Harold Chopping Wins $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix - FEI 

Ocala, FL (February 25, 2017): After an exciting finish to the FEI Nations Cup CSI4* week at HITS Ocala, FEI competition continued into this weekend at HITS Post Time Farm. Riders and horses from the US, Canada and abroad met in the Horse Capital of the World for a shot at blue ribbon status. Yesterday, Harold Chopping of Southern Pines, North Carolina, grabbed the win in the $25,000 FEI SmartPak Grand Prix.


Fifty-one challengers tested the course designed by Manuel Esparza of Mexico, and nineteen would advance with first-round clears to contest the abbreviated course in the jump-off. Twelve produced clean jump-off rounds, leaving it all down to the quickest time to bring home the victory.

Chopping, who originally hails from Canada, piloted Basje, owned by Kendra Bullington, through the jump-off, laying down a blazing-fast ride in 38.20 to eventually take home the win.

Brandie Holloway ultimately garnered second-place in the thrilling class aboard Lucky Strike, owned by Hays Investment Corp. Their final time of 39.06 after a fault-free round in the jump-off gave them the red-ribbon slot on the leaderboard.

Coming in just behind Brandie Holloway was Germany’s Andre Thieme riding Conthendrix. Just fractions of a second divided Thieme’s time from Holloway, a 39.34, settling them third in the ribbons.

Devin Ryan took home fourth place riding Eddie Blue, owned by LL Show Jumpers, LLC. Ryan and Eddie Blue also grabbed a win last week in Ocala with first place in the $5,000 FEI Welcome Stake. This week, their time of 40.24, gave them the white ribbon.

Brandie’s daughter, Hunter Holloway, would also capture a seat in the top five. Hunter won the $41,200 FEI Thursday Prix last week at HITS Ocala with VDL Bravo S, owned by Hays Investment Corp, and the pair showed they are still in top form. They earned fifth place with their clean round in 41.13. 

 

Place      Horse  Owner Rider Prize R.1 Faults J.O Faults J.O Time
1 Basje Kendra Bullington Harold Chopping $8,250   0 0 38.20
2 Lucky Stike Hays Investment Corp Brandie Holloway $5,000 0 0 39.06
3 Conthendrix Andre Thieme Andre Thieme $3,750 0 0 39.34
4 Eddie Blue LL Show Jumpers LLC Devin Ryan $2,500 0 0 40.24
5 VDL Bravo S Hays Investment Corp  Hunter Holloway $1,500 0 0 41.13
6 Cescha M Isabelle Lapierre Isabelle Lapierre $1,125 0 0 41.46
7 Uppie De Lis Chuck & Dana Waters Hayley Waters $750 0 0 41.89
8 Venus Raylyn Farms, Inc. Fabio Andres Rodriguez $625 0 0 44.04
9 Clever Van De Helle Kyle Dewar Kyle Dewar $500 0 0 44.30
10 Tamerlan Du Poncel Fernando Lozinsky Fernando Lozinsky $500 0 0 44.38
11 Intenz Van HD Mr & Mrs John Bartko Tracy Magness $250 0 0 44.66
12 Charline 28 Abrahamson Equestrian LLC Kady Abrahamson $250 0 0 45.96
(C) ESI PHOTOGRAPHY
Harold Chopping and Basje on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. 
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, Virginia, and a new property coming to Chicago, Illinois in May 2017. 

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 in Thermal, California, the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix in Ocala, Florida and Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix FEI CSI-5* 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 and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Media should contact the HITS Media Team at 845.246.8833 or e-mail media_info@HitsShows.com.