DEL MAR — Two weeks of hunter/jumper competition at the Del Mar International ended with riders named Rich–Rich Fellers and Richard Spooner–winning the two highlight Grand Prix events at Del Mar Farigrounds for the Oct. 14-25 show.

For Del Mar International I from Oct. 14-18, Fellers of Wilsonville, Ore., and his mount Flexible were in familar territory while competing in the $50,000 Del Mar International World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix presented by Antares. Fellers and Flexible, a 13-year-old Irish-bred stallion owned by Harry and Mollie Chapman, previously came close to winning the 2008 FEI World Cup Jumping Finals in Goteborg, Sweden, so their Oct. 17 victory at Del Mar International puts them in early contention to qualify for the 2010 World Cup Finals.

In a four-horse jump-off, Fellers and Flexible rode clear and the fastest in 38.78 seconds to win the $50,000 Del Mar International World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix. Second-place finisher John Pearce rode clean aboard Chianto, owned by Forest View Farm Inc., in 40.05 seconds.

The Del Mar International I Grand Prix was preceded by a few special events. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley, who just released her latest horse book “The Georges and the Jewels,” held a book signing there.

Also, Del Mar International hostd a Pony Club workshop featuring Grand Prix rider Will Simpson, who shared his experience about being part of the U.S. Gold Medal-winning team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Competition that night started with the crowd-pleasing $5,000 J2/Rolling Meadows Ride and Drive–in which riders jumped a shortened course, followed by driving a convertible Mustang around the jump obstacles in the arena. Guy Thomas aboard Mr. Bubbles won the Ride and Drive event.

For Del Mar International II from Oct. 21-25, Richard Spooner of Agua Dulce, Calif., rode Apache to win the $25,000 California Horsetrader Grand Prix. In a field of 42 entries, an amazing 10 rider-horse pairs jumped clean in the first-round course designed by Scott Starnes of San Juan Capistrano.

Spooner and Apache, owned by S&B LLC, were the first to go clear in the Oct. 25 jump-off with a time of 31.744 seconds–well within the time allowed of 47 seconds. Michael Endicott rode Santiago, owned by Nicolas Nierenberg, to second place with a clean ride in 33.938 seconds.

Del Mar International I and II was managed by Dale Harvey of Jump Del Mar.

For complete show results from Del Mar International Week 1, visit: http://bit.ly/2009dmi1

For Del Mar International Week 2 results, visit: http://bit.ly/2009dmi2