January 20, 2024 – Ocala, FL – Brisk temperatures and sunny skies set the stage on the first weekend of the 2024 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit as Kristen Vanderveen (USA) took the headlining win in Saturday’s $75,000 Voltaire Grand Prix. The 10-week series offers top-level hunter, jumper, and equitation competition at the HITS Post Time Farm for all levels of riders. Twenty-one elite combinations elected to jump the first round of Peter Grant’s (USA) course which allowed 85 seconds to complete all 16 jumping efforts. Despite best efforts, a large group of athletes had a single unfortunate rail which left only five entries eligible to return for the class’s short track. Vanderveen held the cards as she maintained the majority of the jump off field after qualifying all three of her original entries for the next round. New Zealand’s Sharn Wordley once again brought forward his mount, Brin D’or Haute Melen Z, and Devin Ryan (USA) rounded out the five-horse jump off field with longtime partner Eddie Blue.
With veteran mount Bull Run’s Faustino de Tili, and Bull Run’s Hesed both qualified, Vanderveen elected to save her third competitor, Bull Run’s Jireh for another day and accepted the immediate fifth place honors. After a withdrawal from Wordley, the winning ride looked to once again be a head-to-head duel, this time between Vanderveen and Ryan. Quite often referred to as the queen of speed, Vanderveen proved she still had plenty left in the tank and delivered a leading round time of 41.414 seconds with the 19-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion (Berlin x Darco) she affectionately calls Frosty; however, the win would come from Bull Run Jumpers, Inc’s 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Christian 25 x Lord Z), Bull Run’s Hesed after a lightning-fast and fault-free effort in 40.186 seconds. “This horse is actually quite new for me and I actually had no idea he could go that fast,” Vanderveen exclaimed. “I haven’t done many jump offs with him yet so today my plan was for us to learn from each other a bit more and what a lovely surprise it turned out to be. I knew he was very brave so I could turn him quite tight, but I haven’t run him that fast and made the tight turns at the same time so I was thrilled with how he responded. It was a ton of fun.”
While her plan for each horse varied depending upon their strengths, she felt the course overall was suited for the caliber of the event.
“I thought the course was great,” she added. “He did a great job for the first week by still incorporating the wall and some new jumps without it being too difficult or over challenging for the first week.”
Ryan and the LL Show Jumpers LLC’s 15-year-old KWPN gelding (VDL Zirocco Blue x Marlon) rounded out the event’s victory gallop with a double-clean effort in a time of 42.571 seconds. Concluding show jumping competition on Friday afternoon, Sharn Wordley picked up the first win in the exciting new STX Open Speed series. Holding a $15,000 Open Speed Classic weekly, the series will accumulate rider points throughout the 10-week season. The STX Open Speed Series Leading Rider Award will receive a new STX tack box at the finale of the winter circuit competition. Wordley piloted the North Face Farm’s 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Stolzenberg),Hagelin, to a quick finish just ahead of Jared Petersen and Kawir MS.
Concluding show jumping competition on Friday afternoon, Sharn Wordley picked up the first win in the exciting new STX Open Speed series. Holding a $15,000 Open Speed Classic weekly, the series will accumulate rider points throughout the 10-week season. The STX Open Speed Series Leading Rider Award will receive a new STX tack box at the finale of the winter circuit competition. Wordley piloted the North Face Farm’s 12-year-old Hanoverian gelding (Stolzenberg),Hagelin, to a quick finish just ahead of Jared Petersen and Kawir MS.Sam Meadows Seizes Win in $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby
Weekend competition included a variety of hunter events which began with the $5,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby on Friday afternoon. Hunter riders donned their shadbellies and shined their boots as they prepared to contest the classic round for the first derby of the season. Combinations returned in reverse order for the handy round and Sam Meadows made an impressive jump from fifth to first as he paired his first round score of 84.00 with an impressive handy round score of 90.00 points to rocket to a three-point lead.“I thought today’s course was incredibly inviting and that’s what I loved about it the most,” stated Meadows. “It wasn’t too challenging but it had just enough questions that it kept you on your toes which I really enjoyed. The jumps were also very attractive but without being so overwhelming that they would scare the horses.” The win was the first in what Meadows hopes will be many for him and the Price Farms LLC’s seven-year-old Holsteiner stallion (Untouchable), Ufeelme.
“He is all fun and games on the ground, but as soon as you get on his back and put him in the ring he is ready for business,” he added. “Our hope is that he will go on to do the bigger derbies and this has been a wonderful stepping stone.“The ring here is excellent and you can really pick up a good gallop, so we are excited to come back as often as possible,” Meadows continued. “We are really impressed with everything HITS has done and I’m especially looking forward to bringing this horse back for the international derbies.” Kristen Bumpus produced a noteworthy first round score of 88.00 points aboard Barbara Le Stage’s 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood mare (Vingino), Diadora. The pair followed up with a handy score of 83.00 points to take the runner up ribbon of the event with a total score of 171.00 points. Rounding out the afternoon’s lap of honor, Joy Janouskovec piloted Danieli to a two-round total of 166.5 points and the third place finish.
Derby classes continued into Saturday as the afternoon saw both the $750 Bit O’Straw 2’6” Hunter Derby and the $500 Tiny Bit O’ 2’0” Hunter Derby take place. The duo of Charlotte Tufts and Prime Moment took the top call of the later, while Elizabeth Wiley and Ivy League paired scores of 85.00 and 87.00 for a 172.00 point total and the win in the $750 Bit O’Straw 2’6” Hunter Derby. Tufts’ winning mount also received a whopping five pound bag of Mrs. Pastures horse cookies graciously provided by Mrs.Pastures as the sponsors of the $500 Tiny Bit O’ 2’0″ Hunter Derby event.
Competition at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will resume Sunday, January 21, 2024. For a full list of daily results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com.
