Tracy Fenney Amazes With Four In A Row At The HITS Ocala Winter Circuit- Equiworld Magazine March 2003

Ocala, FL (March 3, 2003)—On Sunday afternoon in Ocala, Florida, Tracy Fenney captured an unprecedented fourth Grand Prix win in a row at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit. Fenney aboard S&L Willie, co-owned by Mike McCormick and S&L Farms, bested a field of twenty-three horse/rider combinations to win the $50,000 King Shavings Grand Prix. Never in the history of the 21-year circuit has a rider claimed this many consecutive Grand Prix wins.

Now the big question is, can Tracy Fenney make it five in a row by winning the circuit's Grand Prix finale—the $100,000 Volvo Grand Prix. You can be sure that Fenney is setting her sights on this goal. Her skill and determination has made her the dominant force at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, and the level of excitement will certainly increase as she enters the Grand Prix ring on March 9th.

Aaron Vale and Picasso, owned by Town Creek Investment, were a close second in Sunday's $50,000 King Shavings Grand Prix. The pair are also enjoying a great start to the season, consistently placing in the top three at HITS Ocala Grand Prix competitions. Third place went to none other than Tracy Fenney on Naboo an eight-year-old bay gelding. Naboo, S&L Willie, and Grace are the three horses that Fenney has prepared for Grand Prix competition this year, and obviously the hard work has paid off for all three.

Anthony D'Ambrosio designed a challenging 13-obstacle course that narrowed the field to twelve horses. Manuel Torres was the first to attempt the seven-fence jump-off course. Torres turned in a clear round with Matilde Lina, establishing the Great American Insurance Companies Time To Beat of 41.01 seconds. Michael Kirby and Who's That Girl were next to enter the ring. The pair incurred four faults in a time of 45.68 seconds. Mary-Lisa Leffler and Graf Rossini S picked up the pace and crossed the line in a very fast time of 39.58 seconds, however, an unlucky rail at the last fence left them with four faults. Fenney and Naboo were the first to deliver a clear round. Their time of 40.51 seconds held the rest of the field at bay until Aaron Vale and Picasso took their turn in the ring. Vale pulled out all the stops to deliver a clear round in a time of 40.05 seconds—edging out Fenney and putting him on top with two more horses to jump. Patty Stovel on Interpol tried to topple Vale, but finished a half-second shy. Fenney was last to enter the ring on S&L Willie. She had the advantage of her previous round on Naboo, and had no doubt calculated where she could shorten her turns to shave off the time needed to secure her win. Fenney and S&L Willie delivered a faultless round in 38.93 seconds—beating Vale's time by just over a second. Their performance gave the crowd an exciting finish to the competition and secured the fourth Grand Prix victory for Tracy Fenney.

Bayer Legend Leading Hunter Rider - Scott Hofstetter, Ocala, FL
Bayer Legend Leading Jumper Rider - Aaron Vale, Aiken, SC
HBO Junior Medal Winner - Kathryn Rebekah Kepes, Valrico, FL
Charles Owen Children's Medal Winner - Hannah Beresford, Voorheesville, NY
Charles Owen Adult Medal Winner - Deirdre Catani, Duxbury, MA

The next Grand Prix event at the HITS Ocala Winter Circuit will take place on Thursday, March 6th at 2 PM. Spectators will enjoy world-class show jumping as riders compete for top honors in the $25,000 HITS Ocala Grand Prix. The circuit's grand finale will take place on March 9th—the not-to-be-missed $100,000 Volvo Grand Prix.

$50,000 King Shavings Grand Prix - Sunday, March 2, 2003
HITS Ocala Winter Circuit IV - Ocala, FL
Anthony D'Ambrosio, Mt. Kisco, NY: Course Designer

Place Horse Rider Owner Prize Money Rd 1 Faults Rd 2 Faults JO Time

1st S&L Willie Tracy Fenney Tracy Fenney $15,000 0 0 38.93
2nd Picasso Aaron Vale Town Creek Investment $11,000 0 0 40.05
3rd Naboo Tracy Fenney Tracy Fenney $6,500 0 0 40.51
4th Interpol Patty Stovel Karen Murphy $4,000 0 0 40.52
5th Matilde Lina Manuel Torres Andrea Torres $3,000 0 0 41.01
6th Big Sir Mario Deslauriers Mario Deslauriers Inc. $2,500 0 0 41.67
7th Allison Callan Solem Quiet Winter Farm / BJ Maghan $2,000 0 0 42.65
8th Set In Silver Ian Silitch Lynne E Spangenburg $1,500 0 0 43.55
9th Graf Rossini S Mary-Lisa Leffler Bruce Chovnick LLC $1,550 0 4 39.58
10th Promised Land Derek Petersen Derek / Anita Petersen $1,000 0 4 41.41
11th Who's That Girl Michael Kirby Michele Hunt / Redfield Farm $1,000 0 4 45.68
12th Arriscraft Rocca Keean White Angelstone Farm $1,000 0 8 51.77

UPCOMING EVENTS DATE TIME
$25,000 HITS Ocala Grand Prix Thursday, March 6 2:00 pm
$100,000 Volvo Grand Prix Sunday, March 9 2:00 pm

Website: www.HitsShows.com

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