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Mary
Lisa Leffler And Kartousch Win $50,000 HITS Grand Prix At Ocala
Masters III |
OCALA, FL (March 1, 2004)—Children and their parents filled the
bleechers at HITS Ocala III for an action-packed Grand Prix that coincided
with Family Day, presented by Cox Communications. Mary Lisa Leffler
and Kartousch produced the only double-clear of a field of thirty-two
horses to win Sunday's $50,000 HITS Grand Prix. Leffler took home
the blue ribbon, an engraved silver tray, an embroidered cooler and
$15,000 for owner Rolling Acres Farm, Inc. Aaron Vale and Arriscraft
Soliel had almost a second on Leffler's time, but an unlucky rail
at the double meant he had to settle for second place. Ian Silitch
and Cable were the last to go in the three-horse jump-off, and a voluntary
withdrawal after two knockdowns left them in third place.
Course
designer Michel Vaillancourt of Schomberg, Ontario, built a technical
13-obstacle first round course that included a triple-bar oxer at
Fence No. 4, and a double at Fence No. 6. His last line included
a triple at Fence No. 11, and an oxer at No. 13. Time Allowed was
set at 86 seconds. The triple and the time allowed seemed to be
the biggest challenges for first round riders. A total of nine horses
had time faults and fourteen had a rail down at the triple.
When
asked what he thought of the outcome, course designer Michel Vaillancourt
stated, "Time allowed is always a weapon that course designers
like to use, but I don't think that the time was too short."
"Sometimes when a rider has a rail down they tend to finish
out the course at a slower pace, and that was the reason for a lot
of the time faults. Mary Lisa Leffler and her horse [Kartousch]
jumped the course beautifully, and jumped the best. Sometimes you
have a lucky winner, but that was not the case in this competition...Leffler
out-jumped the field and definitely deserved to win."
Of
the thirty-two starters three horses went clean over Vaillancourt's
first round course. There were a few heartbreaks along the way—Aaron
Vale left all the rails up with Quendo and Picasso, however time-faults
of fractions of a second kept both horses from advancing to the
jump-off. Vale placed fourth and fifth in the competition on Quendo
and Picasso respectively. When Vale entered the ring with Arriscraft
Soliel, he was not making the same mistake again—his time of
81.44 seconds was well within the time allowed and advanced the
pair to the jump-off.
For
the jump-off, Vaillancourt shortened the course to seven elements,
with time allowed set at 50 seconds. Mary Lisa Leffler and Kartousch
were the first in the order. Leffler rode a perfect round, going
clear in the winning time of 47.07 seconds. Vale and Arriscraft
Soliel, owned by Angelstone Farm, picked up the pace to shave almost
a second off Leffler's time, but a knockdown at the first element
jumping into the combination left them in second place. Ian Silitch
was last to enter the ring aboard Cable. Silitch had posted the
fastest first round time, so there were high hopes for the pair.
A knockdown at Fence No. 2 meant that Leffler could relax. Then
another knockdown at Fence No. 15, the King Shavings vertical, and
Silitch declared that it was all over, voluntarily withdrawing Cable
from the competition. The pair finished in third place.
Other
major award winners at HITS Ocala III included:
Bayer Legend Leading Hunter Rider - Mary Lisa Leffler, Brookeville,
MD
Bayer Legend Leading Jumper Rider - Aaron Vale, Aiken, SC
Charles Owen Adult Medal - Janelle Langan, Goffstown, NH
Charles Owen Children's Medal - Michael Danner, Odessa, FL
HBO Junior Medal - Kathryn Rebekah Kepes, Valrico, FL
Mary
Lisa Leffler's Grand Prix win has helped to move her up in the Equus
Entries Leading Grand Prix Rider standings. She is currently in
5th place. The Leading Grand Prix Rider at the close of the circuit
will take home a beautiful "Super Bowl" ring inlaid with
precious stones courtesy of Equus Entries. Leffler is not only winning
in the Grand Prix ring at Ocala, she also finished out the week
as the Bayer Legend Leading Hunter Rider.
Aaron
Vale was awarded the Bayer Legend Leading Jumper Rider award for
the third week in a row. He has had top-four finishes in all of
the Grand Prix competitions at the Ocala Winter Circuit to date,
and his performance has given him top ranking in the Equus Entries
Leading Grand Prix Rider standings.
For
Katherine Kepes it was two weeks in a row as the winner of the HBO
Junior Medal. All eyes will be on Katherine as she competes next
week.
The
$50,000 HITS Grand Prix coincided with Family Day presented by Cox
Communications. The usual spectator crowd saw an increase of local
parents and their children, all out to enjoy the wide variety of
activities laid on for them at the HITS Post Time Farm show grounds.
The face-painters were kept busy throughout the day, and several
brightly colored faces dotted the bleechers surrounding the Grand
Prix ring. The competition heated up when a number of aspiring Grand
Prix riders took to the field in the stick-horse race. A lot of
fun was had by all, and HITS would like to pay special thanks to
Cox Communications the presenting sponsor, and the City of Ocala
Parks & Recreation Department for organizing the children's
activities.
For
more information on the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, please visit
www.hitsshows.com.
Mary Lisa Leffler and Kartousch - Winners of $50,000 HITS Grand
Prix - © 2004 Lili Weik Photography
$50,000 HITS Grand Prix - Sunday, February 29, 2004
HITS Ocala III - Ocala, FL
Course Designer: Michel Vaillancourt, Schomberg, Ontario
Place
Horse Rider Owner Prize Money Rd1 Faults JO Faults JO Time
1st Kartousch Mary Lisa Leffler Rolling Acres / McLain Ward $15,000
0 0 47.07
2nd Arriscraft Soliel Aaron Vale Angelstone Farm $11,000 0 4 46.08
3rd Cable Ian Silitch Ian / Jacquelyn Silitch $6,500 0 8 V.W.
4th Quendo Aaron Vale Town Creek Investment $4,000 1
5th Picasso Aaron Vale Town Creek Investment $3,000 1
6th Jox Ian Silitch Ian / Jacquelyn Silitch $2,500 4
7th Neander Andre Thieme Redfield Farm LLC $2,000 4
8th Quell Damme Van De Heffinck Rory Hovell Rory Hovell $1,500 4
9th Blackforest ASDI Eduardo Braun Karl Giebmanns $1,500 4
10th On The Sly Kristi Smith Knights Fork Inc. $1,000 4
11th Enterprise Mark Jungherr R A Francoeur $1,000 4
12th Magdaline Beth Underhill Darryl B Williams Assoc. $1,000 4
WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, 2004 REMAINING SHOW DATES ARE:
Ocala Tournament IV - March 3-7
Ocala Winter Finals V - March 10-14
FEATURED
EVENTS:
$25,000 HITS Grand Prix - Thursday, March 4 at 1:00pm
$50,000 HITS Grand Prix - Sunday, March 7 at 1:00pm
$25,000 HITS Grand Prix - Thursday, March 11 at 1:00pm
$25,000 Marshall & Sterling Junior / Amateur-Owner Jumper Classic
- Sunday, March 14 at 10:00am
$25,000 Marshall & Sterling Child / Adult Jumper Classic Sunday,
March 14 at 12:00 noon
$100,000 King Shavings Grand Prix of Ocala presented by Great American
Insurance Group - Sunday, March 14 at 2:00pm
SPECIAL
EVENTS:
Grand Finale - Sunday, March 14
Champions of the Week Presentations are held on Sundays prior to
the 1:00pm Grand Prix.
POST
TIME FARM: 13710 U.S. Hwy 27; Ocala, Florida 34482; Tel: 352-620-2275.
Website: www.HitsShows.com
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