May 7, 2017 – North Salem, NY – The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows got underway with a division title for Lainie Wimberly and Southern Charm in The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) $2,000 Low Thoroughbred Hunter 3′ division, held Sunday, May 7, during Welcome Day at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY. The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows continue with two weeks of exceptional hunter/jumper competition and family-friendly events, highlighted by a CSI 2* on May 9-14, and a CSI 3*, held May 16-21.
Lainie Wimberly and Southern Charm were named champions in The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) $2,000 Low Thoroughbred Hunter 3′ Division, held Sunday, May 7, during Welcome Day at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY; photo © Jump Media
Wimberly, who operates Brigadoon Show Stables out of North Salem, NY, piloted Southern Charm, a six-year-old Thoroughbred gelding owned by Courtney Safadi, to win both classes over fences. They also returned to place second under saddle and clinch the T.I.P. tricolor ribbon. Collecting reserve champion, Heather Hays was second and fifth over fences and won the under saddle riding Rizzi’s Comet for owner Jessica Ott.
“We showed nothing but Thoroughbreds when I first started,” said Wimberly, who got the ride on Southern Charm from owner Courtney Safadi in August of 2016. “Courtney asked me to show him in the Thoroughbred Hunter division at WEF, and he was delightful. He learned a lot and came a long way. He is such a character, and I love his personality. He wants to do the right thing for you all the time and is a ham in the barn.”
Left to right: Vivien Malloy and Caitlin Malloy Brennan present Lainie Wimberly with the Debby Malloy Winkler Memorial Trophy, donated by the Malloy Family, after Southern Charm jumped to champion honors in The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) $2,000 Low Thoroughbred Hunter 3′ Division during the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows Welcome Day at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY; photo © Jump Media
Safadi adopted Southern Charm, sired by Curlin, from New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program in Lexington, KY, as a way for her to return to show jumping after 18 years out of the saddle.
“I was in the market for an older Warmblood, but a friend of mine told me that I should come take a look at a horse she found,” said Safadi. “She said he was special and would make a nice show hunter. I tried Southern Charm and fell in love with him.”
Southern Charm was bred by Stonetreet Stables, and while never raced, shares bloodlines with many successful racehorses. Irish War Cry, also by Curlin, finished tenth in the 143rd Kentucky Derby over the weekend.
“I am really happy he doesn’t run that fast,” joked Wimberly. “Thoroughbreds are wonderful horses that need a second career and a second job, so for us to support this division is only natural. It is also nice for a trainer like myself to have a division for the Thoroughbred with such nice prize money and awards. It makes it really fun.”
Rizzi’s Comet, ridden by Heather Hays, was reserve champion in The Jockey Club Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.) $2,000 Low Thoroughbred Hunter 3′ Division, held Sunday, May 7, at Old Salem Farm in North Salem, NY; photo © Jump Media
T.I.P. classes are proudly offered at Old Salem Farm for the fourth consecutive year thanks to the support of Vivien Malloy, who owns Edition Farm, a Thoroughbred breeding operation in Dutchess County, NY. She presents the division in honor of her daughter, Debby Malloy Winkler, who showed at Old Salem Farm as a junior and passed away following a tragic fall from a horse at her home in Germany in 2011. In addition to high-point awards, Wimberly was also presented with the Debby Malloy Winkler Memorial Trophy, donated by the Malloy Family.
“It is so fantastic and fulfilling to see these horses go on after racing,” said Vivien Malloy. “I have seen so many become three-day event horses, steeplechase horses, hunters, and jumpers. They are doing everything, and it is wonderful. My goal is to spread the word that they are making a comeback.”