Thermal hITS NeWS WeeKlY
Vol. 3 No. 1 February 13, 2015
Will Simpson Dominates HITS Thermal Grand Prix
hunter Stars: John Bragg Page 7
FEI World Cup Qualifiers By Emily Stoermer
By Emily Stoermer
FEI World Cup qualifying competition returns to HITS Desert Horse Park during Desert Circuit V, as yet another round of high stakes showjumping resumes. In Desert Circuit IV, top riders competed under the lights of the Grand Prix Ring as all but two encountered faults and were eliminated from the possibility of making the jump-off. Winning was the number 10 United States Equestrian Federation-ranked rider Lucy Davis, and number nine-ranked horse Barron, who trumped a field of two dozen competitors to take home the blue ribbon and earn FEI qualifying points, after making the trip down from northern Will Simpson, on S.F. Arlantha, owned by Olivia Cox-Fill, gives his signature thumbs-up after winning the HITS Desert Circuit III $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. ©ESI Photography
In 2008, Will Simpson took home the team gold medal from the Olympic Games in Beijing, along with other members of the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team Beezie Madden, McLain Ward and Laura Kraut. The Olympian is now racking up Grand Prix wins at HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, California – six to be exact – in the first half of the circuit alone. He plans to come back for more competition during the second half of the circuit, after some R&R during the off-week.
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“I got into a zone,” he said of his success this year. “I’ve been coming to the Desert Circuit since the inception of this place. This is just like my home. I feel real comfortable here.” Simpson said he got off to a nice start this year with “a young horse that came on strong,” The Dude, a 9-year-old “mostly Holsteiner” gelding, and, “a horse I’ve been having some problems with,” 15-year-old Katie Riddle, a 16.3 hand mare. “All of a sudden it all came together at the same time. A lot of times (Continued on page 3)
Alec Lawler and Agamemnon make the jump-off and finish second in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix CSI-W2*, presented by OSPHOS®, at HITS Desert Circuit IV. ©ESI Photography