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THERMAL,
CA
(January 29, 2007) — Rudy Leone isn't a greedy
man. In fact, the owner of Kaskaya said
when he entered the Oasis VIP Club before the
jump-off he would take the red ribbon right now
and forgo the chance to compete for the top prize
in Sunday's $50,000 EMO Grand Prix.
It's a good thing
that 24-year-old Jill Humphry wasn't buying into
his plan. Humphry outdueled Canadian Olympian,
John Pearce, and Urioso in the jump-off
to capture the first ever Sunday Grand Prix Class
held to date at HITS Thermal and secured the $15,000
first place prize.
"We're just
on an incredible run," said Leone. "I'm
on cloud 11.Kaskaya is a great horse
and Jill is a great rider."
Humphry, the 2005
EMO Rookie of the Year, was second in Friday's
$30,000 Ariat Grand Prix and hasn't dropped a
single rail in any Grand Prix yet at HITS Thermal.
"It just wasn't
meant to be," said Pearce, who was the leading
money winner at the HITS Desert Circuit in 2006.
"It was meant to be Jill's day. I have no
complaints. I absolutely love the facility. It
is amazing for exhibitors and spectators. We had
a great crowd today and it is exciting to jump
in front of so many people. There is no comparison
between here and the Indio facility. We are all
thankful to have such a place to call home in
the winter."
Attendance on Sunday
at HITS Thermal was estimated at 2,000 people.
"It just shows that the people in the Coachella
Valley are excited about having the new HITS equestrian
center here in Thermal," said HITS' Senior
Vice President, Tony Hitchcock.
Pearce dropped just
one rail when he rubbed on fence 12B. "It
was week one and sometimes those things happen
early on," he said.
Richard Spooner had
two fantastic trips on both of his mounts but
thanks to a bit of hard luck he failed to reach
the jump-off. Airtime was third with
one time fault and fan favorite Robinson
knocked down the final hurdle on course designer
Anthony D'Ambrosio's first round course.
"I
went in loaded for a bear and came out with a
squirrel," said Spooner, who also had one
time fault on Robinson in Friday's $30,000
Ariat Grand Prix. "It was a top notch competition
today and good to see we got a jump-off, even
though it was only two horses. I was glad to finish
third. Airtime is doing well and I look
forward to five more weeks of competition here
at HITS Thermal."
Show Jumping at HITS
Thermal continues Wednesday through Sunday at
the HITS Desert Horse Park, in Thermal, CA. Friday's
featured class is the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix
and on Sunday the featured class will be the $75,000
Footing
Authority™ Grand Prix.
For the past 15 years,
HITS has produced a six-week winter horse show
circuit just five miles from HITS Thermal at the
intersection of Monroe Street and Avenue 52 in
Indio, California. The 2007 HITS Desert Circuit
is being held at the new, state-of-the-art HITS
Desert Horse Park equestrian facility in Thermal,
California.
The new horse park
is the largest Hunter/Jumper horse show venue
in the United States and has more than $10,000,000
in improvements, including stabling for more than
3,000 horses and 12 competition rings. HITS Thermal
also features the new state-of-the-art footing
provided by Footing
Authority™.
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 Horse Park. HITS generates significant
economic impact in each of its five venues in
California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and New
York.
©Flying
Horse
Photography
©Flying Horse
Photography
Jill
Humphry and Kaskaya seized the first
ever Sunday Grand Prix at HITS Thermal winning
the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix
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Placing
|
Horse
|
Rider
|
Owner
|
Prize
Money
|
Rd
1 Faults
|
JO
Faults
|
JO
Time
|
|
1
|
Kaskaya
|
Jill
Humphry
|
Leone
Equestrian
|
$15,000
|
0
|
0
|
49.56
|
|
2
|
Urioso
|
John
Pearce
|
Forest
View Farms
|
$11,000
|
0
|
4
|
44.82
|
|
3
|
Airtime
|
Richard
Spooner
|
C
& S Partnership
|
$6,500
|
1
|
|
|
|
4
|
Aushtin's
Obsession
|
Becky
Smith
|
Aushtin
Holdings
|
$4,000
|
4
|
|
|
|
5
|
Grand
So So 2
|
Laura
Linback
|
Woodrun
|
$3,000
|
4
|
|
|
|
6
|
Callisto
|
Jill
Henselwood
|
Equine
Candada
|
$2,500
|
4
|
|
|
Adequan
Open Hunter - Fenwick,
ridden by Vanessa Brown and owned by Amy Brubaker,
Woodland, CA
Farnam
Adult Hunter 18-35 - Hudson Bay,
ridden by Katie Cook and owned by Sarah Rahmatian,
Los Angleles, CA
Farnam
Adult Hunter 36-45 - Round Midnight,
ridden by Elizabeth Oliver and owned by Mountain
View Farms, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
M
& S Adult Hunter Classic - Round
Midnight, ridden by Elizabeth Oliver and
owned by Mountain View Farms, Rancho Santa Fe,
CA
M
& S Adult Jumper Classic - Luke,
ridden by Brooke Flynn and owned by Hap 737, San
Diego, CA
M&
S Adult Jumper Classic - Elusive,
ridden by Krista Mergen and owned by Patricia
Mergen, Priddis,
Alberta Canada
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