February 23, 2016– Riders at HITS Post Time Farm in Ocala, Florida, had another opportunity to garner a distinguished hunter victory in the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix and the $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix. Many riders are preparing for the biggest hunter week of the season, the Ocala Masters, February 23-28, which features the $100,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, the World Championship Hunter Rider Week and the return of the United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) Zone 4

Handy Hunter Classics.

$5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix

Thirty-eight took to the ring to show off their talent and contend for the glory in Saturday’s $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, a qualifying opportunity for the prestigious $500,000 Diamond Mills Hunter Prix at the HITS Championship in September 2016.

Hot off a $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix win in Week III and a second-place finish in Week IV, Daniel Geitner of Aiken, South Carolina, swooped in yet again to capture the first-place title, as well as a third-place finish.

Gietner and Sky Pilot, owned by Allison Mills, earned the highest score of the first round, an impressive 92, which combined with their second-round score of 86, totaled 178 for the win. Geitner’s other mount, Damocles, owned by Janet Petersen, earned a first-round score of 88 and second-round score of 85, which awarded them third-place for their efforts with a total of 173.

In between Geitner’s two finishes was second-place Notorious, owned and ridden by Devon MacLeod. The equestrian from East Kingston, New Hampshire, piloted Notorious to earn scores of 90 and 84, respectively, for a total of 174.

Fourth-place went to Liz Hudspeth of Milton, Georgia, and her own Fairfax, and Tricia O’Connor of Williston, Florida, and Inferno, owned by Marita Zuraitis finished in fifth.

Place Horse Owner Rider Prize R.1 Score R.2 Score Total
1 Sky Pilot Allison Mills Daniel Geitner $1,500 92 86 178
2 Notorious Devon Mac Leod Devon Mac Leod $1,000 90 84 174
3 Damocles Janet Peterson Daniel Geitner $700 88 85 173
4 Fairfax Liz Hudspeth Liz Hudspeth $500 86.5 83 169.5
5 Inferno Marita Zuraitis Tricia O’Connor $400 86 80 166
6 Chances R Artillery Lane, LLC Greg Prince $350 85 78.5 163.5
7 Silverstone Tricia Flood Rob Burroughs $300 84 79 163
8 Spektacular Sara Setian Sara Seitian $250 80 82 162$1,500 

Platinum Performance

Only one horse and rider could claim the top spot in HITS Ocala V’s $1,500 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix, a qualifying opportunity for the $250,000 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix Final at the HITS Championship in September 2016. Out of the field of thirty-six, the team to beat was Emily Noble of Concord, Massachusetts, and Claudio, owned by Volo Farm, Inc.

Last but certainly not least in the order, Noble and Claudio earned a first-round score of 81, improving to an 83 for a total of 164 to garner the win.

Second-place was awarded to Extraordinary, owned and ridden by Sydney DeGrazia of Rochester, New York. They put in consistent rounds in the two-round classic, but came in just behind Noble with a first-round score of 80 and second-round score of 82 for a total of 162.

Jess Lusty, of York, Maine, aboard her own Anucci, earned the third-place title with an 80.5 in the first-round combined with a second-round score of 76 to total 156.5.

In fourth-place was Paramount, owned and ridden by Amy Lloyd Thompson of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. New York, New York, equestrian Jillian Rosenwasser navigated Summer Vay-K, owned by Donna Rosenwasser, to finish out the top five.

The Ocala Masters, Week VI’s hunter extravaganza, will feature a Platinum Performance Hunter Prix with an increased $5,000 prize purse. The World Championship Hunter Rider Week will also allow for feature hunter classes and classics to be held in the Ocala Horse Properties Stadium.

Place Horse Owner Rider Prize R.1 Score R.2 Score Total
1 Claudio Volo Farm, Inc Emily Noble $450 81 83 164
2 Extraordinary Sydney DeGrazia Sydney DeGrazia $300 80 82 162
3 Anucci Jess Lusty Jess Lusty $200 80.5 76 156.5
4 Paramount Amy Lloyd Thompson Amy Lloyd Thompson $150 76 79 155
5 Summer Vay-K Donna Rosenwasser Jillian Rosenwasser $125 77 77 154
6 Bellefield Emily Miller Emily Miller $100 76.5 77 153.5
7 Fortunate Mary Stavola Mary Stavola $100 75 78 153
8 Adagio Hope Caton Hope Caton $75 72 76 148