Management of Horse Shows In The Sun has announced plans to offer a $1 million U.S. Grand Prix League Grand Prix at the HITS-on-the-Hudson VIII show in Saugerties, N.Y., on Sept. 12, 2010.
“We had put the prize money together for a comprehensive and detailed bid for hosting the U.S. selection trials for the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games at either the Thermal, Calif., or Ocala, Fla., HITS sites,” said Tom Struzzieri, President and CEO of HITS. “When that bid was turned down, we had the money budgeted and we decided, ‘Let’s see if we can’t make an impact with that money in some other way.’ So, we directed it toward this million-dollar class.”
Riders will qualify for the million-dollar class by showing in a pre-determined number of HITS grand prix events during the qualifying period of January through September. All HITS grand prix classes at the Thermal, Calif., Ocala, Fla., Culpeper, Va., Tucson, Ariz., and Saugerties, N.Y., venues will be named qualifiers.
Once riders compete in the designated number of HITS grand prix classes, their money won on their leading horse will place them in the rankings for the event. The 40 top riders—based on money won—will be eligible for the class. Management will also have five invitations to extend at their discretion to riders not already qualified.
In addition, a Wild Card class will be held in Saugerties the same week of the $1,000,000 class, and the winner of that event will earn a spot in the order.
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“We wanted some back for the buck, and it’ll be the biggest prize ever in the U.S.,” Struzzieri said. “We’re hoping it gets both the sport and our company some favorable press attention.
“I think it’s a two-fold benefit. For HITS, it will make people more aware that we’re capable of putting on high-performance events, so that the next time a trials bid comes around, we’ll be given a pretty hard look. And for the sport in general, it should bring some attention to it. With a magic number like $1 million, the general public starts paying attention. We don’t usually make it a priority to get spectators to our horse shows, but I think this class will be a great one to watch.”
Struzzieri plans to limit the HITS schedule for the day of the big class to just a few special classes.
“We’re still working on what those are going to be, but it won’t be a full horse show day. It’ll be much more of a boutique horse show than our usual offering,” he said.
