Source:  HITS News Release

Lucy Davis Wins Back-to-Back Grand Prix to Cap Off Sold-Out Week at HITS Desert Circuit

During the biggest week of the 2011 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, California Amateur rider and rising star Lucy Davis of Los Angeles, California went two for three when she won Sunday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Old Oak Farm’s Hannah to close out Desert Circuit V.

© Flying Horse Photography.
Lucy Davis and Hannah on course in Sunday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California.

After an incredible victory in Saturday night’s $50,000 HITS CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, which saw Davis get the best of some of the top riders in the sport, she came back less than 24 hours later to beat 57 other starters to capture the blue ribbon for the second day in a row.

"It feels really awesome to win two Grand Prix classes in less than 24 hours," said Davis, who is 18 years old, with a blindly bright future in show jumping. "Next week is the big $200,000 class, so I hope I didn’t use up all of my good fortune."

© Flying Horse Photography.
HITS’ Chris Pace and Tony Hitchcock present the awards to Lucy Davis and her parents Kelly and George Davis. In addition to an engraved silver platter, the Davis' also received a bottle of Sonoma-Cutrer 2007 Pinot Noir after their daughter finished ahead of 57 other riders to win Sunday's $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health

Good fortune indeed. Davis can also add to her accolades for the week the fact that Sunday’s class had the largest starting field of any Grand Prix to date at the HITS Desert Circuit since the show moved to the property in Thermal. 

In fact, blessed by another beautiful week of weather, last week’s show was the biggest the Circuit has seen since its opening season at the new property in 2007, and everything was sold-out. The stalls, VIP seating in both the Oasis Club and the Charles Owen Club in the indoor arena, and paddocks were all at full capacity, as the HITS Desert Circuit enjoys a thriving winter show season heading into the final stretch.

“When I convinced my partners at Leonard Green to dedicate funding to a new state-of-the-art facility for the United States I had envisioned just this kind of week, extraordinary attendance at a facility that can handle large numbers of horses in a safe and horse-friendly manner,” said Tom Struzzieri, HITS President and CEO. “Of course I had hoped that this reaction and result would have been achieved a year or two earlier, but it is still extremely gratifying to see this success. I want our customers to know that we will continue to pursue excellence here, and look at this as a step toward our commitment to our clients and the Thermal Circuit. We will be relentless in our pursuit of an improved product for next year and will use this year’s success as a springboard to new innovations for the 2012 season.”

Germany’s Olaf Petersen, Sr. set the challenges on Sunday’s track which saw 13 riders advance to the jump-off. Canadian Olympic Silver Medalist Jill Henselwood and Juniper Farms George were the first on course and started the class strong with a clear round. Ten trips later Peter Breakwell of Menlo Park, California ensured there would be a jump-off when he went clean aboard No Drama’s Lucas. Eleven more riders followed suit by going clear to set the stage for an exciting jump-off for the wall-to-wall crowd watching from every corner of the ring.

In the jump-off, Henselwood set the Great American Time to Beat in 48.018 seconds. Davis and Hannah were fifth in the jump-off and went clear in 44.662 seconds to move into first, which remained as the next eight riders failed to take the lead. When the class was complete, Henselwood finished in second, with Michelle Spadone and Redfield Farms’ Coco in third, John French and Mountain Home Stables Chawi De Laubry in fourth, followed by Rich Fellers and Harry and Mollie Chapman’s McGuinness in fifth.

Following the class, Davis was already looking ahead to the next goal. “After this week it looks like I will be qualified for the Pfizer Million. I know Meredith [Michaels-Beerbaum, Davis’ trainer] plans on going, and I’m looking forward to that, too!”

Many other High-Performance riders seem to share this excitement and have put this “September Special” on their seasonal wish list, a fact that Struzzieri is happy about. “HITS is demonstrating to the world that we are an innovative leader with the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, and now the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final. Thermal has helped to qualify several top competitors for those two finals, where the world’s most famous hunter will be crowned alongside the richest Grand Prix purse winner.”

Innovation isn’t the only thing HITS is being recognized for, as spirits are high and praise is flowing throughout the show grounds. Sanjay Bagai of Zeitgeist Equestrian, LLC in Petaluma, California has been quick to share his impressions of the season. “Everything about the technical quality of the HITS Thermal facility qualifies this as a world class venue, from the fantastic footing, the running of the rings, the courses, the course designers, and the incredible VIP services. To think that it started as a 200-acre patch in the desert, and today it’s a place that answers all the technical challenges that our horses and we as riders face when we show. Its quality equals that of any other top show in the world.”

“I have to commend Brian Morris, who is so incredibly orchestrated in his approach to running this facility,” added Bagai. “It’s incredible how he runs the crew, with no hesitation, nor confusion. They are always on the top of their game. This is without a doubt the best footing in the country and the way he maintains it is second-to-none. It’s been fantastic here, and my only disappointment is that we didn’t get to show for the whole circuit. We ended up selling some of our good horses and could only show the second half but when we arrived for the second half, everything felt fresh as if the horse show had just started. The atmosphere is superb. It’s clear what HITS has in store for this circuit and I have a lot of confidence in where HITS is going.”

Struzzieri shared in Bagai’s praise of HITS Thermal’s star Technical Director. “This season has demonstrated to the equine world that Brian Morris is one of the leading Horse Show Managers in the country, a fact that we at HITS have known for several years. He demonstrates this fact over and over again with his tremendous effort, and we are all extremely proud of him.”

With high momentum, the Desert Circuit 2011 now heads into its final week and, as usual, HITS will pull out all the stops for the season Finale with the first ever Horsepower Weekend. To highlight the week, there will be four extraordinary events, starting with Saturday night’s $25,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, under the lights in the Strongid C 2X Stadium. Then on Sunday, it’s a tri-fecta of jumper action when the $10,000 Pilatus Aircraft Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Medium Classic and the $25,000 California Horsetrader Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper High Classic paves the way for the $200,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix, presented by Lamborghini of Newport Beach. The very best in luxury sports cars will sit alongside the very best in private aircrafts when Lamborghini of Newport Beach joins forces with Pilatus Aircraft to add to the horsepower at the HITS Desert Horse Park!

$25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health