Get the latest Hamptons stories, recommendations, and upcoming events right to your inbox with our daily newsletter.
Groom Daniel Balderas prepares a horse for competition. (Photo credit: David Benthal)
There are a lot of things about the Hampton Classic (Aug. 25 – Sept. 1) that might surprise you. The fact that it’s a pretty inexpensive day-out for the fam (20 bucks per car to enter, no matter how many people in it) — and that on the opening Monday, admission is not only free but you can, for the time this year, watch a few early competitions and hit up the annual puppy adoption and horse adoption (!) events, as well as the big shopping arena (who doesn’t want to gallop on over to that?).
But from the minute the trucks pull up and this temporary town of tents and arenas bursts from Butter Lane, the grooms whose job it is to care for the beautiful, majestic horses you’ll see jumping and cantering around begin their work for the week. Who are they and what do they do? Listen in and learn…
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
