PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
March 6, 2006

TUCSON, AZ (March 6, 2006) -- New Zealander Sharn Wordley competed on the show jumping circuits throughout Europe for ten years before hopping the pond to test his skills on the U.S. Grand Prix circuit. What attracted him over here? "Better prize money," he is quick to respond.

With a win in Sunday's $25,000 HITS Grand Prix for the second week in a row, Sharn Wordley is enjoying a lion's share of the prize money at HITS Arizona. Riding his Irish-bred gelding, Mr. Flanagan, Wordley has chalked up three wins, a second place, and a third place over the past five weeks of competition at HITS Arizona. His total Grand Prix winnings amount to $31,250, and he still has one week left to add to that pool.

The $25,000 HITS Grand Prix drew a field of 32 horse/rider combinations that included quite a number of first-time Grand Prix horses and riders. Course designer Gerald Briggs decided to build a course that had a couple of questions, but questions that were not too hard for the horses and riders to handle, especially the first-timers. The field did very well over the first-round test, with every rider completing the course and twelve going clear.

"It worked out exactly the way I wanted it to," remarked Gerald Briggs. "Of the riders that went clean there were professionals, amateurs and a couple of juniors, and everybody went for it in the jump-off. The comments from the riders were, 'it was a nice course, we learned a lot, and we had fun riding it.' As a course designer you just can't get better feedback than that," said Briggs.

The jump-off was very fast, with five riders posting clean rounds.

Brandie Holloway, who was third in the order, had a time of 46.51 seconds with her stallion Argentina. Her time held until Sharn Wordley, sixth to go, took his trip with Mr. Flanagan. Wordley set a blistering pace, shaving two seconds off Holloway's time to take the lead.

The next three riders posted faults. Then Alexander Rohling from Canada riding Secret Identity decided to give Sharn Wordley a run for his money. Rohling was fast, but just not fast enough. His clear round in 46.39 seconds edged out Brandie Holloway and gave him second place in the competition.

For Sharn Wordley, this was his 25th Grand Prix win in the three years he has been riding in the U.S. This is quite an impressive record, and his winning streak looks set to continue now that he has teamed up with Mr. Flanagan. Wordley bought the 16-year-old Irish-bred gelding two years ago from Dermot Ford of Ireland. It's interesting to note that Mr. Flanagan is out of the same sire (Irish Sport Horse Cavalier) as McGuinness, another Irish-bred horse that is really doing well on the HITS Indio Desert Circuit for Rich Fellers.

The 2006 HITS Arizona Winter Circuit will conclude next week at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. Show jumping will resume at HITS Arizona on Wednesday, March 8, and the next Grand Prix show jumping event will be the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix on Sunday, March 12.

Other major award winners at HITS Arizona Winter Festival include:

HBO Children's Medal - Alicia Gasser, Scottsdale, AZ
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (18-35) - Spellbound, ridden by Sarah Young, Leawood, KS
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (36-49) - Honestly, ridden by Barbara Jacobi, Edwards, CO
Farnam Adult Hunter Division Champion (50+) - Dauntless, ridden by Susanne Stroh, Elizabeth, CO
Adequan® Open Hunter Division Champion - Rivoli, ridden by Heather Christie, Golden, CO
Marshall & Sterling Children's Hunter Classic - Hoopla, ridden by Michelle Ahmann, Tulsa, OK
Marshall & Sterling Adult Hunter Classic - Manitou, ridden by Carrie Henderson, Wayzata, MN
Marshall & Sterling Child/Adult Jumper Classic - Heather Christie, Golden, CO riding Wilder

For complete horse show results please visit http://www.hitsshows.com.

$25,000 HITS Grand Prix - Sunday, March 5, 2006
Sahuaro Classic - HITS Arizona Winter Festival, Tuscon, AZ
Course Designer: Gerald Briggs, E. Bridgewater, MA

MEDIA CONTACT: Mary Creech, HITS Media & Public Relations, 319 Main Street, Saugerties, New York 12477-1330. Tel: 845-246-8833, Fax: 845-246-6371, E-Mail: mcreech@frontiernet.net. Web: www.HitsShows.com