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Jenny Karazissis in a 'Swoon' after her Victory in the $10,000

ASG Software Solutions/USHJA International Hunter Derby Classic at HITS Thermal

February 13, 2008

Thermal, CA --- Jenny Karazissis rode El Campeon's Swoon to victory in the $10,000 ASG Software Solutions/USHJA International Hunter Derby Classic to conclude DC III at HITS Thermal.

Thermal was the second venue to play host to this new hunter series, which has been generating a lot of excitement throughout the sport. A field of 27 combinations in the first round were sliced into a final round of 12 exhibitors who were asked to come back and compete for the blue ribbon. The first round was a regular classic course and the second round was a handy hunter course that included a trot jump, roll-backs and option jumps, all in the HITS' state-of-the-art Grand Prix ring. During the second round, judges were able to award bonus points for style and handiness.

"The team at HITS Thermal did a great job presenting the second class in the International Hunter Derby series," said Diane Carney of Telluride, which is located at Canterbury Farms out of Chicago. Carney is a member of the USHJA High Performance Hunter Committee and was on hand at Thermal for the event. "The riders and horses really put the sport back into hunters under the lights in Thermal. The two teams of judges obviously enjoyed the brilliance of the hunters as scores where high and handy bonus points were well deserved. The course designer and decoration teams did a beautiful course of natural jumps."

One of the goals of the competition was to bring hunter and jumper riders together at the top level. Some noteworthy jumper riders to compete were Richard Spooner, who was third aboard Guns N Roses and Jill Humphrey who was 12th aboard Craig II.

Right from the start Karazissis was competitive, taking first and second place in the first round on Tricia Cook-Looker's Aragon and Swoon, respectively. In the second round, Karazissis moved into first aboard Swoon after dropping a rail during her trip aboard Aragon. When the class was complete, Karazissis outlasted some of the top hunter riders in the world, including John French, Peter Pletcher and Archie Cox, to win $3,000 in first place prize money for El Campeon Farms.

"It was very exciting," said Karazissis. "I had been looking forward to the class for a while. It was such an exciting atmosphere to compete in. The Grand Prix ring was the perfect place; I was even more excited when I heard we were going to compete in that ring. It was great to have such accomplished riders like Richard [Spooner] stick around after the Grand Prix to compete. His participation made it even more special and I really appreciate his support for this event."

Karazissis and Spooner shared a fun moment after the class when she acknowledged that she can now proudly tout that she beat Richard Spooner. He was quick to qualify it by adding "At hunters!"

As part of her preparation for the class, Karazissis decided to not show in the hunters during the week, but rather opted for the level II and III jumpers. "It was gratifying to feel like my plan paid off," she continued. "I also have to thank my husband, Kost, because he was a tremendous support and his help enabled me to get ready for this."

"HITS was delighted to showcase the hunter in our fabulous Grand Prix arena," said HITS' Vice President of West Coast Operations, Fred Bauer. "We are looking forward to holding the class on the weekend under the lights during the Championship Week March 11-16. It should be a magical night!"

"It was fabulous," said trainer Karen Healey. "I was happily surprised by the amount of people who stuck around to watch the class at 5 pm after Sunday's Grand Prix was over. When the class moves to prime time it's going to be huge!"

Karazissis, who has been competing at the Desert Circuit since DC I, will return for the second half of the circuit with her eyes once again set on the $10,000 ASG Software Solutions/USHJA International Hunter Derby Classic.

The HITS Desert Circuit now takes a one-week hiatus. Competition at HITS Thermal returns on Tuesday, February 19 for four consecutive weeks of shows and runs until Sunday, March 16 when the new Desert Circuit Championship will close out the season with 17 different championship classes, including the R.W. Mutch Equitation Classic and the first-ever $200,000 Invitational Grand Prix of the Desert.

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.

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