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SAUGERTIES, NY (June 4, 2007) — When Tim Hooker woke up on Sunday morning he knew that his mount Sirius was ready for the $75,000 EMO Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties.
“He jumped out of his stall over the wheelbarrow and ran to the end of the aisle. Then he turned around and jumped back over the wheelbarrow and back into his stall,” joked Hooker. “But we are in the tent stalls so he had to duck to get back in because he was jumping so high.”
Hooker was just kidding, but watching his horse compete in yesterday's featured class some people may have thought he was serious. He took the envious last-to-ride position in the jump-off that featured five horses and stopped the clocks in 42.246 to win the class by fractions of a second over Tracy Magness and Tarco Van Ter Moude.
“I haven't had this good a horse in 25 years,” he said. “This horse really knows when it is Sunday and he comes to play!"
Hooker has only had the horse since February. “I went to Germany to buy a horse and really didn't pay that much attention to him at first,” he said. “But when his owner insisted I look again and told me how many classes he had won in the past five years, I gave him a careful look. I watched him jump on several videos and was amazed at the huge jumps he was comfortable going over. I finally asked what his name was and when I learned it was “Sirius” I knew I had to have him. He is just a smidge under 17.2 hands and I must say, it is really nice to be on such a big horse looking down at the jumps as we go around the course. He is big, but he is very light on his feet.”
Hooker broke the Great American Time to Beat set by Magness and her mount Tarco Van Ter Moude two trips earlier. She thought her time of 42.356 would be enough to secure a win for owners Mr. and Mrs. John Bartko. “When I beat Hillary Dobbs' time, I thought I had a very good chance,” said Magness. “She was very fast but it's tough to be too confident when riders like Bill Lowry and Tim Hooker are still left to compete.”
Magness, a fresh face to HITS Saugerties, was the leading Grand Prix Rider at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. A second-place finish on Sunday and a sixth-place finish in Thursday's $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix continues to keep her near the top of the United States Grand Prix League Standings. This means that she will be at the top of the list of the riders who are invited to participate in the $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper.
Magness captured the lead from Dobbs and Quincy B after the pair stopped the clocks in 43.074 to start the jump-off. Dobbs finished in third place after securing first and second place in the $10,000 Jr/A-O Jumper Classic earlier that morning.
“Every time I see Hillary ride she gets more and more athletic,” said course designer Anthony D'Ambrosio. “She started off a very competitive jump-off. Everyone who advanced certainly deserved to be in it and we came out with a very deserving winner.”
Nona Garson and Languster followed Dobbs in the jump-off. Their time of 46.777 secured a fifth-place finish. Garson was also fifth in Thursday's $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix. Rounding out the competitors in the jump-off were Bill Lowry and Rio Corde. They stopped the clocks in 43.206 to earn fourth place.
Show jumping at HITS Saugerties continues this Wednesday through Sunday and culminates on Sunday with the $75,000 HITS Grand Prix. On Thursday, competitors will take aim at the top prize in the $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix. For the rest of the summer, all eyes will be on the Grand Prix standings as each Grand Prix at every HITS horse show, including HITS Culpeper and HITS Saugerties, is a qualifier for the United States Grand Prix League Finals. The Finals for the League will be held in Culpeper on September 30, when $100,000 in prize money will be on the line. The event is limited to the top-30 USGPL pairs.
Two more weeks of shows are on tap until June 17 at HITS Saugerties. The $22,500 Children's/Adult Championship and the $40,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship will close out the spring shows during Week III at HITS Saugerties. After that, HITS Saugerties takes a five-week hiatus before returning on July 25 for three more weeks of world-class show jumping. The series concludes with one final week of show jumping beginning on September 5, followed by the Marshall & Sterling League Finals, September 13-16, when acclaimed singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega will be on hand for The Year-End High-Point Awards Celebration.
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.
©ESI Photography
Tim Hooker and Sirius win the $75,000 EMO Grand Prix.
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Placing
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Horse
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Rider
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Owner
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Prize
Money
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Rd
1 Faults
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JO
Faults
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JO
Time
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1
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Sirius
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Tim Hooker
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Tim Hooker
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$22,500
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0
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0
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42.246
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2
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Tarco Van Ter Moude |
Tracy Magness |
Mr. and Mrs. John Bartko |
$16,500
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0
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0
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3
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Quincy B
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Hillary Dobbs
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Hillary Dobbs
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$9,750
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0
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0
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43.074
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4
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Rio Corde |
Bill Lowry |
Winsor Farm Sales |
$6,000
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0
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43.206
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5
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Languster
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Nona Garson
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Ryan Automotive/ Nona Garson
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$3,750
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0
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46.777
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6
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Darvin Garbo
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Henrik Gundersen
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Henrik Gundersen
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$3,000
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4
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Adequan Open Hunter - Goodnight & Goodluck, ridden by Alexandra Cherubini and owned by Equifit, Boston, MA
Farnam Adult Hunter 18-35 - Lion King, ridden and owned by Lindsay Mohr, Long Valley, NJ
Farnam Adult Hunter 36-45 - The Rainman, ridden and owned by Maria D'Anza, Chester, NJ
Farnam Adult Hunter 46 & Over - Walk the Walk, ridden and owned by Maggie Litteken, Valatie, NY
M & S Adult Hunter Classic - Larger than Life, ridden by Melissa Feller and owned by Dr. Linda Corvari, Long Valley, NJ
M & S Children's Hunter Classic - Let it Ride, ridden by Eliza Hersh and owned by Joey Currais, New York, NY
M & S Children's Jumper Classic - Sir Henry, ridden by Shane Powell and owned by Kimberly Jungherr, Amesbury, MA
M & S Adult Jumper Classic - Kaboom, ridden and owned by Hillary Sapanski, New Canaan, CT
$5,000 Brookledge Open Welcome - Amada, ridden by Henrik Gundersen and owned by Horses Unlimited, Wellington, FL
$10,000 O'Conner Signature at the Oaks Jr/A-O Jumper High Classic - Marengo ridden by Hillary Dobbs and owned by The Dobbs Group, Sussex, NJ
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