Riders race to qualify
Ellen Toon picked up her fifth $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix and sealed her place at the top of the current Diamond Mills Rider Rankings with a victory in Saturday’s class aboard her own Invincible. The win gave Toon the hat trick, marking her third Devoucoux blue of the season. Six new riders, including Toon, made their way onto the eligible Diamond Mills Rider Rankings during Week V in Saugerties as only three qualifiers remain before the inaugural Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final highlights Pfizer Million weekend September 10-11 in Saugerties, New York.
Also winning big this week was High-Performance rider Todd Minikus and Candy Tribble & Windsor Stables' Sweetheart. They captured their first win together in Friday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and went on to sweep the weekend, riding to victory in Sunday’s $75,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health.
The back-to-back wins brought Minikus and Sweetheart to a banked $30,000 in prize money and earned them the sixth spot on the Pfizer Million Rider Rankings. Joining Minikus in the coveted Top 40 over the course of the weekend was Jonathan McCrea of Windsor, Connecticut, Amy Momrow of Loudonville, New York and Matthias Hollberg of Apex, North Carolina, who now sits in the top 10 with $29,600 in prize money won on his leading mount Waddison. Just as last-minute qualifying begins to heat up, this group earned their eighth Grand Prix necessary to become eligible for the Pfizer Million Rider Rankings.
Top Dog
Top Dog fever spiked this week as nine entries were submitted for consideration. Rising to the top was Bean the Sailing Machine, of the “good dog line of canine” owned by Mary Lou Burmeister and Ashley and Olivia Lafferty of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Bean earned the Best Looking Dog title. Winner of the Hardest Working Dog award was Zeke, an Australian Shepherd mix, owned by Bonnie Laurich of Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Overall voting for Top Dog awards has begun on the HITS Saugerties webpage. Click on the Top Dog banner to vote or nominate a dog. The Overall HITS-On-the-Hudson PMI Exclusive Top Dog will be announced on Sunday, prior to the Grand Prix jump off.
HITS welcomed Arenus to the show grounds last week for the Arenus Focus Week. Representatives were on site to meet with riders and select the recipient of the Arenus Performance and Conditioning Award. The award is presented to the rider who best conditions his horses, best turns out his horses and performs at top levels.
Arenus selected High-Performance rider Charlie Jayne of Elgin, Illinois as recipient of the prestigious award. Melissa Bennington of Arenus made the presentation to Jayne after he secured a fourth-place finish in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Pony Lane Farm’s Uraya.
On tap for Week VI
The final week of the Saugerties summer series is underway as Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, and Sunday’s $100,000 Strongid® C 2X Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, give High-Performance riders two more chances to qualify for the Pfizer Million before the HITS circuit heads south to Culpeper, Virginia.
Friday marks the third of the Party Trifecta sponsored by David Lerner and Associates for exhibitors, friends and family. Festivities get underway with a complimentary dinner at 5:30 p.m. at the HITS bar. On Saturday, HITS, the town of Saugerties and Heritage Folk Music will host a hoe down at the HITS restaurant, celebrating Saugerties bi-centennial anniversary featuring music by Earl Pardini and the Slide Mountain String band. A country-style dinner will be served and all are welcome to attend. Bring your dancing shoes, the fun kicks off at 7pm.
HITS Staff
Last Friday night’s exhibitor party was the second of the Party Trifecta Series sponsored by David Lerner and Associates. Exhibitors, family and friends enjoyed a complimentary dinner at the HITS bar.
Sunday, HITS’ Official Radio Station, WRWD 107.3 FM will be joining exhibitors and spectators alike with a live broadcast of the day’s events and will feature radio personality CJ from the WRWD Morning Show.
As a prelude to Sunday’s Grand Prix, The World of the Horse returns to HITS-on-the-Hudson with a parade of breeds in the Strongid® C 2X Grand Prix Stadium. Freya Farm will parade their prize American Miniature Horses in a driving demonstration, while The Fernrock Friesians of Saugerties, New York will present their star-studded line-up, including their newest additions – a newborn Friesian foal.
The Root Farm Vaulting Team will follow the parade of breeds as they combine grace and athleticism in a presentation of gymnastics atop horses. The Root Farm, located in Verona, New York is a not for profit organization that specializes in equine assisted therapies such as Hippotherapy, Adaptive Vaulting and Adult Rehabilitation.
Odor-No-More Grooms Award
This weekend is also the final chance for exhibitors at HITS-on-the-Hudson to nominate their best groom for the Groom's Award sponsored by Odor-No-More. Entry forms are in the office and the groom with the most votes wins. Presentation will take place on Sunday after the Grand Prix!
HITS, Inc. produces high-quality, international-level hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the village of Saugerties, HITS has been producing shows since 1982 and is now a nationwide company with world-class circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York and Virginia. In 2010, HITS took the industry to new heights when it hosted the first-ever Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix. HITS will once again offer the most innovative weekend in show jumping history in 2011 when it hosts the second annual Pfizer Million and the inaugural Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, September 10-11, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.