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Indio,
CA (March 2, 2006)--HITS,
Inc. of Saugerties, NY announced today that
the company will unveil preliminary site
plans for its new multi-million-dollar HITS Desert
Equestrian Center at a special by-invitation-only
party in honor of the United States Equestrian
Team Foundation on Friday, March 3. The new 250-acre
venue will be constructed during the next year
on property near Jacqueline Cochran Regional
Airport in Thermal, California.
For the past 14 years, HITS has produced a six-week
winter horse show circuit on approximately 100
acres at the intersection of Monroe Street and
Avenue 52 in Indio, California. The new facility,
when completed, is expected to be the largest
hunter-jumper horse show venue in the United
States and will encompass more than $10,000,000
in improvements including stabling for more than
3,000 horses and ten to twelve competition rings.
The party on Friday, generously sponsored by
Show Circuit Magazine, will include presentations
by
George H. Morris, Chef
d'Equipe
of the
U.S. Show Jumping Team; Bonnie B. Jenkins, Executive
Director of the USET Foundation; and Thomas G.
Struzzieri, President of HITS, Inc. The presentations
will focus on the USET's "Campaign
to Achieve Competitive Excellence" as well
as the role that the new HITS Desert Equestrian
Center will play in the development of international
show jumping athletes and the selection of teams
that represent our country abroad. More than
a dozen special items will be offered in a Silent
Auction at the party for the benefit
of the USET Foundation.
Special recognition
at the party will be given to Riverside County
Supervisor Roy Wilson, who has been instrumental
in helping make this project a reality. The venue's
site plans are being produced by Steve Kleeman
of SK Associates, based in La Quinta, California.
HITS, Inc. is a special events management company
primarily focused on producing hunter/jumper
horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the
village of Saugerties, HITS produced its first
horse show circuit in Gainesville, Florida in
1982. Since that time, HITS has grown into a
nationwide company with world-class hunter-jumper
circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New
York, and Virginia.
In January 2006 HITS entered
into a private equity arrangement with Leonard
Green & Partners, L.P. in Los Angeles. As a
result, HITS, Inc. is able to develop and execute
exciting operational and strategic initiatives
that both solidify its well-established position
as the leader in horse show management and allow
for new growth opportunities including the construction
of HITS Desert Equestrian Center.
HITS generates significant economic impact in each of its five venues in California,
Arizona, Florida, Virginia and New York. The six-week circuit presently held
at HITS Desert Horse Park in Indio is estimated to produce a total economic
impact in excess of $120,000,000 each year. Because the new site is considerably
larger and will accommodate more horses for a longer period of time, the economic
impact in future years is expected to increase substantially.
For more information about HITS, Inc. and the HITS Desert Equestrian Center,
please contact:
Tony Hitchcock
Senior Vice President
760-775-9072 (through 3/12)
Tony@HitsShows.com
or
John Eickman
National Marketing Director
760-347-2102 (through 3/12)
John@HitsShows.com
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