LAS VEGAS — For an elite group of 27 riders at the Marshall+Sterling/USHJA National Championships, the $50,000 1.40m Grand Prix on Friday, November 14, was the moment they had been preparing for all week long.
It was a stacked field of competitors, including familiar names who won big earlier this week, including Amanda Gomez and Gabriel Rodrigues Honorio. Jamie Sailor was another familiar name to spectators, having won the $5,000 1.40m Speed class and placed in the top 10 in the $5,000 1.40m Welcome. It quickly became clear that Friday night would be a continuation of Sailor’s success with Magic Mike and Lest Best.
Jamie Sailor and Magic Mike. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography
Altogether, Sailor won the $50,000 1.40m Grand Prix aboard Magic Mike, taking second place on Lest Best. She was also champion in the 1.40m division on Magic Mike and reserve champion with Lest Best. She was also crowned the Leading Open Jumper Rider and the Leading Lady Open Jumper Rider. Suffice to say, Sailor was more than content with her success.
“I am just thrilled with my horses. I cannot believe it, and I am ecstatic right now,” she said.
After an action-packed first round, seven riders advanced into the jump-off. As Sailor crossed the timers with four faults and 36.385 seconds on the clock, she and Magic Mike, owned by Elizabeth “Lumpy” Kilham, were officially the winners of the $50,000 1.40m Grand Prix.
Jamie Sailor took both first and second in the $50,000 1.40m Grand Prix. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography
“Magic Mike tonight was really in tune with everything that I was asking,” she said. “I thought the first round was just beautiful. I wouldn’t have changed anything in the first round. The jump off, we had a little rail, but I was really happy with him. I did the leave out, and I’m thrilled with how he finished. Same with Lest Best. I went forward a little bit. You know, you have to risk it a little bit here in Vegas. I was thrilled to have both of them compete and finish first and second.”
A 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, Sailor has the ride on Magic Mike for only a week or two at a time, when she catch rides him at various events. She describes the towering black gelding as a “gentle giant.”
“Magic Mike is a very large animal, but has an even bigger heart,” Sailor said. “He does not question his size. He has a huge stride. Like I said, he’s very fast-footed across the ground, very fast in the air. And yes, his passion for this sport is just unbelievable. You have to tell him how good he is in the warmup ring, and he just blossoms from that.
Jamie Sailor and Lest Best finished in second. Photo by Andrew Ryback Photography
“How he feels underneath you— you feel like you can just jump mountains on him,” she continued. “I’m excited for the future with him…He’s so kind, and he wants to please. He’s so willing. He’s always a reliable partner in the show arena. I just adore him.”
According to Sailor, adjustability was the name of the game tonight.
“The course tonight was actually, for me, quite flowing,” Sailor said. “There were some places, though, that come up quite short, and some places that you have a little bit of a longer gap or longer gallop to the next jump. I think that threw a few horses off… There were a few questions where you had to really work on your track work, a little bend, little inside shape. I think overall, the course looked beautiful. I thought the turns were well done, the placement of the jumps. I thought the height was appropriate for the class. So, to have seven in the jump off, that was a nice amount of horses.”
This is not Sailor’s first time coming to the national championships in Las Vegas, held at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa. As a venue she describes as one of her favorites, it clearly loves her in return, if her success this week has been anything to go by.
“Vegas has always been my show. I love it here,” she said. “I want to keep coming back every year. I hope they continue it here, because it’s always been such a fun show. I really enjoy the atmosphere. The crowd tonight was incredible. I love how everyone gets really involved in it. And then, like I said, the horses feed off of it, and it’s just so cool.”
As Sailor looks to her future, as well as her horses’ futures, she not only hopes to spend more time in Magic Mike’s irons, she also hopes to see Lest Best continue to spend more time in the winner’s circle.
“The Lest Best horse is just a 9-year-old,” Sailor said. “This is definitely the biggest atmosphere he’s ever been in. So, I’m thrilled that he stepped up to the plate and was able to hold it together and be a competitor here tonight as well. Out of 27 horses he really held his own, so I’m really excited for him and his future next year too.”
For the full results of the $50,000 1.40m Grand Prix, click here.
Live streaming coverage of all 2025 Marshall+Sterling Insurance/USHJA National Championship classes is available on USEF Network, and complete results and schedules are available on ShowGroundsLive.
For more information about the Marshall+Sterling Insurance/USHJA National Championships, visit ushja.org/NationalChampionships, and to learn more about all competitions hosted by Desert International Horse Park, visit deserthorsepark.com.