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SAUGERTIES,
NY (June 1, 2006) – Henrik Gundersen kicked off
June the right way, as he and his 10-year-old mount
Darvin Garbo galloped away with the top prize
in the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix, at HITS’ equestrian
facility in Saugerties, NY.
The horse and rider
combination enjoyed Week I of HITS Saugerties’
Spring Circuit with a third place finish in Sunday’s
$75,000 EMO Grand Prix and an eighth place mark
in last Thursday’s $25,000 HITS Grand Prix. But
for Gundersen, nothing is sweeter than a blue
ribbon.
“My horse has been
very consistent this spring,” said Gundersen,
who won $7,500 in prize money
today. “But
it’s show jumping. You can go clean one day and
be everyone’s hero and have a few
faults
the next day and be a nobody.”
Thirty-four horses
took to the field over the course set by Anthony
D’Ambrosio, of Red Hook, NY. Four other horse
and rider combinations advanced to the jump-off.
“The course itself didn’t seem to be too difficult
except for some of the tall verticals,” said Gundersen.
“It was the time allowed that was tight.
But
with five clear, in a field this size he got it
just right.” Before the grand prix, D’Ambrosio
said he was aiming for six to eight to advance
into the next round. Gundersen was second to tackle
the jump-off course.
His time of 42.627
pushed Pablo Barrios and Sun God out of
the top spot by almost three seconds. In the first
round, Barrios went 13th and was the first to
navigate through perfectly.
Gundersen’s lightning-fast
time seemed to force the other riders to move
with a sense of urgency, as
the two horse
and rider combinations to follow him each had
four faults. Frankie Chesler-Ortiz clipped
the final
hurdle, a red, white and black oxer in front of
HITS’ VIP Pavilion aboard Picolien Zeldenrust.
And Chris Kappler took down a black and white
vertical aboard VDL Oranta to finish fourth
and fifth, respectively. Ortiz scored $2,000 in
prize money and Kappler won $1,500.
Manuel Torres went
last in the jump-off but nearly came out first,
as his mount Chambacunero was just
a bit too slow. His time of 43.544 was good enough
for second. Barrios was third grabbing a $3,250
payday. Torres’ winnings were $5,500.
Sunday most of these
riders, including Gundersen, will challenge D’Ambrosio
again in the $75,000
HITS Grand
Prix. For more information, please call 845.246.8833
during the week and 845.246.5515
on weekends
or visit www.HitsShows.com.
For a complete list of results, visit www.HitsShows.com.
©Lili Weik Photography
06
Henrik Gundersen
riding Darvin Garbo - Winners of the
$25,000 HITSGrand Prix
©Lili Weik Photography
$25,000 HITS Grand Prix-
Thursday, June 1, 2006
HITS Spring Circuit- Saugerties, NY
Course
Designer: Anthony D'Ambrosio, Red Hook, NY
|
Placing
|
Horse
|
Rider
|
Owner
|
Prize
Money
|
Rd
1 Faults
|
J-O
Faults
|
J-O
Time
|
|
1
|
Darvin Garbo |
Henrik Gundersen |
Henrik Gundersen |
$7,500
|
0
|
0
|
42.627
|
|
2
|
Chambacunero |
Manuel Torres |
Ana Maria De Cadena |
$5,500
|
0
|
0
|
43.544
|
|
3
|
Sun
God |
Pablo Barrios |
Ron Krise |
$3,250
|
0
|
0
|
45.585
|
|
4
|
Picolien
Zeldenrust |
Frankie Chesler- Ortiz |
Sher-Al Farms |
$2,000
|
0
|
4
|
43.970
|
|
5
|
VDL
Oranta |
Chris Kappler |
M&K
Oranta LLC
|
$1,500
|
0
|
4
|
49.229
|
|
6
|
Lando |
Ali
Wolff |
Ali Wolff |
$1,250
|
4
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
