The penultimate day of competition during the HITS Ocala Holiday Festival on Saturday, December 21, saw a stacked field of contenders for the week’s premiere event, the $25,000 John Deere Grand Prix. As the final event of the 2024 season, the Holiday Festival offered athletes one final week of hunter, jumper, and equitation action and a chance to check out the incredible renovations at HITS Post Time Farm before the 2025 season premieres. In a scene similar to the featured event of the Holiday Classic during the previous week, top call of the day went to none other than Tracy Fenney (USA) and her brilliant mount, Can Talk To Me TD MTM.
Building off of a successful week for many athletes during the Holiday Classic, course designer Ken Krome ever-so-slightly upped the ante for a field of 31 horse-and-rider pairings, who were all setting their sights on one final win before the 2025 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. Proving that they planned to bring their A-game to the iconic showgrounds, 10 duos in the starting field produced a clean first round within the time allowed to advance to the short course. Many played their cards right and came home fault free, but when she brings her best, Fenney is hard to beat. She and the eight-year-old Holsteiner mare (Catoki x Acorado) proved they are already hitting their stride early in the season, as they clocked in mere milliseconds faster than top challenger Aaron Vale (USA) for the win in 37.37 seconds.
“I liked today’s jump off,” explained Fenney. “It was smooth and flowing, and you could do some interesting turns to make it suit yourself versus just doing a big gallop across the ring.
“Obviously Kirk [Webby (NZL)] is really fast so I knew, watching him go before me, kind of what I’d have to do,” she continued. “Then having Aaron [Vale] and Jelmer [Hoekstra (NED)] and some of those guys behind me, you’re wondering if you were fast enough.”
The victory is the second grand prix win in as many weeks for Fenney and the MTM Farm’s newest rising star, having capped off their performance in the Holiday Classic also with a win in the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix.
“I think this HITS Holiday Series is great because it’s a good way to get the horses started back showing before the season really heats up,” she noted. “Last week, the jumps were big, and this week they were as well, plus it was a bit more technical; it’s a great way to get them in gear.”
Adding another well-earned ribbon to their collection, Vale and Thinkslikeahorse’s 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Den Ham Blue R x W. Adermie 1), I Adermie R 4, shot into the second-place spot just off the lead with a time of 37.41 seconds. Coming off of top placings during the Holiday Classic, Kirk Webby and Jamie Stryker’s 10-year-old Mecklenburg gelding (Cellestial x Lord Kemm), Cameron 38, earned the final podium position with their finishing time of 38.16 seconds.
Another Week, Another Win for Kirk Webby and Cameron 38
Thursday’s highlight class was the $10,000 Alliant Private Client Cup, drawing 28 talented horse-and-rider pairs all vying for the top prize. After posting a clear first round, 10 duos advanced to the jump-off, but only five of those combinations delivered double-clear performances. The battle for first place came down to a friendly rivalry between fellow competitors Kirk Webby (NZL) and Tracy Fenney (USA). Early to go in the order, Kirk Webby’s speedy effort aboard Cameron 38 held up for the win.
Webby has had the ride on the 10-year-old Mecklenburg gelding (Cellestial x Lord Kemm) owned by Jamie Stryker for just over a year. Together, they have found tremendous success up through the ranks, most recently taking home the top prize in the $2,500 Adequan Open Welcome Stake during the HITS Ocala Holiday Classic just last week.
“He’s a cracker for sure,” enthused Webby. “He’s starting to get really quick and consistent. He wants to have fun.”
Webby laid down a blazing jump-off time of 44.80 seconds, but with many combinations still to follow, he wasn’t sure if he had done enough.
“Tracy [Fenney] beat me last week,” explained Webby. “I kind of thought she’ll probably beat me again, but Cameron 38 is pretty handy, so we were able to slip inside some spots. The rest was just really as fast as he can go safely.”
Close behind Webby with a time of 45.21 seconds was last week’s grand prix winner Tracy Fenney and MTM Farm’s eight-year-old Holsteiner mare (Catoki x Acorado) Can Talk To Me TD MTM for the second-place prize. Laura Gaither Ulrich and her own 12-year-old Irish Sport Horse mare Carnlea Premier (Crown Z x Cavalier Royale) rounded out the podium with a time of 46.24 seconds.
Vicente Guillen Opens the Week With a Win in the $2,500 Adequan Open Welcome Stake Aboard Evolene de Carles
The final week of 2024 competition at HITS Post Time Farm kicked off with a bang as 15 elite combinations contested the opening class, the $2,500 Adequan Open Welcome Stake. Shaving precisely a second off of leading challenger Aaron Vale’s previous time of 42.75 seconds with I Adermie R 4, Vicente Guillen (VEN) raced to the win with Evolve de Carles. Seven pairs produced a fault-free first round to advance into the event’s jump-off, but Guillen bested the returning field with Tranquility Farm’s 10-year-old Selle Français mare (Kannan x Rafale de Carles) in 41.75 seconds. Always a contender in the HITS winner’s circle, Vale stole both second and third place, as he rounded out the top three in a time of 43.43 seconds on Mescandro PS.
Sarah Johnstone and Laszla Land the Win in the $2,500 STX Open Speed Series Round II
A total of 19 contenders turned on the afterburners Friday morning in the $2,500 STX Open Speed, but a blazing time almost four seconds faster than the runner-up put Sarah Johnstone and Laszla into the lead at the class’s completion. Posting a time of 66.87 seconds, Johnstone and the Robin Ferguson-owned Warmblood completed the class as the clear winners. Three combinations paired winning times with faultless efforts, seeing Bree Rosales and Jakarta take second in a time of 70.08 seconds, and Callan Solem rounding out the top three aboard Cornetto Z after stopping the clock in 72.09 seconds.
Jordan Petersen and Londen Close Out HITS Ocala Holiday Series With a Win
Sunday jumper classics on December 22 concluded the final week of competition for 2024 at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida, as athletes of varying skill levels took center stage in the Grand Prix Ring and the Post Time Arena. The highlight event of the day’s schedule in the Grand Prix Ring included the $5,000 Horseflight Jumper Classic, where winning honors went to the ever-fast Jordan Petersen and Londen.
Seven pairs from the starting field put forward their best efforts in round one and managed to produce a clean first-round finish, but Ken Krome’s (USA) final featured track of the week proved to be a decider in the jump-off. Callan Solem held on to the early lead as the first to go and the first to produce a double-clear effort, but ultimately settled for second place after Petersen’s performance with her own eight-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion by Comme Il Faut.
“I’ve had him for two years now; I got him as a green six-year-old and have just been slowly producing him, so he’s just now stepping up into some of the bigger classes,” explained Petersen. “The goal is to hopefully get him into some of the grand prix classes as circuit goes on. I haven’t practiced a lot of speed with him, so I just wanted to use today to work on that since the jumps weren’t quite as big as they will get.”
Petersen is one of many Ocala locals that take pride in producing their own young horses, a cause which HITS hopes to further with the addition of many Young Jumper development classes over the course of the season.
“This facility is awesome,” said Petersen. “It’s great for the young ones because it’s every bit as nice but still more low-key than some of the other venues. We have circuit stalls, and we are definitely planning to take advantage of the Young Jumper development program here this season.”
On her first of two mounts, Solem’s time of 33.39 seconds put her in second place on Cornetto Z. Hometown hero Aaron Vale closed out the competition as he landed in third on his newest upcoming star, Oh No Oh No Oh Nononono.
HITS’s management and staff wish everyone a happy holiday season, and are looking forward to kicking off competition at HITS Post Time Farm once again with WEST Horseshow’s Post Time Premier I and II, before the launch of the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit.
