THERMAL, CA – Canadian Chris Pratt and Indigo Farms, LLC’sCruise were flying high Sunday afternoon as they topped a competitive field of 43 to win the ever-popular $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach. The class was an exclamation point to the six-week winter circuit atHITS Thermal and Pratt was two-for-two after prefacing Sunday’s victory with a win in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health.    

 “Winning both today and Friday was a tremendous ending to the circuit and I couldn’t be happier,” said Pratt.

Always a crowd favorite, the grounds at HITS Desert Horse Park were dotted with Lamborghinis this weekend, courtesy of Lamborghini of Newport Beach, and the setting could not have been more perfect for the West Coast’s most prized Grand Prix of the year. Some of the world’s most successful High-Performance riders went head-to-head over a $60,000 first place check before moving on to World Cup and Olympic endeavors.

Pratt hails from Lake View Terrace, California and was one of only four to advance from the first round into the jump-off as many horses and riders struggled to answer the puzzling questions posed by Olaf Petersen, Sr. in his 14-obstacle track. Seventeen jumping efforts included a double combination at fence eight, and a triple combination at fence 12 in front of the HITS VIP Pavilion. Rails fell at a handful of points throughout the course, but many riders found trouble at both combinations. The double was a vertical to an oxer, followed by five strides to another sizable oxer at fence 9, and the triple combination presented a tight distance between b and c to a difficult right-hand turn before fence 13.  

“Four in the jump-off was a perfect number. The class was for $200,000, so the track wasn’t supposed to be easy,” said Pratt. “I thought the triple in front of the VIP was tough and that gave a lot of riders some trouble.”

It took 11 trips for Francie Steinwedell-Carvin of La Canada, California to post the first clear round of the day aboard Prentiss Partners’ Taunus. It was three rounds later that Mexico’s Enrique Gonzalez of Carlsbad, California piloted his own Criptonite to a clear round and pleased the crowd with a jump-off. John Pearce of Bermuda Dunes, California made it three for the second round after he went clear aboard Forest View Farm & Allison Moore’s Chianto. Pratt was able to see more than half the field complete the course before he and Cruise secured the jump-off at four.  Petersen’s jump-off track was home to nine jumping efforts and introduced two new fences.

Steinwedell-Carvin saw her share of success during the HITS Desert Circuit, including a World Cup win, but couldn’t rise above the pressure of first to go in Sunday’s jump-off. She and Taunus clipped a rail at the second fence and picked up four faults in a time of 42.826 seconds, which gave them third place honors. Gonzalez and Criptonite followed in the second round and finished the course in 45.729 seconds with four faults to earn fourth place.

Pearce and Chianto demonstrated speed and scope as they were first to go clear in the jump-off, setting the Great American Time to Beat at 42.760 seconds. Pratt’s rebuttal was just fast enough to earn himself and Cruise the win with a round in 42.099 seconds.  

“John Pearce was awesome,” admitted Pratt. “I had the advantage to show after him and know exactly what I needed [to do].”

Rounding out the top five was Canada’s Jill Henselwood aboard Brian Gingras’ George. Henselwood of Oxford Mills, Ontario rode two horses in the Lamborghini Grand Prix, but it was George who carried her to a top five finish after the pair went clear, but picked up one time fault in the first round to keep them from the jump-off.

Despite only having four riders, the jump-off was not short of variation as three nations brought international flavor to Thermal’s Grand Prix. Pratt and Pearce continue to chase Olympic glory by making the Canadian team on the top of their “to-do” list, while Steinwedell-Carvin has her sights set on April’s World Cup Finals.  

Joining the crowds on the berms of the Grand Prix arena at HITS Thermal were equestrian enthusiasts from around the world via a live webcast of the day’s events. Courtesy of HRTV, The Network for Horse Sports, and A Good Show, the Lamborghini Grand Prix went viral.

“This was truly a first-class afternoon,” said Pratt. “The crowd was awesome and HITS really made it an event with all of the Lamborghinis and the television cameras that surrounded the rings.”

Expert commentating was provided during the event by Mike Moran and HITS Thermal competitor, Joie Gatlin.

“Calling the class was a great honor for me. Anyone who knows me understands how much the sport of show jumping means to me,” said Gatlin. “Next year, I hope to have a horse to compete in such a first class event.”

HITS Desert Horse Park bid farewell to the 2012 season as all attention shifts to the East Coast, where HITS Ocala will wrap-up nine weeks of shows to culminate with Saturday’s $100,000 Sullivan GMC Truck Grand Prix, presented by Great American Insurance. HRTV and A Good Show will again deliver the best of American Show Jumping to a global audience through another webcast of Ocala’s big-ticket Grand Prix.

To view complete results from the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach, click here.

©ESI Photography
Chris Pratt and Cruise impressed all onlookers during the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach, on Sunday as they picked up their second Grand Prix win of the week at HITS Thermal.

©ESI Photography
Tony Hitchcock and Bobby Drennan of HITS are joined by Donny Gath of Lamborghini Newport Beach, his family and Susan Geliebter of Indigo Farms to present Chris Pratt and Cruise with first place honors after the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach, at HITS Thermal.