August 31, 2025 
British show jumper Jessica Mendoza almost didn’t try In The Air when on a horse shopping trip in Holland. She first sat on Summerhouse, the mare’s brother, and liked him enough she thought she’d be done. Her decision to try the mare—and take them both home—has been a life-altering one.
Fast forward almost two years, and Mendoza and In The Air scored the biggest win of their career to date with the Longines Hampton Classic five-star Grand Prix. The win comes on the tails of the duo’s incredible performance at the European Championships.
It was a tough day in Bridgehampton, and many wondered if they were witnessing a replay of Dublin just a few weeks prior, with only one clear round. Even world number one Kent Farrington had two rails down with his phenom mare Greya.
There were three clears in the end: Kristen VanderVeen (USA), Mendoza, and Shane Sweetnam (IRL). When VanderVeen took the last fence down, Mendoza gave it her best shot, knowing the quality that was coming behind her, but also knowing she had footspeed Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz maybe lacked. Mendoza ultimately had the edge by a little over half a second.
“It’s a pretty amazing win,” Mendoza reflected. “This is one of the best American shows. It’s truly amazing to be here and to win the Grand Prix. It’s always fun to go into the jump-off with the top three; you don’t have much to lose. I knew there was a bit of room where Shane could catch me, but my mare was perfect across the ground. She’s an incredible horse and had an incredible summer. She really found herself this year.”
In The Air might just be the song of the summer. Since June, the mare has jumped eight out of 11 clear rounds at 1.60m and above, for a 73% clear round rate (Jumpr Stats). She was double-clear in the qualifier earlier in the week, and it was only a matter of time before they took their first major grand prix win.
It’s Mendoza’s career first five-star GP win and it was made possible by the handful of clients she’s developing through the sport. Mendoza co-owns the 12-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Air Jordan x VDL Indoctro) with Georgia Kipp, Kristi Mitchem, Mellissa Skowlund, and Pernilla Amman.
“All the moms of my clients got involved [in purchasing the mare], so we call it the ‘Mom Club.'”
