HITS is pleased to announce that the Stallion Services Department of the Equine Medical Center of Ocala 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 15, at HITS Ocala.

The award consists of a free embryo transfer that 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 will be eligible for the award.

This is the second year that the Stallion Services Department of the Equine Medical Center of Ocala will present the Leading Mare Award. It was David Beisel's mount Patoile that captured the award in 2008, and she will be visiting the clinic this winter to have the procedure.

According to Christine Miller, Manager of the Stallion Services Department at Equine Medical Center of Ocala, sport horse mares normally are not available for breeding until they are retired from competition, at which time they are frequently so old that they are unlikely 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 relying on purchasing horses from overseas markets, where the best horses are rarely sold outside of the 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 of Ocala, please call Christine Miller at (352) 266-4669 or e-mail [email protected].

Show jumping at HITS Ocala begins on Wednesday, January 14, with the first of two unrated weeks of horse shows. After a week off, the circuit will resume with six consecutive weeks of AA-rated competition lasting throughout the winter in the heart of horse country.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com.