THERMAL, CA (February 24, 2026) Richard Spooner rode out of the Grand Prix Thursday afternoon at HITS Thermal wearing two ribbons, as he secured first and second place in the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix.
Aboard Ace, Spooner set the Great American Time to Beat on the jump-off course at 40.233. He had the advantage of already riding the course on his mount Apache one trip earlier. Spooner and Apache stopped the clocks at 40.457 to secure Spooner the one-two punch.
“I had two fantastic horses in the jump-off,” said Spooner. “They have been coming along through the ranks and although they are both green, I wanted to put the pressure on them to perform today.”
Spooner, who leads the West Coast FEI World Cup Standings, captured the winner’s share of the prize money against a star studded field in the jump-off. Canadian Olympian Jill Henselwood was third to go and she was also clean aboard Calisto . However, her time of 40.597 was only good enough for third place. She has placed in the top six in six-out-of-seven Grand Prix classes at the HITS Desert Horse Park.
Legenday rider Hap Hansen and Cacao followed Henselwood. Hansen had one rail down and finished in fifth place. Jill Humphry and Felix 380 were last to go, but they dropped the first rail ending all chances of a blue-ribbon for the 24-year-old.
“She jumped it really well,” said owner Rudy Leone. “She came in so fast and was trying to turn him in the air. But I am not disapointed. It is only the horses third Grand Prix so we can still celebrate.” A win for Humphry Sunday aboard her World Cup Horse Kaskaya certainly would be a cause for a party for Humphry and Leone Equestrian as she is four points behind Spooner for the lead in the West Coast FEI World Cup Standings.
Mandy Porter and Rich Feller each have 87 World Cup Points putting them in a third place tie. Spooner has 98 and Humphry has 94. The lions share of the remaining points are available at the HITS Desert Horse Park. The state-of-the-art equestrian facility hosts two more FEI World Cup Qualifiers over the remaining three weeks of show jumping. The World Cup will be held in Las Vegas from April 18-22.
Show Jumping at HITS Thermal continues all weekend and culminates Sunday with the $75,000 Footing Authority Grand Prix, on February 25.
For the past 15 years, HITS has produced a six-week winter horse show circuit in Indio, California. The 2007 HITS Desert Circuit is being held just five miles from its previous home at the new, state-of-the-art HITS Desert Horse Park equestrian facility on Airport Boulevard in Thermal, California.
The new horse park is the largest Hunter/Jumper horse show venue in the United States and lays claim to more than $10,000,000 in improvements, including stabling for more than 3,000 horses and 12 competition rings. HITS Thermal also features the new state-of-the-art footing provided by Footing Authority .
In January 2006, HITS entered into a private equity arrangement with Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. in Los Angeles. As a result, HITS, Inc. is able to develop and execute exciting operational and strategic initiatives that both solidify its well-established position as the leader in horse show management and allow for new growth opportunities including the construction of HITS Desert Horse Park.HITS generates significant economic impact in each of its five venues in California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and New York.
Results
1 Ace Richard Spooner S & B LLC Corp $9,000 0 0 40.23
2 Apache Richard Spooner Richard Spooner $6,600 0 0 40.57
3 Callisto Jill Henselwood Equine Canada $3,900 0 0 40.59
4 Felix 380 Jill Humphry Leone Equestrian $2,400 0 4 42.03
5 Cacao Hap Hansen Linda Smith $1,800 0 4 45.18
6 Kaskaya Jill Humphry Leone Equestrian $1,500 4 48.27
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