Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince Win $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV

Saugerties, New York (July 18, 2015): Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince won Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, going last in a six-horse jump off and clipping the time of second-place finisher Ronan McGuigan and Capall Zidane.

“I didn't get to see Ronan, but I know whenever he gets into the ring it’s going to be a fast round, especially with that horse. He's very hard to beat,” said Chapot. “But, fortunately, my horse has a tremendous stride and I was able to leave out a stride down the first line and the second line. We made an awesome turnback to the skinny orange slice jump and I thought, ‘maybe I have a chance' then.”

Going first in the jump-off, under perfect summer weather conditions, was Saugerties resident Heather Caristo-Williams on Freak Out, owned by her parents, Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Caristo. With a careful, clean round, Caristo-Williams and Freak Out completed the course in 41.650 seconds to ultimately place fourth. Up next was Juan Manuel Gallego, of Medellin, Colombia, on Hannes Van Het Scheefkasteel, owned by Carolina Ramelli Barrera, who finished with four faults in 43.975 seconds for sixth.

Chapot, of Neshanic Station, New Jersey, on her first ride, ISHD Dual Star, owned by Mary Chapot, went third but had four faults at the first jump. They finished in 37.872, the faster of the two four-faulters, to place fifth. Ronan McGuigan was next to go on his Capall Zidane, who had finished second to Chapot’s win in Wednesday's $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome. The pair completed the jump-off course in a speedy 37.629 seconds, setting the Great American Time to Beat.

Judy Garofalo Torres, of Dover Plains, New York, on Quattro Queen, owned by Juan Torres, went fifth and finished in a clean 39.394 seconds to claim third place. Lastly, Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince, owned by Chapot and McLain Ward, conquered the course to claim first place by a full second, in 36.531 seconds, causing the crowd to erupt in cheers.

Chapot said having two-horses in the jump-off was to her advantage. “Always, the more times you have a chance to go around, the better,” she said. “I kind of knew, once I went with the first one, that the leave-outs were possible. And this horse has an even bigger stride, so he was just able to just canter down the first line.”

The course was designed by Bernardo Cabral, of Lisbon, Portugal.

(c) ESI Photography
Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince, owned by Chapot and McLain Ward, go clear over a Vetera® XP Vaccines jump in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Friday at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV.

(c) ESI Photography
Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince, owned by Chapot and McLain Ward, in a presentation photo after winning the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix Friday at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV.

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Rd. 1 Faults	JO Faults	Time
1	Quointreau Un Prince	Laura Chapot & McLain Ward	Laura Chapot	$7,500	0	0	36.531
2	Capall Zidane	Ronan McGuigan	Ronan McGuigan	$5,500	0	0	37.628
3	Quattro Queen	Juan Torres	Judy Garofalo Torres	$3,250	0	0	39.394
4	Freak Out	Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Caristo	Heather Caristo-Williams	$2,000	0	0	41.650
5	ISHD Dual Star	Mary Chapot	Laura Chapot	$1,500	0	4	37.872
6	Hannes Van Het Scheefkasteel	Carolina Ramelli Bar	Juan Manuel Gallego	$1,250	0	4	43.975
7	Anabella	Santa Catalina Farm	Manuel Torres	$1,000	4	*	*
8	Victoria	Santa Catalina Farm	Andrea Torres Guerreiro	$750	4	*	*
9	Capri	David Raposa	David Raposa	$750	4	*	*
10	Superbad	The Coverboy Group	Amanda Flint	$500	4	*	*
11	Paris Z	Andres Muller	Andres Muller	$500	8	*	*
12	Brando Du Rouet	Tolleshunt Investment Group	Kirk Webby	$500	8	*	*

Laura Chapot and Umberto Win $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome

Laura Chapot claimed first and third place in Wednesday's $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome on Umberto and Out of Ireland, respectively, both owned by her mother, Mary Chapot.

In an exciting class that saw no one going clean in the jump-off, Chapot, of Neshanic Station, New Jersey, and Umberto had the fastest time of the four-faulters at 42.605 seconds. Coming in a close second was Ronan McGuigan, of Far Hills, New Jersey, on his Capall Zidane, with four faults, in 43.555 seconds. Rounding out third, Chapot and Out of Ireland completed the shortened course with four faults in 44.947 seconds.

"It ended up being an interesting class, since no one went clean in the jump-off," Chapot said. "My horse (Umberto) had the very last fence down -- barely touched it -- but he had the fastest time anyway, so we ended up with the win. And (Out of Ireland), this is her first time in the Open Welcome. She put in a great round to finish third behind Ronan, who has a very fast horse, as well."

Chapot said of Umberto, a 14-year-old Irish-bred gelding, "He's been at Saugerties for a number of years. He's won a couple Grand Prix here. He loves Saugerties."

(c) ESI Photography
Laura Chapot and Umberto, owned by Mary Chapot, took first place in Wednesday's $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV. 

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Rd. 1 Faults	JO Faults	JO Time
1	Umberto	Mary Chapot	Laura Chapot	$2,800	0	4	42.605
2	Capall Zidane	Ronan McGuigan	Ronan McGuigan	$1,800	0	4	43.555
3	Out of Ireland	Mary Chapot	Laura Chapot	$1,250	0	4	44.112
4	Excellent	Windsor Farm Sales	Katelyn Hess	$900	0	4	48.050
5	Paris Z	Andres Muller	Andres Muller	$800	0	8	44.947
6	Ca Va Bien	Trade Winds Farm	Agatha D'Ambra	$700	2	*	*
7	Bill Clinton	Koyo Investment Group	David Tromp	$600	8	*	*
8	Eliot	Maarten Huygens	Maarten Huygens	$400	8	*	*
9	Hannes Van Het Scheefkasteel	Carolina Ramelli Barrera	Juan Manuel Gallego	$375	9	*	*
10	Quivola	Trade Winds Farm	Agatha D'Ambra	$375	21	*	*

 

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About HITS, Inc.
HITS, Inc. produces high quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in Saugerties, New York, 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 HITS 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.