During the 2008 winter horse show season, Horse Shows in the Sun (HITS) will begin to implement several new convenient ways to assist exhibitors with their busy show days at HITS Thermal and HITS Ocala.
Brand new for 2008, exhibitors will be able to complete and submit online feed orders and add/scratch forms on the HITS website at www.HitsShows.com. Feed orders that are submitted online will be processed for next-day delivery while add/scratch forms will be available for classes that occur on the following day or in future weeks. As always, the horse show office will be open from 6:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on show days to assist exhibitors with their same-day needs.
Also available online will be the "How Many" list for HITS Thermal and HITS Ocala. The "How Many" will be posted the night before each show day to give exhibitors a sense of how many horses are entered in a particular class so they can plan their show-day schedule accordingly. Jump orders will also be posted online each night for the Grand Prix ring and Hunter 1.
The HITS website will also feature a daily schedule with tentative start and finish times for each class that day. In addition, this schedule will be displayed on the new Jumbotrons™ that will be centrally located on the showgrounds to give trainers accurate updates from each ring.
A second Jumbotron™ at HITS Thermal will be located at the grand prix ring and feature real-time scoring and live video feed from action in the grand prix ring. The scoring and timing software used on the Jumbotrons™ will feature the latest version of Broder's Skunkware, which was used during the FEI World Cup Show Jumping Final.
Other technological improvements this winter include the availability of wireless Internet access at several locations at HITS Thermal, including the horse show office, the HITS Restaurant and the Oasis VIP Club. Wireless Internet will continue to be available in the restaurant at HITS Ocala.
As an added convenience, HITS is now accepting Visa and Mastercard payments on entry fees for HITS Ocala, HITS Thermal, HITS Culpeper and HITS Saugerties.
Plans are already in place to implement many of these technical enhancements during the spring and summer horse shows at HITS Saugerties and HITS Culpeper.
"We are trying to make everyone's experience at the horse show as convenient as possible and allow exhibitors to get the most out of their show day," said HITS' Office Manager Donna Vale. "We will continue to make additional technological improvements as time goes on."
The 2008 HITS Desert Circuit kicks off on January 9 with the Desert Circuit Premiere. With the addition of the two new weeks, the 2008 Desert Circuit will feature 18 grand prix events with $925,000 in grand prix prize money. The season concludes with the $200,000 Invitational Grand Prix on Sunday, March 16. During the eight-week circuit, HITS will offer nearly $2 million in total prize money.
The 2008 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will kick off with the return of the popular $20,500 Marshall & Sterling Children's/Adult Jumper Championship during the first two (unrated) shows in January. More commonly known as the "Are You a Champion?" series, the Jumper Championship was first offered in Ocala during the 2007 Winter Circuit and was an immediate success. Offered for one of the fastest growing segments in the sport today, this unique four-phase event also includes bonus prize money of $5,000 awarded to the top-eight finishers overall and points from the second and fourth legs count towards the Marshall & Sterling League.