Linda McBurney shines in the $10,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic
SAUGERTIES, NY (July 24, 2012) – The weather proved perfect for competition at HITS-on-the-Hudson IV this weekend and was highlighted by Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health. As 22 entries made their attempt to capture Sunday’s big stake, Laura Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince, owned by Laura Chapot & McLain Ward emerged as the winners.
International course designer Olaf Petersen, Sr. of Paehl, Germany set the course and had nine horse and rider combinations advance to the jump-off.
Chapot, of Neshanic Station, New Jersey, had two mounts in the jump-off and also earned the fourth-place ribbon aboard Mary Chapot’s Umberto. Earlier in the week, Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince had scored a third-place finish earlier in the week in the $10,000 Brook Ledge Open Welcome and a seventh-place finish in Friday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, which helped prime them for a strong finish on Sunday.
Lady veterans rounded out the top ribbons as first to show in the jump-off was Heritage Farm’s Patricia Griffith of Katonah, New York aboard her own Wieminka B. They set the Great American Time to Beat at 44.45 seconds to finish in third and were one of only three double-clear efforts.
Chapot and Quointreau Un Prince were next to show and easily took the lead in a blazing fast time of 39.47 seconds, which would secure the victory.
Two trips later, Patty Stovel and her own Carigor Z produced the third double-clear round in a time of 43.30 seconds. It has been a strong couple of weeks for Stovel, of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania as she earned second place on Sunday and fourth place in last week’s $40,000 Purina Mills Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at HITS Culpeper.
Rounding out the top five was Kevin Babington of Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania and his own Mark Q, who posted a four-fault jump-off round in 41.01 seconds.
$10,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic
The $10,000 Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic took place on Saturday in the Strongid C 2X Grand Prix Stadium as 65 riders challenged a course set by Olaf Petersen, Sr. The jump-off was all about time as the top five riders boasted double clear rounds. Linda McBurney of Fairhaven, New Jersey produced the speed required for the win as she and her own Less Is More topped the field with a jump-off time of 31.58 seconds.
Second place went to Andreas De Leyer of Tomball, Texas and Johannis De Leyer’s Skylark, who were just fractions of a second behind McBurney in a time of 31.88 seconds. Mackenzie Kane of Durham, Connecticut and Linda Radigan’s Realist captured third in 33.09 seconds and Noah Buehler was fourth aboard his own Shane in 33.40 seconds. Rounding out the top five was Madison Newman aboard Todd Minikus’ Dana with a time of 33.64 seconds.
The road to HITS Championship Weekend September 7-9 continues this week as HITS-on-the-Hudson V promises to deliver another exciting week of show jumping. Record-breaking entries are filling in fast as riders attempt to qualify for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix, Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final and the HITS $250,000 Hunter Prix Final, which will be the richest show jumping weekend in the history of the sport.
$50,000 HITS Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health
| Place | Horse | Owner | Rider | Prize $ | Rd 1 Faults | JO Faults | JO Time |
| 1 | Quointreau Un Prince | Laura Chapot & McClain Ward | Laura Chapot | $15,000 | 0 | 0 | 39.47 |
| 2 | Carigor Z | Patty Stovel | Patty Stovel | $11,000 | 0 | 0 | 43.30 |
| 3 | Wieminka B | Patricia Griffith | Patricia Griffith | $6,500 | 0 | 0 | 44.45 |
| 4 | Umberto | Mary Chapot | Laura Chapot | $4,000 | 0 | 4 | 40.71 |
| 5 | Mark Q | Kevin Babington | Kevin Babington | $3,000 | 0 | 4 | 41.01 |
| 6 | User I.D. | Atlanta Equestrian | Juan Pable Gnecco | $2,500 | 0 | 4 | 43.84 |
| 7 | G&C Flash | Gustavo Mirabal | Luis Larrazabal | $2,000 | 0 | 4 | 48.29 |
| 8 | Seventh Free | Michael Dorman | Michael Dorman | $1,500 | 0 | 8 | 42.60 |
| 9 | Pomme Lady | Bobby Ginsberg | Bobby Ginsburg | $1,500 | 0 | 12 | 44.69 |
| 10 | G&C Blue | Gustavo Mirabal | Mark Bluman | $1,000 | 4 | – | – |
| 11 | Macoemba | Todd Minikus, LTD. | Todd Minikus | $1,000 | 4 | – | – |
| 12 | Waterloo | M. Michael Meller | Schuyler Riley | $1,000 | 4 | – | – |
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