THERMAL, CA (February 1, 2013) – It was an explosive start to the HITS FEI series at Desert Circuit II, as Francie Steinwedell-Carvin, of La Canada, California, and Prentiss Partners’ Lapsus du Lavoir claimed victory in the $33,000 HITS Desert Classic, presented by Pfizer Animal Health.

The Thursday event welcomed 40 horse and rider pairs under sunny skies in the Grand Prix Stadium. Things got off to a strong start as Irish rider Jennifer Crooks and S.F. Uryadi, owned by Olivia Cox-Fill/Stella Farm, went clear around Portugal’s Bernardo Costa Cabral’s highly technical course. The track included 12 jumps and 15 efforts set at up to 1.45m.

The fourth pair out, Elizabeth Gingras of Alberta, Canada and Floreen SFN, owned by B. Gingras Equestrian, were also clear, and marked the onset of perfection that saw 14 more pairs go fault-free, for a total of 16. Two who moved on — Crooks and New Zealand rider Duncan McFarland, riding Simone Coxe’s Mr. Whoopy — would opt-out of the jump off.

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