Tracy Fenney and MTM Timon jump to the top in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Ocala (©ESI Photography)

Ocala, Fla. - Tracy Fenney and MTM Farm of Flower Mound, Texas are on a hot streak at HITS Ocala with two crowd-pleasing grand prix jumper stars, MTM Timon and MTM Centano. The streak has strung together an impressive four grand prix wins to date – two for each horse – in a quest to qualify for the Great American $1 Million Grand Prix. Fenney notched her win this week in the $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, while competition heats up for the million-dollar showdown in the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium on March 24.

Tracy Fenney is the consummate professional, jumping with impressive style to the blue on MTM Timon, a 14-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding, with a time of 31.51 seconds against a field of 29 contenders.

“I enjoyed the course. It was well laid out and the fences flowed nicely. It was not really a difficult course, but a nice break for the horses to enjoy and restore their jumping confidence,” stated Fenney. “Timon likes a job and loves to jump. He is a perfect gentleman in the ring, but can be antsy if left too long in his stall.”
With trainer Michael McCormick looking on from the sidelines, Fenney also jumped to the red ribbon on MTM Farm’s equally talented grand prix jumper MTM Centano with a time of 32.62 seconds.

With 81 seconds the allowed first round time, course designer Jack Robson of Coronado, California challenged riders by offering thirteen fences with sixteen jumping efforts. The triple combination at fence eight, an oxer-oxer-vertical, and the oxer at fence thirteen, the last fence on the course, produced the most faults and heartbreak of the day with multiple downed rails.

Riders must have found what they wanted in their course walk as eleven returned to the jump-off, taking on the clock and seven fences, including the number four double combination with the time allowed set at 42 seconds.

Riding the first of two he qualified for the jump-off, professional rider/trainer Aaron Vale of Williston, Florida piloted Nicholas for owners Old Barrington, LLC to jump off first. They answered the call with the Great American Time to Beat in 32.70 seconds. Ultimately, the two-time 2014 HITS grand prix winner proved good enough for a third-place finish.

Fourth place went to rider/trainer Harold Chopping of Southern Pines, North Carolina for owner Kendra Bullington with a fault-free round and a solid effort in 37.46 seconds. Denise Wilson of Dousman, Wisconsin rounded out the top five for Blue Gate Farm, LLC with a time of 38.89 seconds.
Long-time partners, Fenney and Timon are a perfect fit. She concluded, “I’ve been with him since bringing him to Ocala six years ago and now we know one another pretty well. He was awesome today.”