THERMAL, CA (February 4, 2011) — Charlie Jayne and The London Group’s Athena showed exactly why they finished second in last year’s Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix when they took top honors in Thursday’s $31,000 HITS Welcome Classic, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California.
Jayne (Elgin, Illinois) and Athena are newcomers to the HITS Desert Circuit. They were the best of the 41 horse-and-rider pairs that challenged International Course Designer Bernardo Cabral’s (Lisbon, Portugal) first-round track and the nine pairs that advanced to the seven-obstacle jump-off. The atmosphere in the indoor arena was electric as an enthusiastic crowd lined the tent on all sides, including a raucous group that watched from the beautiful Charles Owen VIP Club.
“I came to Thermal for a couple of reasons,” said Jayne. “I was so grateful to HITS and the sponsors for last year’s Pfizer Million that I wanted to come here and try to get a head start on qualifying for this year’s class. I really loved being in Saugerties. The hotels and restaurants were great and the facility was very horse friendly. There isn’t much not to like about Saugerties.”