The inaugural week of the 2025 HITS Culpeper Show Series at HITS Commonwealth Park in Culpeper, Virginia, kicked off on the third week of April, with the venue hosting a variety of hunter, jumper, and equitation classes during the Commonwealth National. Spanning the spring and summer season, the series highlights 12 weeks of hunter/jumper competition, including the popular six-week long HITS Culpeper Show Series, as well as six VHSA & The League Shows, offering classes sanctioned by the Virginia Horse Shows Association (VHSA) and by The League, presented by Marshall & Sterling Insurance. The week’s feature class on Saturday, April 19, shined a light on the $20,000 HITS Open Prix, where the efficient pairing of Andrew Ross and Cornet’s Cobalt raced to the win in a time of 42.07 seconds.
Fourteen combinations contested Ivan Taggle’s opening track, but the jump-off quickly became a head-to-head battle between Ross and Grace Long aboard Keina. Piloting his own 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding by Cornet’s Prinz, Ross laid down another fast and fault-free performance to ultimately take the win.
“I thought today’s track was very interesting,” explained Ross. “It was a different type of track with a lot of bending lines, but I really liked how they didn’t get overly technical with the distances of the lines. It was a great track for a first big class back.”
For Ross, head trainer and owner at Shades of Blue Show Jumping, success is not only made in the ring, but in the habits and routines he has created with his team.
“There’s a little notebook I have of things I need to remember to do,” he laughed. “My grooms do a good job of helping me remember and of continuing to work on some things at home. That consistency seems to pay off.”
Long and Sandra Ruiz’s 10-year-old KWPN mare by F-One USA, landed just off the pace in 42.63 seconds but suffered one unfortunate rail on the course to secure the second place position. No strangers to the winner’s circle, Melissa Strawser and her own 12-year-old Selle Français gelding by Jarnac, Darwin de Mars, rounded out the top three as the fastest four-fault combination over the initial track.
The Prix was just the cherry on top of an action-packed week of show jumping, which kicked off with a win from Long and Keina in the $1,500 Adequan Open Welcome Stake on the opening day of competition. The third place combination of Strawser and Darwin de Mars were victorious in Thursday’s $5,000 Alliant Private Client Open Prix, while Kama Godek and Lady Stakkata rounded out jumper competition ahead of the weekend by blazing a trail in the $5,000 STX Open Speed Round I with a fast time of 61.03 seconds for the win.
Junior and amateur athletes rounded out the weekend as Sunday’s schedule premiered a variety of jumper classics, beginning with a dominating win from Madeleine Lohr and Nashville in the $2,000 The League/WIHS/NAL Junior-Amateur 1.15m Jumper Classic. The $2,500 Pyranha/NAL Junior-Amateur 1.25-1.35m Jumper Classic saw victory from Alexis Mierzwa and Glynnwood Mer Calido.
It was a busy day for The League, presented by Marshall & Sterling Insurance, competitors with classics from the .65m height all the way up to Lohr’s leading 1.15m performance. In the $500 The League Itty Bitty Junior-Amateur .65m Jumper Classic, Ann Iseler and Chuba Chup emerged as winners. Moving into the $1,000 The League Junior-Amateur .80m Jumper Classic, Isabella Bertozzi and Open Water were best. Molly Meek and Light Hearted were light on their feet to win the $1,000 The League Junior-Amateur .90m Jumper Classic, while Jasmine Van Heyningen and Diva de Baudry rounded out League classic wins in the $1,000 The League Junior-Amateur 1.05m Jumper Classic.
The 2025 HITS Culpeper Show Series will resume with the Showday National on July 2-6, 2025, but VHSA and The League athletes are invited to attend the upcoming show on April 25-26, 2025. For full results, please click here.
