THERMAL — Will Simpson took one more HITS Desert Circuit Grand Prix win on Sunday, Feb. 8, on Monarch International’s Katie Riddle in the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. The victory marked Simpson’s sixth Grand Prix win so far at HITS Thermal. Simpson topped a field of 41 riders – including eight others who made it to the jump-off – going double-clear and completing the second round in 43.203 seconds to claim the victory at HITS Desert Horse Park.

“This was Katie Riddle’s birthday present to Jami Heidegger,” Simpson said. The Heidegger family owns Monarch International, for whom Simpson rides. “It was her (Jami’s) birthday yesterday. We were going to show The Dude (also owned by Monarch) last night (in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix CSI-W2*, presented by OSPHOS®) but it was a little much for him, so we scratched him and decided we’d make it a special day for Jami here. And the whole team at Will Simpson Stables and Monarch are just in a real groove right now; everything is feeling groovy.”

In second place was Rich Fellers on Harry and Mollie Chapman’s Lux Lady, also going double-clear and finishing in 44.441 seconds. Third place went to Eduardo Menezes on Ilan Ferder’s Clear Me, with no faults and 44.897 seconds. Fourth place winner Keri Potter on Melanie Brook’s Paloma was the final double-clear round; she finished in 45.073 seconds.

Fellers said this was his first big class of the year with the mare.

“I was impressed when I walked the course,” Fellers added about the work of course designer Martin Otto of Munster, Germany. “I thought he did a great job all week and set very legitimate specs in all the classes. This was a solid 1.50 meter course.”

Fellers was pleased with Lux Lady’s performance, though he said he’d had doubts that she was quite up for it.

“For the first class of the year for this particular mare, it was quite an experience at this level.”he said. “I thought, ‘It might be a little stretch, but it’s not going to hurt her, she’s tough. She great. She’s Irish – she’s from Ireland,’ I was obviously delighted with her performance.”

Simpson also commented on fellow Monarch International rider Hannah Heidegger. The 17-year-old went clear in Round 1 on Monarch’s Axl Rose, and caught only the last rail in the jump-off to place seventh.

“She’s riding incredibly — she had one rail down,” he said. “She’s got the guts and determination and work ethic.”

Simpson and Fellers both planned to return to HITS Desert Horse Park after the off-week Feb. 10-15, when riders and their horses rested before the final four weeksof competition.

MORE ONLINE: http://bit.ly/502B_HITS

2015 HITS Thermal Desert Circuit
First Half Circuit Awards * Thermal, Calif.
Class/ Horse/ Owner/ Rider

Low Hunter Campari/ Helen McEvoy/ Hope Glynn

Training Hunter WT Who Knew/ Katie Lee/ Hope Glynn

HITS Hunter Corason/ Suzanne Jain/ Suzanne Jain

Baby Green Hunter Croquet/ Robin Kellogg/ Shelley Campf

Adequan Hunter Chacco Boy/ Hannah Erickson/ Jamie Taylor

Pre-Green Hunter 3′ Falcon/ Sabrina Hellman/ Nick Haness

Pre-Green Hunter 3’3″ West Lane/ Jaz Creek, Inc./ Buddy Brown

First Year Green Hunter Countdown/ Sachi Kawabata-Porto/ Nick Haness

2nd Year Green Hunter Zaretina/ Emma Waldfogel/ Jamie Taylor

Green Conformation Sable Road/ Balmoral Farm/ Carleton Brooks

High Perf Wkg Hunter Dealmaker/ West Coast Equine Partners LLC/ Tommi Clark

Perf Hunter 3’6″ – 3’9″ Ivory Coast/ West Coast Equine Partners LLC/ Nick Haness

Performance Hunter 3’3″ Zapateada/ Briana Sukert/ Jenny Karazissis

Regular Conf Hunter Y Wonder Y/ Teton Farms LLC/ Carleton Brooks

A-O Hunter 18-35 King’s Peak/ Emma Waldfogel/ Emma Waldfogel

A-O Hunter 36 & Over MTM Inside Scoop/ Mr & Mrs Ken Mackenzie/ Didi MacKenzie

A-O Hunter 18-35 3’3 Countdown/ Sachi Kawabata-Porto/ Sachi Kawabata-Porto

A-O Hunter 36+ 3’3 Brent/ Bernadette Mulliken/ Bernadette Mulliken

Adult Hunter 18-35 Carinja 14/ Orchard Hill Farm/ Samantha Sommers

Adult Hunter 36-45 Chasing Fireflies/ Lori Johnston/ Jihan Murad

Adult Hunter 46 – 55 Buddha/ Spartan Stables/ Pam Theodosakis

Adult Hunter 56 & Over Patton/ Marion Lowry/ Marion Lowry

Small Junior Hunter 15 & U Krave/ Mountain Home Stables/ Hunter Siebel

Small Junior Hunter 16-17 Fine Design/ Laura Wasserman/ Ransome Rombauer

Large Junior Hunter 15 & U Nonchalant/ Tylor Nowell/ Tylor Nowell

Large Junior Hunter 16-17 Wish List/ Kaitlyn Van Konynenburg/ Kaitlyn Van Konynenburg

Junior Hunter Low 3’3 Undeniable/ Hope Town Farms/ Noah Cyrus

Children’s Hunter 13 & U Manhattan/ Laura Strasburg/ Brooke Morin

Children’s Hunter 14-17 Askarii/ Laura Brown/ Lauren Burke

Children’s Hunter Pony Salt Water Taffy/ Kaitlyn Lovingfoss/ Augusta Iwasaki

Sm/Med Green Pony Hunter Small Suggestion/ Iwasaki & Reilly/ Augusta Iwasaki

Large Green Pony Hunter Kingston/ Ava Peck/ Ava Peck

Small Pony Hunter Bit of Laughter/ Iwasaki & Reilly/ Augusta Iwasaki

Medium Pony Hunter Madeline/ Laura Strasburg/ Brooke Morin

Large Pony Hunter Party Favor/ Laura Strasburg/ Brooke Morin

Short Stirrup Hunter – Horse My Way/ Morning Star Sporthorses, LLC/ Bailey Rose

Short Stirrup Hunter – Pony Maddox/ Paige Walker/ Evelyn Walker

Pre-Child Hunter Horse Riesling/ John Bragg/ Jackson Hinz

Pre-Adult Hunter San Francisco/ Linda Barker/ Jen Bell

Thermal Child Hunter 2’3″ Riesling/ John Bragg/ Jackson Hinz

Thermal Adult Hunter 2’3″ Andiamo/ Shabe Behzadpour/ Shabe Behzadpour

Modified Child Hunter Captivated/ Emmeline Sears/ Emmeline Sears

Modified Adult Hunter Hide Your Heart/ Danielle Kaiser/ Rachel Jacobs

HITS Child Hunter 2’9″ Idyllic/ Idyllic Imports/ Eva Chiocchetti

HITS Adult Hunter 2’9″ Valor/ Cindy Lyons/ Cindy Lyons

Modified Jr/Am Hunter 3’3″ Zapateada/ Briana Sukert/ Briana Sukert

Sm Schooling Pony Hunter Wink And Smile/ Virginia Bonnie/ Virginia Bonnie

Med Schooling Pony Hunter Always Happy/ Brooke Morin/ Brooke Morin

Large Schooling Pony Hunter Party Favor/ Laura Strasburg/ Brooke Morin

Long Stirrup Hunter – Horse Genias/ Sophia Von Henkle/ Sophia Von Henkle

Equitation 11 & Under Amber Ayyad

Equitation 12-13 (tie) Grace Spiegel
Equitation 12-13 (tie) Emily Perkins

Equitation 14-15 Kera McCandless

Equitation 16-17 Ransome Rombauer

Pony Equitation Brooke Morin

Adult Equitation 18-35 Eliza Bird

Adult Equitation 36 – 45 Tonya Johnston

Adult Eq 46 & Over Karin Binz

Junior Maiden Equitation Ariana Marnell

Junior Novice Equitation Katie Lee

Junior Limit Equitation Natalie Templeton

Adult 2′ Equitation Kathleen Burns

Adult 2’6″ Equitation Rachel Jacobs

Adult 2’9″ Equitation Alex Maida

Short Stirrup Eq-Horse Bailey Rose

Short Stirrup Eq-Pony Evelyn Walker

Beginner Equitation Ilaria Costello

Long Stirrup Equitation Linda Barker

Level 4 Jumper Legacy/ Makayla Barta/ Julia Madigan

Adult Jumper 18-35 Boulahrouz/ Shannon Becker/ Shannon Becker

Adult Jumper 36-49 Lara 368/ Troy Christiansen/ Troy Christiansen

Adult Jumper 50 & Over Musketeer/ Blue Meadows, LLC/ Leslie Cox

Child Jumper 15/U Cavaliers Creed/ Karen Shurtz/ Kaelyn Shurtz

Child Jumper 16-17 Touch of Luck/ Carly Stacey/ Haley Wright

Adult Jumper Low Sir Blue/ Haley Farms, LLC/ Kathleen Butler

Child Jumper Low Tindari/ Olivia Schneider/ Olivia Schneider

Mod Child/Adult Jumper Mason/ Jackie Chipman/ Annika Hatton

Level 5 Jumper Lion Heart/ DP Racing LLC/ Sarah Cillie

Level 6 Jumper Cavarola/ Spruce Meadows LLC/ Chris Surbey

Level 7 Jumper (tie) Karino 445/ Alix Fargo/ Susan Artes

Level 7 Jumper (tie) S.F. Ariantha/ Olivia Cox-Fill/ William Simpson

Amateur Jumper Low Chawi De Laubry/ Mountain Home Stables/ Taylor Siebel

A-O Jumper Medium Shima/ Jackie Herod/ Jackie Herod

A-O Jumper High Contact/ Andrew Chang/ Andrew Chang

Junior Jumper Low Dulce de Leche SCF/ Abbygale Funk/ Abbygale Funk

Junior Jumper Medium Cayman/ Kera McCandless/ Kera McCandless

Junior Jumper High NKH Barbosa/ Alexandra Ozymy/ Alexandra Ozymy

YJC 6 Year-Olds Juweel Van Maarle/ Sabine Cooper/ Mandy Porter

YJC 7 Year-Olds VEX Cassandra/ VEX Sporthorse LTD/ Christian Heineking