Sponsors of the 2025 Upperville Colt & Horse Show include presenting sponsor MARS Equestrian™, Ethel M. Chocolates®, Koons Motors, Michael and Wendy Smith, Lugano Diamonds, The Salamander Collection, B&D Builders, Markel Insurance, and Delta Air Lines.

Photo courtesy of Erin Gilmore Photography.

Posted on: June 11, 2025