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SAUGERTIES, NY June 7, 2001)--For the second consecutive year, Horse Shows In The Sun, Inc. will present HITS Tahoe in Minden, Nevada. From June 27 through July 22, 2001, this hunter/jumper horse show circuit features nearly 300 classes each week for four weeks including a $15,000 Open Jumper Prix every Friday, a $50,000 Grand Prix on three consecutive Sundays, and a $100,000 Grand Prix on the final day of the show. More than $800,000 in total prize money will be awarded. Horse Shows In The Sun management is anticipating that HITS Tahoe will again have an international roster of exhibitors including entries from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe. The HITS Tahoe facility has 1,500 stalls available and can accommodate 1,000 horses and 2,500 horsemen each week. The HITS Tahoe show grounds is located on 100 acres of Bently Nevada Corporation's property on Highway 395, two miles north of Minden and about 20 minutes from Lake Tahoe. Competition is featured in six all-weather rings Wednesday through Sunday from 8am until approximately 4pm. Spectators are admitted free Wednesday through Saturday. Tickets are $5 on Sunday with the proceeds benefiting local charities. Children under 12 are always admitted at no charge and parking is always free. The HITS food service facility offers an international menu of meals, snacks, and beverages. Vendor Row on Main Street of the show grounds is lined with more than a dozen shops offering equine-themed merchandise from tack to 14K gold jewelry. Bleacher seating is available at all of the rings. More than 10,000 spectators are expected to visit HITS Tahoe during the four-week circuit. All of the corporate sponsors of the Grand Prix events at HITS Tahoe have returned this year to continue their support of the circuit and the sport. EMO, Coldwell Banker ITILDO, and Cosequin® are each sponsoring a $50,000 Grand Prix. Rio Vista Products is sponsoring the grand finale of the circuit, the $100,000 Rio Vista Grand Prix. World-class course designers with international experience will be flown in each week to design the courses in the Grand Prix field. This year, the course builders are: Douglas E. Russell, of Wellington, Florida, a 10-year veteran of course design who rode for the U.S. team in 1995 at the Pan Am Games, and is still an active competitor. Anthony D'Ambrosio of Red Hook, New York, who was the course designer for Week IV last year, returns to HITS Tahoe in 2001. Anthony is a Grand Prix rider, trainer and clinician who has trained four horses that competed in the Olympic Games. Pierre Burch of Vercheres, Quebec, Canada, an acclaimed international designer, comes to HITS Tahoe for the first time. Danny Foster, Ontario, Canada, a former show jumper who won an individual Gold Medal and Team Silver Medal at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, was the designer Week V last year. More than 50 staff and crew members will also be returning to the show grounds to install the structures necessary for the competition and to run the horse shows. HITS built the show grounds last year on this former alfalfa field and brought it to life as a temporary small village. At the close of the circuit, the equipment and structures were dismantled for shipment to the company's Indio Desert Circuit in California for use at that six-week horse show this winter. The blue-and-white portable barns, the white fencing, the jumps, the Great American Insurance Company Time To Beat clock in the Grand Prix ring, the mobile offices and restaurant all return to Minden. The infrastructure of water and electricity lines that were installed last year will be brought back into use for the show as well as the other amenities installed last year--15 pipe corral paddocks, pads for 50 RVs, plus the roads that provide access to the rings, parking, and stabling areas. The most important element of the show grounds is the competition rings. At HITS Tahoe the all-weather rings that were constructed last year at a cost of more than $500,000 are ready for action. To create these permanent rings in 1999, more than 30,000 tons of stone dust were hauled in for the base and 60,000 pounds of ground rubber were used as a top layer. This award-winning footing is used at all six HITS horse show grounds nationwide. Spectators are also an important part of the horse shows and HITS Tahoe will again produce special events for the fans including the annual Kids Day and a new event--Seniors Day. Kids Day will be held on, Sunday, July 8, from 10am to 1pm and is officially titled "Resort Sports Network's Kids Day presented by Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department and Douglas County Library." The event will again feature fun and festivities for kids and their parents including a hayride, face painting, petting zoo, pony rides, games, and exhibits. On Sunday, July 22, from 10am to 1pm, Seniors Day presented by Douglas County Senior Services will feature a variety of exhibits, activities, and entertainment geared toward the health and well being of seniors, plus a 5K Run and Fun Walk, a Horse Show Tournament, and a 1900s Costume Contest. Prior to each of the Grand Prix events on Sunday, special exhibitions and entertainment will be featured in the Grand Prix ring, including local talent who will sing the National Anthem. Last year country music legend Lacy J. Dalton sang the anthem on two occasions and she will repeat her performance again in 2001 for the first and last Sundays of the circuit. Charities and charity events are also an integral part of HITS Tahoe. Local charities pre-sell tickets to the Grand Prix events and are the ticket-takers on Sundays. Charities keep 100% of the proceeds from pre-sold tickets and receive a percentage of the gate. This year HITS Tahoe is partnered with nine charities: City of Refuge; Christmas Cheer All Year; Carson City Boys and Girls Club; Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Authority; Carson Valley Sertoma; U.S. Pony Club, Sierra Pacific Region; Soroptimist International of Carson Valley; Kiwanis Club of Gardnerville-Carson Valley; and Minden Rotary. HITS Tahoe not only benefits local charities, but also economically impacts the entire Carson Valley area by an estimated $15 million through spending by exhibitors on food, lodging, and consumer goods. DIRECTIONS: From the Reno/Tahoe airport (about 40 miles), travel south on Highway 395 to Minden; at Stockyard Road, turn left; show grounds entrance is on the left. From Lake Tahoe (about 12 miles), take Route 207 (Kingsbury Grade), cross Foothill Road to Mottsville, proceed 3 miles; turn left onto State Highway 395 North; turn right at Stockyard Road; show grounds entrance is on the left. From Minden (about 2 miles), follow 395 North; turn right at Stockyard Road; show grounds entrance is on the left. HITS TAHOE: 1901 N. Hwy. 395, Minden, Nevada, 89423. Phone during show dates: 775-783-8907. HITS TAHOE CIRCUIT 2001 SIDEBAR INFORMATION HITS TAHOE 2001 SHOW DATES: Week I June 27-July 1 Week II July 4-8 Week III July 11-15 Week IV July 18-22 FEATURED EVENTS $50,000 Cosequin® Grand Prix Sunday, July 1 1pm $50,000 EMO Grand Prix Sunday, July 8 1pm $50,000 Coldwell Banker ITILDO Grand Prix Sunday, July 15 1pm $100,000 Rio Vista Grand Prix Sunday, July 22 1pm SPECIAL EVENTS Resort Sports Network's Kids Day presented Sunday, July 8 10am-1pm by Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department and Douglas County Library Seniors Day presented by Douglas Sunday, July 22 10am-1pm County Senior Services
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