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HITS Desert Circuit Grand Prix Schedule Features Four FEI World Cup Classes and $300,000 Finale

September 23, 2025

Thermal, CA - September 23, 2025 - HITS, Inc. is pleased to announce its grand prix schedule for the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit in Thermal, California. This year’s schedule features 16 grand prix classes held over six weeks of competition, and $800,000 in total prize money will be awarded. There will be four FEI World Cup qualifying classes, and the grand finale is a $300,000 grand prix on Sunday, March 14.

The 2010 HITS Desert Circuit Dates and Grand Prix Schedule are as follows:

DC I: January 26-31 - $25,000 Grand Prix on Friday; $50,000 Grand Prix on Sunday
DC II (World Cup Week): February 2-7 - $25,000 Grand Prix on Thursday in the Indoor Arena; $50,000 World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix on Saturday night in the Indoor Arena; $25,000 Grand Prix on Sunday outdoors
DC III(World Cup Week): February 9-14- $25,000 Grand Prix on Thursday in the Indoor Arena; $50,000 World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix on Saturday night in the Indoor Arena; $25,000 Grand Prix on Sunday outdoors

OFF-WEEK: February 16-21

DC IV(World Cup Week):: February 23-28 - $25,000 Grand Prix on Thursday in the Indoor Arena; $50,000 World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix on Saturday night in the Indoor Arena; $25,000 Grand Prix on Sunday outdoors
DC V(World Cup Week):: March 2-7 - $25,000 Grand Prix on Thursday in the Indoor Arena; $50,000 World Cup Qualifying Grand Prix on Saturday night in the Indoor Arena; $25,000 Grand Prix on Sunday outdoors
DC VI: March 9-14 - $25,000 Grand Prix on Friday; $300,000 Grand Prix on Sunday

Canada’s Olympic Silver Medalist Jill Henselwood has been showing at the HITS Desert Circuit for a number of years and plans to once again make Thermal her home away from home this winter.

“HITS always keeps it interesting, with great prize money and now an exciting $1 Million Grand Prix to look forward to,” said Henselwood. “The last few years at Thermal have really helped to make my horses ready to compete in the World Cups, Olympics and other International events for team Canada.”

The four World Cup qualifiers will be held in the highly-praised indoor arena that HITS has, which provides riders with a very good preparation for the World Cup Finals. This year, HITS will also provide an indoor schooling ring for this arena.

She went on to say, “The indoor arena at Thermal is a reflection of what it’s like to compete at the International level, and it provides exceptional preparation for the riders and our horses. The crowd, difficulty level, and the look of the jumps helps condition the horses to the atmosphere they will face at that level. Plus, the outdoor Grand Prix events are also great because the younger horses, who are not ready for the indoor competition, have an opportunity to grow during the circuit. That’s great for me because I have some younger horses that I will be bringing this year and I’m very much looking to the future with this new stock of horses. I’ll have some exciting new faces with me in addition to Special Ed (right), who will be preparing in Thermal for the Canadian World Equestrian Games Trials.”

Top grand prix rider Mandy Porter of ACP Enterprises Inc. in Encinitas, CA, was another rider who benefited from the indoor arena experience at last year’s HITS Desert Circuit. She and her mount San Diego won two grand prix classes in one week, including the $50,000 Strongid® C 2X FEI World Cup qualifier presented by Adequan during week two.

“I think it’s very beneficial to have the indoor arena for World Cup qualifiers at Thermal. It helped those of us on the West Coast to be much more prepared for the World Cup Finals. My horse didn’t have experience at that level, and showing in the arena gave us a chance to see whether or not it was something he’d be capable of doing,” Porter explained. “It was a very similar indoor venue to what we were going to experience at World Cup Finals, and it really enabled us to have better idea. If all of our qualifiers were outdoors, we could have gotten a false sense of what we were in store for and could have been shocked at Vegas. I was very happy, pleased, and impressed with the way San Diego went indoors.”

Porter looks forward to the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit and feels that the addition of the $300,000 finale grand prix is very positive for West Coast riders. “I think it’s a great opportunity for those of us who show out here, and it might possibly attract some other names to come as well. The more competition we have there, the better!” she said.

High-performance rider and trainer Enrique Gonzalez of Mexico is also looking forward to showing in Thermal this coming season. “I’m planning to attend the entire circuit,” said Gonzalez. “I think the Grand Prix schedule is magnificent, especially all the opportunities to qualify for the $1 Million Grand Prix, which makes it even more interesting. I hope to bring along some of my students as well who can take advantage of the diverse schedule and compete in the Amateur and Young Jumper divisions.”

HITS will offer circuit pricing on permanent stalls, tent stalls, RV spaces, paddocks and VIP tables at a discount for the six-week Desert Circuit. Exhibitors planning to show for the entire circuit will enjoy the most significant savings, while a discounted half-circuit rate will also be available for permanent stalls.

As always, HITS aims to provide exhibitors the best horse show experience for their money, and in addition to on-site cost savings, HITS has made arrangements with its Lodging and Car Rental Partners for discounted rates for customers. A complete list of the HITS Thermal Official Lodging and Rental Car Partners will be available on-line and exhibitors are encouraged, whenever possible, to take advantage of the savings offered especially for HITS customers.

Announcements on special classes, judges, course designers, prize money, and more will be made regularly for the HITS Desert Circuit. To learn of the latest news, please become a fan of HITS’ page on Facebook and sign up to receive HITS’ Twitter updates.

The prize list for the HITS Desert Circuit is in development, and HITS plans to mail the book in early October so that exhibitors can begin making their plans early. For more information or to request a copy of the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit prize list, please visit www.HitsShows.com.

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