Karl Cook and Basimodo take the $75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix

Thermal, CA (November 2, 2014): With an enthusiastic crowd in attendance at HITS Desert Horse Park, Karl Cook and Basimodo won Saturday’s $75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix. Suspense grew amongst spectators as four entered the jump off, but Cook was confident in his partner, knowing the best was yet to come.

“I loved how Basimodo rode tonight. He has a lot of promise ahead of him,” said Cook, a Woodside, California native. “He’s pretty impressive for an 8-year-old.”

“The course was big enough and tough enough but certainly ride-able,” Cook continued. “Jump Four was the tough one - a big vertical liverpool riding straight into the jumbo screen took all of us a little by surprise.”

Ken Krome, the course designer, seemed equally pleased with his course, that yielded four clear rounds out of 28 starters. “I felt it was quite a good class. Of course, a designer gets a little worried that there might be too many or too few for a jump-off but this class was perfect in that aspect,” said Krome. “The course had everything--a narrow jump, a wall, and then the triple. It was an equal test for everyone and a nice lead into next week’s World Cup Qualifier class.”

All four riders in the jump-off were clean, with Cook taking advantage of his last-to-go spot. Rich Fellers of Wilsonville, Oregon, led off the timed round, piloting HTH Crazy for Crown to 40.79 seconds. With a time of 41.21 seconds, Jill Blunt and Udam of Lake Stevens, Washington, took third while Liubov Kochetova of Wellington, Florida, rode to fourth aboard Urus 2 with a time of 41.66 seconds.

-Kathy Hobstetter for HITS, Inc.

(C) ESI Photography

Karl Cook and Basimodo on their way to win the $75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix at National Sunshine Series Week I.

$75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Rd. 1 Fault	J/O Fault	J/O Time
1	Basimodo	Signe Ostby	Karl Cook	24750	0	0	38.53
2	HTH Crazy for Crown	Chapman and Hinson	Rich Fellers	15,000	0	0	40.79
3	Udam	Jill Blunt	Jill Blunt	11,250	0	0	41.21
4	Urus 2	Liubov Kochetova	Liubov Kochetova	7,500	0	0	41.66
5	Cippolini VD Gasthoeve	Valleyfield Farm	Ellicia Edgar	4,500	1	-	-
6	Juncal	Woodgrove Farm	Guillermo Obligado	3375	1	-	-
7	Son of a Gun	Forest View Farm Inc	John Pearce	2250	4	-	-
8	Cassiato	Oak Park Group LLC	Harley Brown	1875	4	-	-
9	Geledimar	Monarch International	Hannah Von Heidegger	1500	4	-	-
10	Raging Bull Vangelis S	Nayel Nassar	Nayel Nassar	1500	4	-	-
11	Charly	High Voltage Farms LLC	Joie Gatlin	750	4	-	-
12	Casseur de Prix	Granville Equine	Jenni McAllister	750	4+	-	-

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 and Virginia.

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, presented by Mortgage Call, in Thermal, California, the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix in Ocala, Florida and Saugerties $1 Million Grand Prix, presented by Wells Fargo, in Saugerties, New York.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com. Stay connected with HITS, join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

Media should contact the HITS Media Team at 845.246.8833 or e-mail Media_Info@HitsShows.com.

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Karl Cook and Basimodo take the $75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix :: HITS

Karl Cook and Basimodo take the $75,000 Sunshine Series Grand Prix

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