All eyes were on the Grand Prix Grass Field at the HITS Del Mark Horsepark on Friday, August 21, as riders lined up to tackle the day’s designated FEI track. International show jumping returned to the iconic venue in Del Mar, California, as the highlight of the HITS Del Mar Summer Classic I on August 19-23, 2026. Featuring both a CSI2* division and a highly coveted World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) designation, the event saw top athletes from both the hunter and the jumper disciplines flock in to compete. In a moment of déjà vu, Kaitlin Campbell (ISR) and Cosm Hesed took their second win in as many days, securing the top call in the $31,020 John Deere CSI2* Winning Round.
FEI Level 3 course designer Peter Grant (CAN) was tasked with designing the track meant to challenge the field, which included representatives from the United States, Switzerland, Columbia, Israel, and Brazil.
With heavy-hitters including Olympians Karl Cook (USA) and Cassio Rivetti (BRA) in the field, as well as Campbell, yesterday’s $31,020 CSI2* Alliant Private Client Cup-winner, the class’s podium would prove to be anyone’s guess. Per the winning round format, the top ten finishers across the opening phase, regardless of penalties, returned for the second round in reverse order of merit with a clean slate.
“Everyone started on zero so that changes the dynamic a little bit,” explained Campbell, who had a first-round score of four faults but a fast time of 69.43 seconds. “Even if you have one down in the first round, you can still come back and end up winning the class — which is what happened today. I thought the course rode really well and I think the course designers do a good job here. It’s very rider friendly, but still difficult enough, and I think it was a good class.”
Oozing confidence from their prior day’s victory, Campbell and the 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Christian 25 x Lord Z Z) owned by Mirasol Equestrian LLC, did what they do best across the round two course, stopping the clock in 40.15 seconds and posting a time close to a full four seconds faster than the runner-up.
“Yesterday in the jump-off, I went flat out as fast as we could go,” reflected Campbell. “In the past, I’ve always had a little bit of trouble putting him back together if I have to jump a class the next day. I can win a class, but the next day can fall apart, which is why I did these classes back-to-back. I wanted to practice going fast, while being able to recover on the second day. So winning again today really shows a lot of progress for this horse, and I’m super happy about that.”
U.S. rider Elisa Broz produced a clear second-round finish in 44.05 seconds with Continue CC, a nine-year-old Swedish Warmblood mare (Comme il Fault 5 x Nekton) owned by Hidalgo LLC to take the runner-up position, while her and the Hidalgo LLC’s 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Casall Ask x San Patrignano Corrado), Crispo R, took third with Rivetti in the irons.
International show jumping will culminate on Saturday, August 22, as contenders vie for the final top prize in the $90,000 CSI2* Grand Prix of Del Mar, presented by Maria Mendelsohn and Douglas Elliman. National jumper, equitation, and hunter competition, including WCHR action, will proceed through Sunday, August 23. For complete results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com.
