Sarah Segal and Ubris Win $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix by Narrow Margin

SAUGERTIES, New York (May 29, 2015): Galloping as fast as she could, Sarah Segal and Ubris, owned by Chartwell, shaved two-tenths of a second off her nearest competitor’s time to take first place in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix at HITS-on-the-Hudson II.

Segal went last in a jump-off of six contenders. Jonathan Corrigan went first in the shortened course on Aries, owned by Noel Gross, but failed to clear the third obstacle and had four faults. Going next was Adrienne Iverson on Redfield Farm's Donar R with a clear round, clocking in at 42.353, setting the Great American Time to Beat.

Judy Garofalo Torres on Quattro Queen owned by Juan Torres took to the course third, quickly resetting the Great American Time to Beat just a half-second shorter than Corrigan, with a clean ride in 42.300. That time was reset once again by the next rider, as Jeffery Welles finished in 39.887 with no faults on Cord 11, owned by Meco Equestrian LLC.

Welles' time held through the next rider,  Ragan Roberts and Quipit L.F., owned by Quipit Group, who had four faults at the last fence.  Segal then entered the ring and did not slow for a moment, even on a tight rollback near the very end of the course, to claim first place,  clocking in at a brisk 39.647 seconds.

"It was a great course. I love the course designer (Marina Azevedo of Sao Paulo, Brazil) — she’s built really great courses all week," said Segal.

Segal said of Ubris, "The jump-off was great for her because she's so great on angles and slices and turns; you can totally trust her. She kind of got underneath one vertical but she figured out a way to jump it."

Segal said that, going sixth, she knew she needed to go as fast as possible to overtake the Great American Time to Beat set by Welles. "Jeffery was really fast, as it sounded from his time and the people watching," she said. "I was not trying to go slow and careful — that was as fast as I could do that jump-off."

Welles said he was pleased with his horse, as it was the first time he has ridden Cord 11 in a Grand Prix. "It's a new relationship," he said.


(c) ESI Photography
Sarah Segal and Ubris Win $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix by Narrow Margin at HITS-on-the-Hudson II, on Friday, May 29, 2015.

$25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix - HITS-on-the-Hudson II

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Round 1 Faults	JO Faults	JO Time
1	Ubris	Chartwell	Sarah Segal	$7,500	0	0	39.647
2	Cord 11	Meco Equestrian LLC	Jeffery Welles	$5,500	0	0	39.887
3	Quattro Queen	Juan Torres	Judy Garofalo Torres	$3,250	0	0	42.300
4	Donar R	Redfield Farm	Adrienne Iverson	$2,000	0	0	42.353
5	Aries	Noel Gross	Jonathan Corrigan	$1,500	0	4	44.712
6	Quipit L.F.	Quipit Group	Ragan Roberts	$1,250	0	4	51.164
7	Capall Zidane	Ronan McGuigan	Ronan McGuigan	$1,000	4	*	*
8	Zelda	T.K. Farm	Sarah Segal	$750	4	*	*
9	Temptation	Sharon Milchovich	Michael Desiderio	$750	4	*	*
10	Cecotto's AS	Jennifer Rowland	Chris Kappler	$500	4	*	*
11	Robin De Ponthual	John Gallagher	Peter Lutz	$500	4	*	*
12	Twan	Stephex Stables / Missy Clark	Julie Welles	$500	4	*	*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ronan McGuigan Wins Second Consecutive $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome

Ronan McGuigan on his Capall Zidane — winner of last week's Brook Ledge and the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix — claimed the blue in the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome on Wednesday, May 27, at HITS-on-the-Hudson II, in a fast-paced class that had the top ten going double-clear, and the top seven with times less than two seconds apart.

McGuigan said of the class, and his win, "It was a nice, flowing course, which suited my horse. There were no alternative turns, so everybody basically rode the same track. It was just a matter of how fast you could gallop — my horse is very fast across the ground."

Julie Welles was the first to move on to the jump-off on Twan, owned by Stephex Stables and Missy Clark, with a clear round, in a time of 32.947,  setting the first Great American Time To Beat. Next, Addison Gierkink on Full Monty, owned by Kadley Holdings LLC, shaved a fraction off that time to finish clear in 33.229 to take over the lead.

McGuigan took to the ring two trips later and, in a speedy, clean ride, carved one-and-a-half seconds off Gierkink's time, to complete the round in what held up as the fastest on the course, 31.770 seconds. Despite the large field of contenders still to go, none could beat his mark.

Taking another turn in the ring, Welles went 11th on Ramses du Lavillon, owned by McLain Ward & Missy Clark. With a clear round, just shy of McGuigan's blistering time, Welles finished in 32.637 to claim second place, which was not trumped by the final three competitors. Welles also claimed fourth place on Twan.

"Ramses was super in the first round,” Welles said. His stride gets so open in the big ring."

Of the four in the jump-off that had faults, each tripped at least one rail out of its cups, while two others knocked down two rails and one rider saw three hit the dirt, but everyone rode the course quickly and within the time allowed.

(c) ESI Photography
Ronan McGuigan and Capall Zidane wins the second consecutive $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome 
at HITS-on-the-Hudson II, on Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

$10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome - HITS-on-the-Hudson II

Place	Horse	Owner	Rider	Prize	Round 1 Faults	JO Faults	JO Time
1	Capall Zidane	Ronan McGuigan	Ronan McGuigan	$2,800	0	0	31.770
2	Ramses du Lavillon	McLain Ward & Missy Clark	Julie Welles	$1,800	0	0	32.637
3	Coberlina	Orchard Farm	Peter Lutz	$1,250	0	0	32.860
4	Twan	Stephex Stables / Missy Clark	Julie Welles	$900	0	0	32.947
5	Full Monty	Kadley Holdings LLC	Addison Gierkink	$800	0	0	33.229
6	Balotan	The Coverboy Group	Amanda Flint	$700	0	0	33.653
7	Quattro Queen	Juan Torres	Judy Garofalo Torres	$600	0	0	33.744
8	Amadeus	David Hopper	Darragh Kerins	$400	0	0	35.145
9	Temptation	Sharon Milchovich	Michael Desiderio	$375	0	0	37.135
10	Chapeau	Blythe Masters	Ronan McGuigan	$375	0	0	39.994

 

 

About SmartPak
SmartPak Equine was created in 1999 by riders and horse owners, for riders and horse owners. With experience in Hunter/Jumper, Equitation, Dressage, Polo and Reining, SmartPak’s founders have logged many miles in horse country. SmartPak’s mission is to provide a simplified approach to administering nutritional supplements and medications to horses across America. Embraced by riders of all disciplines, SmartPak offers a broad line of horse health, products, show apparel, tack, and equine pharmaceuticals through their catalogs and website.
 

 

About Brook Ledge
Brook Ledge is committed to providing outstanding service in horse transportation. Whether your horses are champions or companions, they are equally important and will receive the highest care and attention. Brook Ledge has become synonymous with comfort, care and safety in horse transportation. The Brook Ledge Leading Rider Bonus is awarded to the Leading Rider in the Brook Ledge Open Welcome Classes throughout the Circuit and includes a $1,500 shipping credit with Brook Ledge Horse Transportation.

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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.