HITS Arizona Celebrates its 20th Season in 2010 With Six Weeks of Hunter/Jumper Horse Shows
RELEASE: August 13, 2009
AUTHOR/ADMINISTRATOR: By Chris Mayone
HITS, Inc., is pleased to announce the horse show dates for its 2010 HITS Arizona Winter Circuit. Next year marks the 20th Anniversary of this HITS circuit and, once again, the circuit will run for six consecutive weeks beginning on Wednesday, February 3, and continuing until Sunday, March 14, 2010.
As always, the HITS Arizona Winter Circuit will feature a wide variety of hunter/jumper divisions with classes for every level of rider from short stirrup to high performance. Some of this season's highlights include a weekly $25,000 Grand Prix on Sundays, $4,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper High Classic, $2,500 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Low Classic, $1,500 Marshall & Sterling Children's/Adult Jumper Classic, $500 Hunter Classic for Children and Adults, $1,000 Junior Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic and the popular $350 Bit O'Straw Hunter Classic.
Grand prix rider Allison Kroff has been attending the HITS Arizona Winter Circuit since she was 12 and looks forward to it each year. "It's a excellent atmosphere in Arizona, very friendly, family oriented and personal," said Kroff. "They always have great course designers and it's good for young horses and grand prix horses. The stalls are great and the horses are very comfortable there for the circuit."
Kroff, now 25, has had her share of grand prix victories over the years. Last year she rode her mount Nomograaf to first place in the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix during the Tucson Winter Classic (III), beating out Bjorn Ikast of Mexico, as well as her best friend Brandie Holloway. The pair also placed in the top four in three other grand prix classes offered during the circuit, earning $15,500 in prize money together.
Kroff, who trains herself and has been recently working with Canadian Olympian John Pearce, will be bringing three new horses with her to Arizona this season. "I have a new six-year-old stallion that I hope to debut and a new seven-year-old that's almost ready for the grand prix level, so I'm very excited about that."
Grand prix riders will have plenty to be excited about this year as there's $150,000 up for grabs at HITS Arizona.
The HITS Arizona Winter Circuit is a member event of the Marshall & Sterling League and offers each of the 13 divisions that count for League points.
A complete list of HITS Arizona Lodging Partners is available online at
www.HitsShows.com/arizona. All of the HITS Arizona Lodging Partners are conveniently located near the show grounds and offer great rates and deals to HITS customers. As always, early bookings are recommended since rooms go quickly during the show season.
The 2010 Arizona Winter Circuit prize list is currently in development and is scheduled to mail in October. To request a copy of the 2010 prize list or for more information and a schedule of classes and events, please visit
www.HitsShows.com.