THERMAL — As equestrians were preparing for the March 15 AIG $1 Million Grand Prix at HITS Thermal (coverage in the April 5 Horsetrader), Olympic Gold Medalist Will Simpson claimed his ninth Grand Prix victory at HITS Desert Horse Park this season. His last Thermal win in 2015 came on Katie Riddle, owned by Monarch International, in the $25,000 SmartPak Wild Card Grand Prix on March 13.

“It’s out of control,” said Simpson, after trumping a field of 38 riders. Simpson rode S.F. Ariantha, owned by Olivia Cox-Fill, in Sunday’s big event and finished ninth.

No rider made it double-clear in Friday’s class. Simpson and Katie Riddle were first to go and were very fast, in a time of 32.641, but had the “A” element of the combination down. The combination proved to be almost every riders’ nemesis in the jump-off, and it became the focus of the remaining riders’ warm-up preparation.

“I used a little too much extra leg there,” Simpson said of the tricky combination. But his aggressive ride, even with the rail, was worth it. “It was a very quick jump-off,” he continued, but his fast time held up through the rest of the round.

Simpson’s son, 13-year-old Ty, came out and joined him at HITS Thermal Friday and will be there for the Million. “He brought me really good luck on Friday the 13th,” he said. S.F. Ariantha also qualified for Friday’s jump-off, but Simpson decided to give her a rest so she would be fresh for Sunday’s Million and so did not return for the speed round. The pair, nonetheless, placed seventh in the class.

Five other riders made it to the jump-off, with the second through fourth place spots going to other four-faulters. Richard Spooner placed second on Chivas Z, owned by SN Stables LLC in 32.758 — just a tenth of a second behind Simpson; Kilian McGrath took third on BB Casablanca, owned by Georgy Maskrey-Segesman in 36.930; and Chris Pratt rounded out fourth on Zetro Sent, owned by the Epic Group LLC in 40.105.

Marina Azevedo, of Brazil, designed the course.