Glynn Wins First Hunter Prix of Circuit

Hope Glynn and Campari

When Hope Glynn and Campari rode to the blue Sunday in the $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix, it capped a great week of competition at HITS Desert Circuit I and put an exclamation point on a string of successes by Sonoma Valley Stables.

It also was one for the record books, marking the first high-stakes competition on the HITS Desert Horse Park’s new Outside Course.

In a surprising turn of events, second place went to 12-year-old Grady Lyman of Rancho Santa Fe, CA. In her first non-junior outing, Lyman bested pros including Glynn (who also came in third on Rio Ultimo), John French and Nick Haness, among many other illustrious names. Even Chris Pratt, who has made his name in the grand prix ring, competing internationally for Canada, made a placing, nabbing fifth on Kendra Rusinek’s Winson.

“It was a great experience for me to be competing against the top name riders in a big class,” said Lyman, who trains at Bridgeport Farms. She competed on Flirt, owned by Penelope Murray, when her trainer Lee Hughes couldn’t make the ride.
French, of Woodside, CA, was fourth and fifth on Karyn Tendler’s Ondrus and Elizabeth Gabler’s Soldier, respectively.

Sonoma Valley Stables has had a great first week at HITS, and Glynn had a lot of positive feedback about the outside course.
“This was the first hunter prix HITS has done using the bank options, and the course designed by John Manning allowed you to canter up as well as down options on and off the bank,” said Glynn, who also placed third on Rio Ultimo in the class of 43 riders. Both horses are owned by Helen Mc Evoy.

“It was very inviting to the horses. We got a lot of high scores because the horses performed well over a course like this. The horse I won on got a 92 in the first round and a 92 in the second round. The second place horse also had an average in the 90s, as did the third horse, which shows you’re really getting a good jump out of the horse. The course was fun, it gave them something to look at, but it wasn’t so challenging that it scared them away, which is a great, great thing.”

Indeed, the Outside Course proved as inviting to junior riders as it was to pros like Glynn. Second place Grady Lyman, of Rancho Santa Fe, is 12 years old and was riding in her first big hunter prix.

Earlier in the week, Large Junior Hunter 15-and-Under and Small Junior Hunters 15-and-Under were the first to break ground in the newly configured ring. “It was a good first week using this new terrain,” said course designer Manning. “We had riders coming out of the ring smiling, so they thought it was interesting. The trainers are onboard. This could really change the sport!”

“I think it’s great that they’re using this course for other hunter classes during the week,” added Glynn. “They’re opening it up and allowing the general hunter exhibitor to experience a little bit of the fun of the hunter prix and the banks that are now in these rings.”

The $5,000 Devoucoux Hunter Prix was the first class of the HITS Desert Circuit to qualify riders for the Diamond Mills $500,000 Hunter Prix Final, which takes place Sept. 6-8 during HITS Championship Weekend at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York. Glynn said she is definitely seeking to qualify for the $500,000 class. “I was the top-placed West Coast rider at the Final last year, and I think it’s a great experience to go back and compete against the top hunter riders in the East.”