HITS is pleased to announce that the Stallion Services Department of the Equine Medical Center of Ocala, FL, will offer the Leading Mare Award to the mare that finishes the highest in the $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group on Sunday, March 16, at HITS Ocala.

The award consists of a free embryo transfer, which will be performed by Dr. Corey Miller, head of reproduction at the Ocala-based veterinary hospital. Any mare based in the United States who competes in the $100,000 DeLuca Toyota Tundra Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance Group is eligible for the award.

According to Christine Miller, Manager of the Station Services Department at Equine Medical Center, sport horse mares are normally not available for breeding until they are retired from competition, at which time they are frequently so old that they are lucky to be able to get pregnant.

"By utilizing advanced reproductive techniques such as embryo transfer, we can get foals from our top competition mares without interrupting their competitive careers," said Miller. "We need to improve our breeding programs in this country to produce our own internationally competitive horses instead of attempting to purchase horses from overseas markets, where the best horses are rarely sold outside of their home country. The first and most important step is to begin using our best mares to produce our best prospects."

For more information on the Stallion Services at the Equine Medical Center, please call Christine Miller at (352) 266-4669 or e-mail [email protected].

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 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.

For more information on the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, visit www.HitsShows.com or call (845) 246-8833.

HITS, Inc., is a special events management company primarily focused on producing hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the village of Saugerties, HITS produced its first horse show circuit in Gainesville, FL, in 1982. Since that time, HITS has grown into a nationwide company with world-class hunter-jumper circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York and Virginia.

2008 Dates
Ocala Pre-Circuit 1 (unrated)
January 23-27

Ocala Pre-Circuit 2 (unrated)
January 30-February 3

Off Week
February 4-10

Rated
Ocala Winter Classic
February 12-17

Ocala Winter Festival
February 19-24

Ocala Masters
February 26-March 2

Ocala Tournament
March 4-9

Ocala Winter Finals
March 11-16