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The final week of the 2024 HITS Chicago series at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, Illinois, was about as action-packed as they come. From cross rails to grand prix, every level of athlete had a place in the week’s events. Heralding 13 weeks of top tier hunter, jumper, and equitation competition at the beloved venue, the 2024 season proved that horse showing in the midwest was indeed alive, well, and highly-anticipated. 

Winning action kicked into gear as Linda Radigan and her own 16-year-old Zangersheide gelding by Balougran Z, Balveneur Z, took a run to the top in the $2,500 Vitaflex Open Welcome Stake to welcome show jumping athletes back to the grounds following a few weeks hiatus. However, the jumpers saved their best speed horses for Thursday’s main event, which saw the thrilling conclusion of the $10,000 STX Open Speed Series. Although the final class win of the series was captured by Caelinn Leahy and Adelaide Toensing’s Hanoverian gelding by Check In, Check Me, as they bested runner-up Lisa Goldman-Smolen by over four seconds with a time of 66.470 seconds, it was ultimately Goldman-Smolen who took home the coveted STX custom tack box as she dominated throughout the summer and accrued a total of 87.5 points to claim the inaugural win. 

Friday’s featured events showcased both the hunters and the jumpers, as victors were not only named in the $5,000 Alliant Private Client Classic, but also in the final $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby. Capturing one last derby win of the season, Ryan Sassmannshausen of St. Charles, Illinois, guided Tucker Bolvig’s 11-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Caspar, Hero, to the pinnacle position in Friday’s prime hunter event. Morton Grove, Illinois’s, Ashleen Lee had a banner derby performance as she showcased both Daphne Meadows’s 10-year-old KWPN gelding by Dakar VDL, Soho, and Emilie Welles’s seven-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare by Hardwell, Newspeak, to earn the second- and third-place ribbons. 

No stranger to the winner’s circle, Rebecca Gutstein bookended the podium positions in the day’s premier jumper event as she placed first and third with the Pinetree Farms Inc’s 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding by Grey Top, Get Go, and her 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood mare by VDL Maserati, Masoranta, respectively. Young competitor Adeline Rohrbach split the difference in Gutstein’s performances to take second with the 13-year-old Oldenburg mare by Roc USA, Rarity, her trusted partner owned by Lisa Goldman-Smolen.

As jumper action advanced into the weekend, anticipation grew for the final grand prix of the season. A total of 20 horse-and-rider combinations contested the first round track in the Douglas Elliman Stadium one last time, and an even ten of those entries managed to advance to the jump-off, where things got a bit trickier. Although five pairings produced double-clear efforts, it was Allison Orth’s time of 39.507 seconds aboard Conquest Stables LLC’s 13-year-old Holsteiner mare by Non Stop, Dassina VA, that proved good enough for the win. Orth overthrew multi-time grand prix winner Lisa Goldman-Smolen by a little over half a second as Goldman-Smolen and her longtime partner, Barbara Disko’s 18-year-old Selle Français stallion by Frontal, Sovereign, completed in a time of 40.181 seconds to accept second. Continuing their winning-circle ways into the weekend, Welcome Stake victors Linda Radigan and Balveneur Z rounded out the top three. 

The finale showcased a series of leading ladies as athletes not only rounded out their day in the jumper ring over a variety of classics, but also participated in the The League, presented by Marshall & Sterling Insurance, Midwest Finals. In the The League/Dover Saddlery Adult Medal Final, Celia Bresch of Barrington, Illinois, and Perfecta Farms’s 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Quirado, Oscar dos Santos, reigned supreme. The League/Pyranha Children’s Medal Final – Horse top finish went to Alita Liggett of Marengo, Illinois, and Sirena Liggett’s 16-year-old Warmblood gelding by Verdi, Virgo DC, while Elodie Liggett and Sirena Liggett’s 17-year-old Welsh Pony gelding by Tide Creek Crackerjack, Blue Who, earned the title of The League Children’s Medal Final – Pony winners. 

For a full list of the week’s results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com. HITS Chicago would like to congratulate and thank all of its exhibitors for a memorable 2024 season.