It was such a great day to come out and ride, said Solem, of the season's first 80-degree weather here in the Hudson Valley. Then to come out and win the Circuits first major event just makes it even sweeter.

Solem was the seventh of 24 entries to tackle course designer Danny Fosters 13-jump, first-round course. She and Allison completed the journey in 86.394. She stood as the only perfect rider for 10 rounds until Laura Chapot and Samantha advanced to the second round with a time of 80.019 shattering Solems mark. Two rounds later, Judy Garofalo went clear in 89.291 on her mount Sitah. The last rider to advance to the jump-off was McLain Ward who successfully negotiated Fosters course in 85.631 with Pazitano finally scoring one for the men.

Everyone except Chapot went clear in the eight-hurdle jump-off. She clipped fence six claiming fourth place and $2,000 in prize money. Garofalo, an amateur ride, was second winning $5,500 and Ward claimed third securing $3,250. Ward was also 11th on Larioso.

I was shooting to have a jump-off of six to eight horses, said Foster. But the four that advanced were very impressive. For the first Thursday out here, it was a very good day. We had great weather and good competition.

The next grand prix event of the Circuit will take place on Sunday, May 28th at 1:00 PM. Spectators will enjoy world-class show jumping competition as riders compete for top honors in the $75,000 EMO Grand Prix.

Admission to any of the HITS Horse Shows is just $5.00 on weekends for adults. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate and 100% of all admission proceeds benefit Family of Woodstock. For more information, please call the HITS Horse Show Office at 845.246.8833 during the week and 845.246.5515 on weekends.

Photo Credit: Callan Solem rides Allison to a victory in the $25,000 HITS Grand Prix Lili Weik Photography 07