THERMAL — Three top-fives in the first four days.
Not a bad start to the 2016 show season for Susie Hutchison, the Temecula-based trainer who enjoyed strong performances in a pair of events during Week I of the HITS Desert Circuit.

Hutchison took both first and second, respectively, in the $5,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome Class on Jan. 20, winning the event on Ziedento, owned by St. Bride’s Farm, and taking reserve on Brisbane, owned by Barbara Phillips.

Hutchison clocked a fault-free, 39.471-second victory on Ziedento, and she recorded a flawless 40.750, second-place jump-off round on Brisbane. On the pair’s heels were third-place finishers Enrique Gonzalez on Feline VIII, who finished their jump-off in 41.790, but with eight jump faults.

Four days later, Hutchison rode SIG Firecracker, owned by SIG International, to second place in the $15,000 UltrOZ™ Jumper class.