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Evan Coluccio and Romeo go Wild at HITS Culpeper during the $25,000 HITS Wild Card Grand Prix

September 28, 2025

CULPEPER, VA (September 28, 2025)-Evan Coluccio (Jefferson, MD) and his mount Romeo may not have won the blue ribbon in the $25,000 HITS Wild Card Grand Prix at HITS Culpeper, but the pair earned a spot in Sunday’s $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix as they finished the highest out of any combination not already qualified for the featured class.

The $25,000 HITS Wild Card Grand Prix offered Grand Prix riders one last chance to earn a spot in the field for the Invitational. Coluccio and Romeo took advantage of the opportunity and finished in 10th place out of a field of 31 riders. That proved to be the highest out of all of the competitors not previously qualified for the $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix.

The top-30 riders in the USGPL Standings and Coluccio are invited to compete in the Invitational on Sunday. Grand Prix riders who are members of the Marshall & Sterling League earned points by competing throughout the season in any of the 49 Grand Prix classes offered at HITS’ shows in Thermal, California; Ocala, Florida; Tucson, Arizona; Saugerties, New York; and Culpeper, Virginia.

Romeo is nine and is a new horse for Coluccio. “He is a special horse,” said Coluccio. “He has been fantastic here this week and I am aiming to do the Olympic Trials with him.”

According to Coluccio, he wasn’t going to enter Romeo in the $25,000 Wild Card Grand Prix but a double-clear effort in the Level 6 Jumpers convinced him to give it a try. Coluccio went on to say that the horse is so good that the pair would have won the $25,000 Wild Card Grand Prix if they had known each other just a little better.

The star-studded field of 31 combinations for Sunday’s Invitational features some of the top riders in the world, including Canadian Olympians Jill Henselwood (Oxford Mills, ON) and John Pearce (Stouffville, ON), as well as seasoned United States Olympic veterans Nona Garson (Lebanon, NJ), Anne Kursinski (Flemington, NJ) and Todd Minikus (Loxahatchee, FL).

McKinney outlasts Henselwood in the $25,000 HITS Wild Card Grand Prix

Libby McKinney (Greenfarms, CT) and Gun Du Desfi won the HITS $25,000 Wild Card Grand Prix but were already qualified for Sunday’s featured class allowing Coluccio and Romeo a chance to compete for the top prize of $30,000. McKinney took home $7,500 in prize money to go along with the blue ribbon. In last year’s $100,000 USGPL Invitational Grand Prix, McKinney and Gun Du Desfi captured seventh place.

Course designer Olaf Petersen trimmed the field down from 31 starters to 12 for the jump-off. First to go in the jump-off were Ken Berkley (Flemington, NJ) and Carlos Boy. They made it all the way home clean in a time of 43.070 to set the Great American Time to Beat right off the bat. Berkley would ultimately finish the round in third place and collect $3,250 in prize money.

Next to go was Henselwood aboard Special Ed. Henselwood, who recently became the first woman in 24 years to strike individual Gold at the Pan American Games, quickly erased Berkley’s lead and set the new pace at 40.875 with her clear round. Henselwood’s time would be good enough for second place and $5,500 in prize money for Canada’s Juniper Farms.

Sharn Wordley (Ocala, FL) was third to go in the jump-off aboard Rockville. An unlucky rail down midway through the course landed the duo in ninth place. Next to go in the jump-off was Sulo Rose-Reed (Manakin, VA) and her mount Ganon. They navigated the course without any rails down and stopped the clocks in 44.425 to move into fourth place for The Galloping Field.

William Lowry (North Scituate, RI) and Polygraaf were fifth to go in the jump-off and they couldn’t pass Petersen’s test, dropping a rail midway through the round. The pair would finish in sixth place for Winsor Farm Sales.

Next to go in the jump-off were Danielle Torano (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and her mount Van Couver D’ Auvrey. They also had one rail down, which landed them in seventh place for Sir Ruly Inc.

Manuel Torres (Leesburg, VA) and Maestro Du Desert were seventh to go in the jump-off. The combination dropped the round’s final hurdle as they finished in eighth place. Finally, Garson (Lebanon, NJ) broke the streak of three consecutive four-fault rounds when she made it all the way home clean aboard Languster in 45.008 to secure fifth place.

McKinney (GreenFarms, CT) and Gun Du Desfi followed up Garson’s effort with a clear round of their own. The pair stopped the clocks in 40.119 to beat the time set by Henselwood and Special Ed by fractions of a second.

McKinney’s effort would prove to be the final clear round of the afternoon. Coluccio and Romeo had eight faults (10th place), Jimmy Torano (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) and his mount Morgan (11th place) and Berkley (Flemington, NJ) and Carlotta (12th place) each had 12 faults.

With the completion of the $25,000 HITS Wild Card Grand Prix, the field is now set for Sunday’s $100,000 Invitational Grand Prix which marks the close of the 2007 season at HITS Culpeper.

The first Culpeper Horse and Colt Show was held at Monte Vista Park in 1897 and it continued for the next 54 years. In the 1980s, show jumping returned to Culpeper in a grand fashion with the opening of Commonwealth Park, one of the finest horse-sport facilities in the country. Some of the richest show jumping events in America have been held at Commonwealth Park, including the $200,000 U.S. Cup, the grand finale for the United States Grand Prix League in 1986. HITS purchased Commonwealth Park in 1997 and began restoring the grounds to its former glory. In 1998, HITS reintroduced the United States Grand Prix League, and has presented the USGPL Finals at Commonwealth Park ever since. Approximately $1 million in total prize money is offered at the six HITS Culpeper events.

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.

For more information and a complete schedule of classes and events, visit www.HitsShows.com.

Written by Chris Mayone · Filed Under Contributors, Culpeper 
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