Horses - Jill Henselwood and Toyz R Us Win $50,000 EMO Grand Prix at HITS Ocala I Winter Classic - February 2001 - Equiworld

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Jill Henselwood and Toyz R Us Win $50,000 EMO Grand Prix at HITS Ocala I Winter Classic

OCALA, FL (February 11, 2001)--Jill Henselwood, 39, of Oxford Mills, Ontario, Canada, won the $50,000 EMO Grand Prix at HITS Ocala I Winter Classic in Florida, today, riding Toyz R Us. A field of 35 horses competed on the course designed by Conrad Homfeld of Southampton, New York. Eleven horses had clear first rounds and moved on to the jump-off. Five riders were fault-free on the short course, but Henselwood was almost two seconds faster than even her closest competitor, Aaron Vale, of Rembert, South Carolina, riding Elan Coriana owned by Elan Farms, who placed second. Jonathan Millar, 27, of Perth, Ontario, Canada, riding his Fine Line, was just fractions behind Vale and took third. Jonathan bested his father, eight-time Olympian Ian Millar, who placed sixth on Mont Cenis and seventh on Dorincord, both owned by Millar Brooke Ltd. Henselwood took home $15,000 for Toyz R Us' owner, Jupiter Farms Ltd. Toyz R Us is a 10-year-old, 16-hand, bay Dutch Warmblood mare imported from Emile and Paul Hendrix of the Netherlands.

Mr. Homfeld was the Course Designer for the World Cup Final held in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2000, and was a member of the Gold Medal Team at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where he claimed the Individual Silver Medal. He is this year's recipient of the Mr. & Mrs. William C. Cox Memorial Trophy for Show Jumping Course Designer of the Year. For today's Round One, Mr. Homfeld set a 16-obstacle course that included three double combinations--Fences No. 4, 9, and 12. He did not build a triple. Time Allowed was set at 85 seconds--a tight time that was exceeded by eight riders.

For the 11-horse Jump-Off, Mr. Homfeld built seven fences, repeating the double at Fence No. 12 and set the Time Allowed at 53 seconds. Carlos Lopez of Canada was first in the order and set the pace with a clear round in 48.662 on Money Talks owned by King Ridge Stables. Lopez held the lead until Aaron Vale, who was fourth in the order of go, edged him out of the lead with his time of 45.474 on Elan Coriana. Lopez ended up in fourth place. Jill Henselwood was sixth in the order of go, and snatched the lead from Vale with her time of 43.551 on Toyz R Us. Henselwood held the lead until the end, besting two more of the double-clears that followed her. Paul Matthews, of Somerset, Virginia, on La Rocca, owned by Eva Castegren, went sixth in the order and was clean but his time of 52.328 put him in fifth place. Last to go was Jonathan Millar on Fine Line, who chased the leaders and was fault-free in 45.667, but had to settle for third place.

Henselwood was named to the Canadian Equestrian Team in 1991 and has remained a member ever since. She has represented Canada at the 1992 World Cup Final, the 1994 World Equestrian Games, the 1995 and 1999 Pan American Games and in numerous Nations' Cups. In 1996, Jill finished third in the Canadian Olympic Selection Trials, but declined a position on the Team due to the age and inexperience of the qualified horse, Aerial. Jill claimed the Chrysler Leading Canadian title at the prestigious Spruce Meadows Masters in 1997 with the Swedish Warmblood mare, Til Tomorrow. In 1999, they were members of the bronze medal team at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Jill and her husband, Bob, own and operate Juniper Farms in Oxford Mills, just outside of Ottawa, where Jill coaches many promising show jumping riders.

Today's class was a qualifying Grand Prix for the Cosequin U.S. Grand Prix League Invitational Finals to be held in Culpeper, Virginia, September 26-30,
2001.

$50,000 EMO Grand Prix, February 11, 2001
HITS Ocala Winter Circuit I, Ocala, Florida
Course Designer: Conrad Homfeld

Place/Horse/Rider/Owner/Prize Money/Rd 1/Rd 2/Faults/J-O Time
1/Toyz R Us/Jill Henselwood/Juniper Farms Ltd/$15,000/0/0/43.551
2/Elan Coriana/Aaron Vale/Elan Farms/$11,000/0/0/45.474
3/Fine Line/Jonathan Millar/Jonathon Millar/$6,500/0/0/45.667
4/Money Talks/Carlos Lopez/King Ridge Stables/0/0/48.662
5/La Rocca/Paul Matthews/Eva Castegren/0/0/52.328
6/Mont Cenis/Ian Millar/Millar Brooke Ltd/0/4/48.331
7/Dorincord/Ian Millar/Millar Brooke Ltd/0/4/50.582
8/Thin Air/Amy Reistrup/Double R Partners/0/8/45.849
9/Carling King/Kevin Babington/Saly Glassman/Kindle Hill/0/8/47.710
10/Hanastasia/Frankie Chesler/Sher-Al Farms/0/8/48.088
11/Expresso Thyme/Yann Candele/Eric Lamaze/0/E
12/Ears to You/Callan Solem/Quiet Winter Farm/ 1/2/NA

Number of Horses who competed in this class: 35
Class Prize Money: $50,000

Show Jumping Action Continues at Ocala Winter Circuit 2001:
Ocala Winter Festival February 14-18
Ocala MastersFebruary 21-25
Ocala Tournament February 28-March 4
Ocala Winter Finals March 7-11

Featured Events:
$50,000 Rio Vista Grand Prix Sunday, February 18 1pm
$50,000 HITS Grand Prix Sunday, February 25 1pm
$50,000 Cosequin® Grand Prix Sunday, March 4 1pm
$50,000 East Meets West Hunter Challenge Sunday, March 11 11am
presented by The Chronicle of the Horse
$100,000 Grand Prix Sunday, March 112pm presented by Great American Insurance

HITS GOLDEN HILLS INTERNATIONAL SHOW GROUNDS: 7500 Hwy. 27 West; Ocala, Florida 34482; Directions: Interstate 75 to Ocala Exit for Rte. 27. Go west to Golden Hills. Horse show entrance is three miles on the left. Telephone:
352.620.2275; website: www.HitsShows.com