As the curtain closed on Week VII at HITS-on-the-Hudson, riders descended on the Grand Prix Ring to try their luck in Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix. The team to beat was Neshanic Station, New Jersey equestrian Laura Chapot and Thornhill Kate, co-owned with Mary Chapot. Chapot has been the winningest rider on the Grand Prix tour at HITS Saugerties this season, with 12 wins and several more top-five placings, and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you to HITS for sponsoring this class and for putting on classes at this caliber for us to come and compete in.” The course designer, Danny Foster of Ontario, Canada, built a technical course that tested the navigational skill of each horse and rider. Four would go clean in the first round to advance the jump-off. The first round course consisted of 17 jumping efforts and many rollback turns set out on a long, but winding track. “There were many places to have a rail down as the course was sort of long, and there were some tricky distances,” said Chapot. “The triple in the first round really tested the distances through that combination that made for a lot of effort from the horse.” Foster took advantage of the large Grand Prix Ring at HITS Saugerties in designing Sunday’s course. The jump-off course stretched the length of the ring with single fences and rollbacks that allowed riders to gallop, but also required them to strategically turn and angle multiple fences.
As the curtain closed on Week VII at HITS-on-the-Hudson, riders descended on the Grand Prix Ring to try their luck in Sunday’s $50,000 HITS Grand Prix. The team to beat was Neshanic Station, New Jersey equestrian Laura Chapot and Thornhill Kate, co-owned with Mary Chapot. Chapot has been the winningest rider on the Grand Prix tour at HITS Saugerties this season, with 12 wins and several more top-five placings, and expressed her gratitude. “Thank you to HITS for sponsoring this class and for putting on classes at this caliber for us to come and compete in.” The course designer, Danny Foster of Ontario, Canada, built a technical course that tested the navigational skill of each horse and rider. Four would go clean in the first round to advance the jump-off. The first round course consisted of 17 jumping efforts and many rollback turns set out on a long, but winding track. “There were many places to have a rail down as the course was sort of long, and there were some tricky distances,” said Chapot. “The triple in the first round really tested the distances through that combination that made for a lot of effort from the horse.” Foster took advantage of the large Grand Prix Ring at HITS Saugerties in designing Sunday’s course. The jump-off course stretched the length of the ring with single fences and rollbacks that allowed riders to gallop, but also required them to strategically turn and angle multiple fences.