Stolen Hampton Classic Trophy Found on eBay

When a Hampton Classic Horse Show trophy went up for auction on eBay earlier this month, it drew some attention from equestrian enthusiasts — including staffers of the horse show who had no idea it had been removed from the Classic’s collection.

The Champagne bucket-style silver-plated trophy for the Hampton Classic Challenge, engraved with dates and names from 1978 through 1992, could have gone missing a month ago — or as long as two decades ago.

"We hadn't even realized it was missing, being it hadn't even been awarded in 20 years," said Shanette Cohen, the executive director of the annual horse show in Bridgehampton. She said it was among retired trophies that are kept locked up but occasionally used in public displays.

Cohen said Mary O'Connor, a member of the Classic's Horsemen's Advisory Committee, brought the eBay listing to her attention with a post May 15 on the Hampton Classic's Facebook page.

Cohen then checked the trophy closet at the Snake Hollow Road office and confirmed the trophy was gone. "We realized that at some point it must have walked," she said.

She reached out to the seller, who is located in Bridgehampton, and received a phone call back. The seller said she picked up the trophy at a yard sale in Springs, Cohen said. She informed the seller the trophy had been stolen, so it could not be sold, and offered on behalf of the Hampton Classic to reimburse her for whatever she had paid for it.

Cohen recounted the conversation in a post on the chronofhorse.com forums.
"She told me she'd sell it to me for $500, since the last bid she had received was for $495," Cohen said. "I told her that it's not about what she'd be able to get for it on the open market, it is illegal to sell stolen goods and I was just trying to be nice and that she obviously didn't pay $500 for it at the yard sale."

When the seller said she would get back to Cohen but did not call back after 20 minutes, Cohen contacted the police. However, Cohen said she never suspected the eBay seller of being the thief, and never meant to accuse her of anything; the Classic simply wanted the trophy back.

The auction was ended by the seller on March 17 "because the item is no longer available," according to eBay. The auction reached $999 before it was called off.

Then on Friday, the seller personally dropped the trophy off at the Hampton Classic office and ultimately did not ask for any payment, Cohen said.

There is no way that the Hampton Classic had given the trophy away, according to Cohen. "This was a challenge trophy and you needed to win it three times to keep it, and no one was ever awarded it three times," she explained. "No one even won it twice."

A user of the forums at chronofhorse.com started a conversation about the eBay listing on May 13 and noted some of the winners' names that were engraved on the trophy.  "I'm not the seller, but this trophy surely has some history," the user wrote. "You can make out some of the winners engraved on the back ...Kinder Kid (Debbie Wycoff), Nobel (Jane Clark), No Wonder (Old Salem Farm)."

Cohen said other notable horse owners with their names on the trophy include Sale Johnson and Martin Raynes.

Cohen told the police the trophy is back where it belongs and said that now both the police and the Hampton Classic consider the matter closed.