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SAUGERTIES,
NY (July
20, 2006)—Jeffery Welles rode Armani to
win Thursday's $25,000 HITS Grand Prix at HITS
Saugerties during week IV of HITS Saugerties'
Summer Circuit. He negotiated the fastest double-clear
round on Olaf Petersen, Jr.'s course.
Ten
horses out of 29 starters advanced to the jump-off,
with Welles stopping the clocks in the jump-off
at 40.279 to secure the blue-ribbon. The first
grand prix on HITS' Summer Circuit was twice as
nice for Welles, as he also took home the yellow-ribbon
aboard Sampras. Welles and Armani edged
out Darrah Kerins and Hot Wheels on the
rounds last trip when he beat his jump-off time
of 42.034, pushing Kerins into second place and
making the first Grand Prix class on the HITS
Saugerties Summer Circuit one to remember.
"Anytime
you can win on the last trip you know it was an
exciting class," said Welles, who won $10,750
in total prize money. "It was a great way
to start the summer here in Saugerties. Today
we had perfect weather at a world-class facility.
I couldn't have asked for a better way to start
my summer."
"When
you lose, of couse you get disapoinbted,"
said Kerins. "But I respect Jeffery. He really
went for it at the end. He deserved to win. I
am very happy with my horse, so I can walk away
knowing that we're going to have a great run in
Saugerties."
First
to go in the jump-off were Laura Chapot and Samantha.
The horse/rider combination dropped three rails
leaving them in 10th place.Henrik Gundersen and
Complete were next, and he was the first
to navigate the course clean setting the Great
American Time to Beat at 43.364. Addison Phillips'
four-fault effort aboard Trezebees kept
Gundersen in the lead. But it looked like the
time would fall on the next trip, when Molloy
Ashe and Cocu appeared as if they were
on their way to the top spot.However, heartbreak
at the final rail runied their chances. Her time
of 42.216 would have been good enough to push
Gundersen out of the lead.
Welles and Sampras were next and took over
the lead, stopping the clocks almost two seconds
faster than Gundersen.Margie Engle and Hidden
Creek's Quervo Gold had the last of five double-clear
rounds, but her time of 47.293 landed her in fifth
place. Callan Solem and Mianta and Kevin
Babington and Carling King and each had
four-fault scores, finishing seventh and eighth
respectively.
Welles
earned some valuable points with the win as every
grand prix at all HITS horse shows, including
HITS Saugerties and HITS Culpeper is a qualifier
for the United States Grand Prix League Finals.
The finals for the league will be held in Culpeper
on October 1, where $100,000 in prize money will
be on the line. The event is limited to the top
30 United States Grand Prix League horse/rider
combinations.
Show
Jumping at HITS Saugerties continues Wednesday
through Sunday with competitions in up to 10 show
rings. Week IV culminates with the $75,000 RV
Sales of Broward Grand Prix on July 23, presented
by In The Woods Log Homes. For more information
please, call 845.246.8833 during the week and
845.246.8833 on weekends or visit the HITS
website www.HitsShows.com.
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©Lili
Weik Photography 06
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CLASS
415. $25,000 HITS GRAND PRIX July
20, 2006
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Placing
|
Horse
|
Rider
|
Owner
|
Prize
Money
|
Rd
1 Faults
|
JO
Faults
|
JO
Time
|
|
1
|
Armani
|
Jeffery
Welles
|
Kimmel
Yeager Equine LLC/Triton Ventures
|
$7,500
|
0
|
0
|
40.27
|
|
2
|
Hot
Wheels
|
Darragh
Kerins
|
Miranda
Fischer
|
$5,500
|
0
|
0
|
42.034
|
|
3
|
Sampras
|
Jeffery Welles
|
Abigail
Wexner
|
$3,250
|
0
|
0
|
42.265
|
|
4
|
Complete
|
Henrick
Gundersen
|
The
Ridge Farm LLC
|
$2,000
|
0
|
0
|
43.364
|
|
5
|
Hidden
Creek's Quervo Gold
|
Margie
Engle
|
Hidden
Creek Farm INC
|
$1,500
|
0
|
0
|
47.29
|
|
6
|
Cocu
|
Molly
Ashe
|
Jane
F. Clark
|
$1,250
|
0
|
4
|
42.16
|
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