It was a stunning Sunday afternoon on August 11, as exhibitors and spectators alike gathered around the Grand Prix Ring to watch the $24,500 SummitMax Grand Prix, the climactic final grand prix event of the 2024 HITS Vermont Summer Festival. The class marked the end of the six-week summer circuit in Manchester, Vermont, and served as the grand finale to an exhilarating season of equestrian excellence. Amidst the anticipation and excitement, David Jennings (USA) and his remarkable mount, Follow Me, claimed the top prize.
Oscar Soberon from Wellington, Florida, masterfully designed the course, presenting a formidable challenge as rails tumbled and time faults mounted. In a competitive and international field of 21 horse-and-rider combinations, participants hailed from six different countries: the United States, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, and Switzerland. Yet, Jennings and his veteran partner Follow Me rose above the rest, delivering a speedy double-clear round for the victory.
“I’ve been the bridesmaid all circuit,” laughed Jennings. “So, it’s pretty nice to get the win today. Follow Me is just so careful and so fast. He naturally wants to go fast, so I never have to push him.”
Jennings has been partnered with The Follow Me Group’s 17-year-old Hanoverian gelding (For Edition x Graf Sponeck) for four years, and the pair has found tremendous success up through the grand prix level. The $24,500 SummitMax Grand Prix proved to be another shining example of their talent as they were just one of only five duos to advance to the shortened course. Ultimately, Jennings and Follow Me laid down a speedy jump-off in a time of 38.945 seconds that could not be caught.
“Most of us in this class have jumped Soberon’s courses many times,” stated Jennings. “For the size of the ring and the amount of entries in the class, I thought he did an excellent job.”
A second ahead of the second-place finisher, Jennings was the only rider to take out a stride to the combination in the jump-off, which he believed gave him the winning edge.
“I trusted Follow Me to leave the double up, so I decided to leave the stride out, and it produced the distance that I wanted,” he explained. “He can be a bit tricky. If I push him too much, he kind of becomes unrideable, which is what happened in the earlier classes this circuit. I wanted to go efficiently and smoothly at his own pace, and today it produced a clear round and the win.”
Jennings trains out of his own Full Circle Farm in Reddick, Florida, and chose to make HITS Vermont his home base for the summer.
“What is there for anybody not to like about Vermont,” enthused Jennings. “The views are beautiful, the weather is gorgeous, and the management has done a great job of making improvements. I’ve been coming here for years, and I’ll keep coming back.”
Marie Hecart (FRA) and Normandie Connection’s 10-year-old Selle Français mare (Vigo Cece x Sire Major de la Cour), Edonna D’udine, finished in the runner-up position in a time of 39.960 seconds. Alysson Siopes (USA) and the David Tromp Show Stables LLC’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding Eldo van de Helle (Eldorado van de Zeshoek TN x Arpeggio) rounded out the podium as the final double-clear performance in 43.287 seconds.
Vermont Summer Celebration also concluded the STX Open Speed series. For the second week in a row, Christian Coyle (IRL) sped to the victory. This time, he rode the 16-year-old KWPN gelding (Upgrade x Stakkato) owned by Christian Coyle Show Stables LLC, Dekato.
“Dekato is a Coyle for life,” expressed Coyle. “My wife showed him in the adult jumpers in Florida this winter, and now I’ve kind of taken him back for the summer.”
Coyle has shown in the STX Series at both HITS Hudson Valley and HITS Vermont throughout the summer competition season, with his most recent win during week five of the HITS Vermont Summer Festival, Manchester and the Mountains.
“It’s a great class for HITS to have added,” he said. “We’ve been coming to HITS Vermont for years. We love it because the kids can show their ponies, I can bring the grand prix horses, my clients love it, and it’s still professionally run.”
Morgan Ward clinched the overall STX Open Speed series title, winning three of the six classes in the series aboard Tyson Ziebarth’s 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Eldorado van de Zeshoek x Landwind II B), Fenn.
“I think it’s great that HITS added the speed series to all of the venues,” commented Ward. “It’s very nice that it’s 1.20m at HITS Vermont, so I was able to get used to a new horse for me.”
Ward trains out of her own Morlynn Farm, in Ocala, Florida, and Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.
“My whole farm loves coming to HITS Vermont,” she shared. “It’s a nice little vacation for us. The horse show is super, the staff is fantastic, and it’s great to bring the new horses to.”
In the $5,000 Horseflight Jumper Classic, Stephanie Bourassa rode her own 12-year-old Selle Français gelding (Ensor van de Heffinck x Quidam De Revel), Chrome D’argouges, to first place honors.
While jumper action at HITS Vermont in 2024 has come to a close, the HITS Vermont Summer Festival returns with another exciting horse show season 2025, featuring top hunter, jumper, and equitation competition, plus fun and unique exhibitor and spectator activities.
