HITS Desert Circuit VII Hunter Roundup

THERMAL, California (March 8, 2015): John Bragg claimed his sixth $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix victory at HITS Thermal this past weekend on Social Hour, owned by Laura Strasburg — and second place on Pamela Mollenhoff's Lukatoni. Buddy Brown rounded out the top three on Finally Ours, owned by Derby Hill. Bragg toppedthe field with total scores of 177.5 and 177, followed by Brown's 175.

 
(c) ESI Photography                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              John Bragg and Social Hour, owned by Laura Strasburg, win the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, Sunday, March 8, 2015, at HITS Thermal, in Bragg's fifth Devoucoux win this circuit.

$5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix

Place

Horse

Owner

Rider

Prize

  1. 1/2

Total

1

Social Hour

Laura Strasburg

John Bragg

$1,500

87.5/90

177.5

2

Lukatoni

Pamela Moellenhoff

John Bragg

$1,000

89/88

177

3

Finally Ours

Derby Hill

Buddy Brown

$700

88/87

175

4

Coffeetalk

Whitney Downs

Gabriella Cinquini

$500

83/85

168

5

Freedom C

Vicky Dimitri

Katrina Karazissis

$400

85/82.5

167.5

6

Riesling

John Bragg

Jenny Jones

$325

83.5/84

167.5

7

Unwritten

Emily Sukert

Jenny Karazissis

$300

69/87

156

8

Maillisko

Bailey Campbell

Marisa Metzger

$275

79.5/83

152.5

Lolly McLeelan Wins $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix on Rockford

Lolly McLeelan and her Rockford won Sunday's $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix with a score 12 points higher than the second-place finisher. McLeelan topped the first round with her score of 87, then cleaned up in the second round with another top score of 88, to total 175.

Leila Templin and Maple Bay, owned by Ellen Brown, took second with scores of 83 and 80, to total 163. Templin also placed second in the Platinum Prix in Desert Circuit V. Noah Cyrus scored 74 in the first round but had the second-highest score in round two, 85, which took him to third place with a total of 159.

 
(c) ESI Photography
Lolly McLeeland and her Rockford win the $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix on Sunday, March 8, 2015, at HITS Thermal.

$1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix

Place

Horse

Owner

Rider

Prize

  1. 1/2

Total

1

Rockford

Lolly McLellan

Lolly McLellan

$450

87/88

175

2

Maple Bay

Ellen Brown

Ellen Brown

$300

83/80

163

3

Undeniable

Hope Town Farms

Noah Cyrus

$200

74/85

159

4

Gentry

Rosie Garlock

Anna Moellenhoff

$150

70.5/84

154.5

5

Beach Drive

Bill Ulmer

Leila Templin

$125

72.5/81

153.5

6

Kilkenny Winston

Natalie Hewson

Natalie Hewson

$100

76/74

150

7

Harvard

Gwen McCaw

Gwen McCaw

$100

73/70

143

8

Callessandro

Liliana Kaneshige

Liliana Kaneshige

$75

70/68

138

Augusta Iwasaki Dominates $1,000 Pony Hunter Prix

Augusta Iwasaki left little doubt as to her skills and experience in the pony hunter ring with five ponies in the top eight, including a first place win on somekindawonderful, owned by the concern Iwasaki & Reilly.

Iwasaki and somekindawonderful topped the first round with a score of 86 and came back in the second round with a strong 83, which was not the highest score but was enough to claim the blue ribbon. Virginia Bonnie placed second on her Wink And Smile, with 82 and 85, followed by Amber Ayyad on Astro Boy, with scores of 79 and 80. Iwasaki also claimed the fourth through seventh places, with winning scores that ranged from 156 to 153.

The Pony Hunter Prix is a unique class that HITS offers at both Thermal and HITS Ocala and is an opportunity for pony hunter riders to compete against each other for $1,000 in prizes.


(c) ESI Photography

Augusta Iwasaki on somekindawonderful, owned by Iwasaki and Reilly, take first place in the $1,000 Pony Hunter Prix Friday, March 6, 2015 at HITS Thermal.

$1,000 Pony Hunter Prix

Place

Horse

Owner

Rider

Prize

  1. 1/2

Total

1

somekindawoderful

Iwasaki & Reilly

Augusta Iwasaki

$300

86/83

169

2

Wink And Smile

Virginia Bonnie

Virginia Bonnie

$200

82/85

167

3

Astro Boy

Amber Ayyad

Amber Ayyad

$140

79/80

159

4

Small Introduction

Iwasaki & Reilly

Augusta Iwasaki

$90

78/78

156

5

Small Suggestion

Iwasaki & Reilly

Augusta Iwasaki

$75

75/80

155

6

Bit of Laughter

Iwasaki & Reilly

Augusta Iwasaki

$70

76/78

154

7

Super Cool

Iwasaki & Reilly

Augusta Iwasaki

$65

70/83

153

8

Woodlands Huck Finn

Nicodemus Farms

Lauren Flather

$60

67/85

152


About HITS, Inc.
HITS, Inc. produces high quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the Village of Saugerties, HITS has been producing shows since 1982 and is now a nationwide company with world-class circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York, and Virginia.

While hosting the richest weekend in show jumping at HITS-on-the-Hudson, HITS also formed the Triple Crown of Show Jumping. This includes the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Mortgage Call, in Thermal, California, the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix in Ocala, Florida, and Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Wells Fargo, in Saugerties, New York.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com. Stay connected with HITS, join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Media should contact the HITS Media Team at 845.246.8833 or e-mail Media_Info@HitsShows.com


 2015 Horse Show Dates

HITS Desert Circuit  |  Thermal, CA  |  January 13 - March 15, 2015
HITS Ocala Winter Circuit    |  Ocala, FL  |  January 13 - March 23, 2015
HITS Arizona Winter Circuit  |  Tucson, AZ  |  January 28 - March 8, 2015
HITS Culpeper Show Series  |  Culpeper, VA  |  April / July / August / September
HITS Saugerties Show Series  |  Saugerties, NY  |  May-June / July-August / September
HITS Championship  |  Saugerties, NY  |  September 2-6, 2015
HITS Marshall & Sterling Insurance National Finals  |  September 9-13, 2015
National Sunshine Series  |  October 28 - November 8, 2015