For the past 14 years, HITS has produced a six-week winter horse show circuit on approximately 100 acres at the intersection of Monroe Street and Avenue 52 in Indio, California. The new facility, when completed, is expected to be the largest hunter-jumper horse show venue in the United States and will encompass more than $10,000,000 in improvements including stabling for more than 3,000 horses and ten to twelve competition rings.

The party on Friday, generously sponsored by Show Circuit Magazine, will include presentations by George H. Morris, Chef d'Equipe of the U.S. Show Jumping Team; Bonnie B. Jenkins, Executive Director of the USET Foundation; and Thomas G. Struzzieri, President of HITS, Inc. The presentations will focus on the USET's "Campaign to Achieve Competitive Excellence" as well as the role that the new HITS Desert Equestrian Center will play in the development of international show jumping athletes and the selection of teams that represent our country abroad. More than a dozen special items will be offered in a Silent Auction at the party for the benefit of the USET Foundation.

Special recognition at the party will be given to Riverside County Supervisor Roy Wilson, who has been instrumental in helping make this project a reality. The venue's site plans are being produced by Steve Kleeman of SK Associates, based in La Quinta, California.

HITS, Inc. is a special events management company primarily focused on producing hunter/jumper horse shows. Based in upstate New York in the village of Saugerties, HITS produced its first horse show circuit in Gainesville, Florida in 1982. Since that time, HITS has grown into a nationwide company with world-class hunter-jumper circuits in California, Florida, Arizona, New York, and Virginia.

In January 2006 HITS entered into a private equity arrangement with Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. in Los Angeles. As a result, HITS, Inc. is able to develop and execute exciting operational and strategic initiatives that both solidify its well-established position as the leader in horse show management and allow for new growth opportunities including the construction of HITS Desert Equestrian Center.

HITS generates significant economic impact in each of its five venues in California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and New York. The six-week circuit presently held at HITS Desert Horse Park in Indio is estimated to produce a total economic impact in excess of $120,000,000 each year. Because the new site is considerably larger and will accommodate more horses for a longer period of time, the economic impact in future years is expected to increase substantially.