Bragg top huntsman at HITS DCII
By Staff Report February 6, 2012
John Bragg and Castle Hill on course in Thermal (Flying Horse Photography)
John Bragg lived up to his name and earned boasting rights at HITS, winning the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix on Feb. 5 with a pair of scores in the 90s aboard Castle Hill.
Bragg, of Redwood City, CA, runs Bridgeport Farms. He rose to the top in a class of nearly 60 horse-and-rider combinations, over a course set by Rian Beals. The seasoned hunter rider brought home a 92 in the first round and set the stage for some exciting competition. In the second round, Bragg and Castle Hill (Owned by Stephanie Ray) didn’t disappoint the crowd as they nailed the round posting another 92 en route to the first-place ribbon.
More importantly, Bragg earned valuable dollars in an effort to qualify for the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final that will take place at HITS on the Hudson in Saugerties, NY, this fall.
“We are going to Saugerties. That’s the whole reason why we are doing the class,” Bragg said. “We heard such great things about the big class in Saugerties and I think we have the perfect horse for it. I showed him in the performance working hunter this week and he was champion.”
Petaluma, CA-based Hope Glynn of Sonoma Valley Stables also had a great afternoon, scoring a second-place performance aboard Sarah Draxton’s Rienzo and landing fifth riding Helen McEvoy’s Chance of Flurries. Her student, Erin Bland, placed ninth aboard her gray hunter Weatherly, and was the top-placed amateur in the class.
Hope Glynn and Rienzo, left and Erin Bland and Weatherly (Photo by John Zambrano)
Other top awards in the class were given to Nick Haness of Coto de Caza, CA, riding Laura Wasserman’s Truman and John French of Woodside, CA and his own Kingsley, placing third and fourth respectively.
Sunday’s class was the second of six Devoucoux Hunter Prix qualifiers to be hosted at this year’s HITS Desert Circuit for the 2012 Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final. West Coast exhibitors will have plenty of opportunities to secure the five qualifiers needed to become eligible for the big ticket class, including the $25,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix Sunday, March 11.
The same day, amateur rider Emily Winkler of Long Beach, CA, led the way in the $1,500 HITS 3’ Hunter Prix riding her own Landmark to beat 25 other riders.
Winkler and Landmark had the top score in both the first and second round when they notched an 86 and an 86 respectively. The pair are now well on their way to qualifying for the brand new $250,000 HITS 3’ Hunter Prix Final that will take place Championship Weekend at HITS on the Hudson.
“My horse was originally bred to be a Grand Prix horse,” Winkler said. “He has the jump, but was too slow. He is my favorite horse that I have ever owned because of his huge jump, but I have to be careful since I have been launched in the air because of his power.”
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