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THERMAL, CA (April 18, 2008)—As
a follow up to the 2008 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, California,
HITS Management and members of the newly formed West Coast Advisory
Committee gathered via conference call earlier this week to recap the
circuit and begin discussing plans and priorities for the 2009
season.
The
Committee was formed in early March to assist Management with the
future stages of the development for the new HITS Desert Horse Park.
Members were carefully selected and represent a well-respected cross
section of the equine community from various areas on the West Coast
including, Rich Fellers (Willsonville, Oregon),
Mary Manfredi (San Francisco, California), Rudy Leone (Sacramento,
California), Lori DeRosa (San Diego, California), Joe Thorpe (Glendora,
California), Tracy Baer (Huntington Beach, California) and Joie Gatlin
(San Juan Capistrano, California). Within the group, both hunter and jumpers are represented ensuring that both disciplines receive attention and input.
"I am excited for the future of
the Thermal horse show," said Tracy Baer. "We, as trainers, are fortunate
to have such a motivated management team that allows us to be involved
in the development of the facility. The committee members all had
excellent ideas and it was interesting to listen to what each of them
had to say."
Discussions
centered around the reaction to improvements made for the 2008 season,
including
footing and the numerous aesthetic enhancements. Comments were also
shared from each participant on what they believed to be the most
important items to be considered for the 2009 season and beyond. The
feedback was varied and included focus on additional landscaping and
aesthetic changes throughout the property, as well as entry closing
dates and schedules, more shaded seating at the rings, add/scratch
policies, gates on rings, dividing the space in the larger
schooling areas and ring grooming equipment, just to name a few.
"I'm
pleased with the participation and honesty of this eclectic group of
exhibitors," said Tom Struzzieri, HITS President and CEO. "I was
especially glad to find that each of them put so much effort into their
feedback, proactively reaching out to the broader equine community to
get additional input. That's just what we were hoping this committee
would do, represent the West Coast customer base."
In
addition to Struzzieri, other members of the West Coast Management Team
participated in the call, including Dale Harvey, Technical Coordinator
and High Performance Liaison, Fred Bauer, Vice President West
Coast Operations and Brian Morris, Manager of the HITS Desert Circuit.
The team shared some of the broad initial plans for 2009, including the
potential to bring on a desert landscaping expert to assist with the
next stages of property development.
"I
was encouraged by the group's response and interest in this project,"
said Harvey. "I'm confident that the momentum and contributions will
continue to grow stronger in the months to come as we prepare for
another great circuit in Thermal."
"It
was a good introductory meeting," said Joie Gatlin. "We covered a lot
of topics of concern and made quite a few suggestions. Hopefully the
committee will be viewed as a proactive group helping to continue to
improve our winter Desert Circuit."
Over
the course of the off-season, HITS will continue its presence and
outreach on the West Coast, as Bauer will be meeting face-to-face with
trainers to personally follow up on the circuit.
"It's
important to us that each trainer feels engaged in the circuit," said
Bauer. "These individual meetings will also help to contribute to the
topics and ideas addressed by the Committee and HITS Management."
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.
For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com
Media should contact Chris Mayone at 845.246.8833 or e-mail Media_Info@HitsShows.com
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