Tag Archives: Kyle King

HITS, HITS, Hunter/Equitation, Show Jumping

Kyle King Wins on ‘Horse of His Dreams’ at HITS Thermal

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©Flying Horse Photography. Kyle King and Quigley bested an impressive field on Sunday to win the $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix.

THERMAL, CA (February 24, 2014) – Quigley may not have many grand prix miles behind him, but his rider Kyle King of Ocala, Florida is looking forward to the 10-year-old gelding stepping up to the level with a bang. He is certainly on the right track after winning Sunday’s $30,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Zoetis, at HITS Thermal.

“He’s the horse of my dreams,” said King. “Who knows where we go from here, but he’s the best horse I’ve ever had.”

Quigley is owned by Paul Politeski who broke the gelding and rode him up until last year when he moved into the grand pix ring with King. Politeski and King took Quigley to HITS Tucson last week in preparation for the HITS Desert Circuit and he jumped perfectly, according to King. “We got him [Quigley] fired up a little bit in Arizona. He was a little spooky in the Level 6 earlier this week, but jumped around great today,” said King.

Manuel Esparza of Mexico City, Mexico set a course with wide oxers and tall verticals, which included 13 obstacles and 16 jumping efforts within the Strongid C 2X Grand Prix Stadium. The 41 who attempted the course agreed that it was big and scopey. In the end, only three jumped clear to advance to the jump-off.

“I was nervous after I walked it, but Quigley is the scopiest horse in the world – they can build as big as they want and he is comfortable,” admitted King.

Alec Lawler of Atherton, California was the first to ride clear in the second trip of the original order. He piloted his own Agamemnon, and was joined by King four rounds later. Crowd favorite Rich Fellers of Wilsonville, Oregon rounded out the jump-off near the end of the order aboard Harry & Mollie Chapman’s Flexible.

Lawler returned to the jump-off first, but had a rail jumping into the double combination to finish with four faults in 37.07 seconds. King and Quigley had the same rail, but crossed the timers in 34.74 seconds to sit in the lead with one more to go.

“I was pretty sure I had handed it to him when I had the rail,” said King. “I mean, it’s Rich and Flexible! I was happy with the rhythm and the pace, but I wasn’t expecting him to have any down.”

Luck was not on Fellers’ side in the jump-off, however, as he had the first fence down and couldn’t find the speed to top King. Fellers’ time of 35.80 seconds settled him in second, bumping Lawler to third.

From the first round, John Perez of Coajimaipa, Mexico was the fastest of the four-faulters aboard his own Utopia, finishing in fourth. Bliss Heers of Olivenhain, California capped the top five in the irons of Contendra for owners Bridgeside Farms, LLC.

As Week IV comes to an end at HITS Desert Horse Park, grand prix competition returns to the spotlight on Friday. All grand prix at HITS Thermal continue to offer riders qualifying opportunities for the AIG $1 Million Grand Prix, which will take place March 16 to kick off the first-ever HITS Triple Crown of Show Jumping. West Coast grand prix will also serve as qualifiers for the Zoetis $ Million Grand Prix as part of the HITS Championship in Saugerties, New York this September.

About SmartPak
SmartPak powers healthy horses and happy riders. The patented SmartPak Supplement Feeding System makes it easy for riders across the country to take the best care of their horses. Founded in 1999, with the purpose of simplifying the administration of nutritional supplements and medications to horses, the system has been adopted by thousands of barns and horse owners across the country, who value knowing that their supplements will be fed correctly. For more information, visit SmartPak.com.

About Zoetis
Building on 60 years of experience as Pfizer Animal Health, Zoetis delivers quality medicines and vaccines, complemented by diagnostics products and genetics tests and supported by a range of services. They work every day to better understand and address the real-world challenges faced by those who raise and care for animals in ways they find truly relevant. Zoetis produces a comprehensive range of safe and effective products, including equine vaccines, dewormers and sedative analgesics, to help professionals and individual horse owners keep their animals healthy. Both veterinarians and horse owners know and trust the Zoetis will help their horses live longer, healthier lives. For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Jennifer Ward, Show Jumping

Kyle Is King of the Rockies

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Kyle King of Ocala, FL, and Capone I won the $50,000 CSI2* G2 Financial Group Grand Prix on August 20 at the Rocky Mountain Classic I in Calgary, AB. Photo credit - Cansport

Calgary, Alberta – Kyle King of Ocala, FL, kicked off the three-week Rocky Mountain Classic show jumping series by winning the $50,000 CSI2* G2 Financial Group Grand Prix on Saturday, August 20. The Rocky Mountain Classic show jumping tournaments are taking place at Anderson Ranch in Calgary, AB.

Course designer Werner Deeg of Germany ensured a thrilling jump-off when 10 of the 29 starters jumped his first round track clear to advance to the jump-off. King was the first rider through the gate with Capone I, and set a target time of 39.95 seconds that would prove unbeatable. In fact, King proved to be his own toughest competition when his other jump-off mount, Valentino, was clear in a time of 41.10 seconds for second place. Rocky Mountain tournament organizer, John Anderson of Calgary, AB, took third place with a time of 41.61 seconds riding Terrific.

“I went first and was a little conservative, but it turned out to be fine,” said King, who has been based at Anderson Ranch this summer. “They all had to chase me and it worked out. I had the class by a full second.”

For King and Capone I, the $50,000 CSI2* G2 Financial Group Grand Prix marked the pair’s first competition since winning the $125,000 CN World Cup Grand Prix during the Spruce Meadows “Continental” Tournament in June.

“It was great for Capone because it was challenging enough, but it wasn’t so huge and he didn’t have to try too hard,” said King of the 15-year-old Holsteiner stallion by Contender. “He jumped solid and was right on form.”

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Competitions, Events, Hunter/Equitation, Jennifer Ward, Show Jumping

Kyle King and Ashley Jerome Tie in $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix

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Ashley Jerome of Calgary, AB, and Santa Cruz tied for the win in the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix held during the Mid Summer Classic II in Calgary, AB

Calgary, Alberta – Kyle King of Ocala, FL, and Ashley Jerome of Calgary, AB, tied to win the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix held July 17 during the Mid Summer Classic II produced by Rocky Mountain Show Jumping at Anderson Ranch in Calgary, AB.

Run in a unique format, the $25,000 Full Meal Deal Grand Prix sees competitors jumping the exact same course set at four different heights – 1.10m, 1.15m, 1.20m and 1.30m.  All competitors, regardless of the height they were jumping, had the same time allowed to complete the course designed by Eric Hasbrouck.  Of the 67 entries that competed over the four divisions offered, a total of 20 jumped clear.

Working backwards for the jump-off, the 1.30m division went first.  Tami Masters was again clear in the jump-off in a time of 47.24 seconds riding Aurora to move into the lead.  King then jumped clear in the 1.20m division in a time of 47.09 to move to the top of the leader board.

In the 1.15m division, last year’s defending champion, Breanne McAllister of Calgary, AB, set a blistering fast pace with Zorro, stopping the clock in 44.48 seconds.  However, a rail down along the way left the 17-year-old in eighth position overall with the day’s fastest four fault jump-off effort.

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Competitions, Contributors/Press, Disciplines, Events, HITS, Show Jumping

HITS Thermal Mid-Circuit Report: Kyle King’s Birthday Ride

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© Flying Horse Photography. Kyle King and Corrine Super's Capone I.

THERMAL, CA (February 17, 2011) — Kyle King (Ocala, Florida) celebrated his birthday with a bang when he rode Corrine Super’s Capone I to a triumph in Sunday’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California.

Winning Sunday’s feature class was extra remarkable for the birthday boy, who won the Grand Prix with the largest starting field to date at the 2011 HITS Desert Circuit. They were the top horse-and-rider combination out of the 49 horses that challenged International Course Designer Florencio Hernandez’ (Mexico City, Mexico) first-round course which featured 12 obstacles and 15 efforts, including a trio of double combinations in a time allowed of 79 seconds.

Thirteen riders took a shot at Hernandez’ first-round course and failed until accomplished equestrian Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Westlake Village, California) and Octavia Farms’ Lancaster 144 made it all the way home clear. Three trips later, Mexico’s John Perez (Cruz Manca, Coajimaipa, Mexico) and his own La Cantera Catrin wowed the crowd watching the action in the Strongid C 2X Stadium with a clear round of their own to force a jump-off.

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