Holiday Series II Kicks Off with the $2,500 Johnson Horse Transportation Open Welcome
Ocala, FL (December 16, 2015): The Ocala Holiday Classic kicked off as the second week of the HITS Holiday Series. Equestrians returned to HITS Post Time Farm for another week of competition after a brief hiatus to dine, play and explore the city of Ocala, Florida.
Derek Petersen of Archer, Florida, walked away with the blue ribbon in the first featured class of the week, the $2,500 Johnson Horse Transportation Open Welcome—the win came aboard Redeemed, a seven-year-old Warmblood gelding.
Four would jump clear to advance to the immediate jump-off, where three would go double clear in contingency for the victory.
Petersen was the first to show and the first to produce a double-clear round to set the tone for the class. He and Redeemed clocked in at 40.983, a round that would remain unsurpassed.
Next to conquer the shortened course was Lexington, Kentucky equestrian Lauren Hester and Clueless P, owned by Hester Equestrian, LLC. They stopped the clock just one second behind Petersen in 41.501 for the eventual second-place prize.
The final pair to go clear in the jump-off was Debbie McCarthy Connor of Patterson, New York, and Zim, owned by Connor & Ebetino Jumpers, LLC— the pair won this class in the first week of the Holiday Series. They crossed the finish in 47.140 to secure third place.
Fourth place went to Hayden Morresey riding Cequila, owned by Margaret Bopp, LLC. The final spot in the top five belonged to Ocala rider Allen T. Nabors piloting Cool N’Cavalier, owned by Cassie Bakus.
Place
Horse
Owner
Rider
Prize
Rd. 1 Faults
JO Faults
JO Time
1
Redeemed
Derek Petersen
Derek Petersen
$750
0
0
40.983
2
Clueless P
Hester Equestrain LLC
Lauren Hester
$450
0
0
41.501
3
Zim
Connor & Ebetino Jumpers LLC
Debbie McCarthy Connor
$300
0
0
47.140
4
Cequila
Margaret Bopp, LLC
Hayden Morresey
$250
0
O/C
-
5
Cool N' Cavalier
Cassie Bakus
Allen T. Nabors
$225
0
O/C
-
6
Charming Force B
Kim Farlinger Stables LTD
Kim Farlinger
$200
4
-
-
7
Caprice van de Brouwershoeve
Kim Farlinger Stables LTD
Kim Farlinger
$175
4
-
-
8
Coconut
Eagle Valley Partners, LLC
Andrew Kocher
$150
4
-
-
9
Born Again
Derek Petersen
Derek Petersen
-
8
-
-
10
Friggy LV
Hester Equestrian LLC
Lauren Hester
-
20
-
-
(C) ESI Photography Derek Petersen and Redeemed on their way to a $2,500 Johnson Horse Transportation Open Welcome 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 in 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 the Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix in Saugerties, New York.