THERMAL, CA (February 5, 2026) — Mandy Porter isn’t booking her hotel room in Las Vegas for April’s World Cup yet, but she better make sure she is available that week because her win aboard Summer, in Sunday’s $75,000 Footing Authority™ Grand Prix at HITS Thermal all but assures her a spot as one of the West Coast.representatives.
“A ton of points are still up for grabs, so I know today didn’t secure anything,” said Porter. “But it sure helps.” The lions share of the remaining points are available at the HITS Desert Horse Park. The state-of-the-art equestrian facility hosts three more FEI World Cup Qualifiers over the remaining four weeks of show jumping. The World Cup will be held in Las Vegas from April 18-22.
Porter beat one of the hottest riders around, Jill Humphry, in the jump-off to secure $22,500 in prize money for Wild Turkey Farm. Humphry and Kaskaya were 13th to go on the first-round course posting a clean ride in 88.95. Finally, 18 trips later, Porter navigated the course perfectly to force a jump-off. Porter had the second to last trip in the round.
After Porter went clear, Humphry slowly emerged from the bleachers where she watched rail after rail fall and walked to the Grand Prix Schooling ring to get ready. In the jump-off, she dropped two rails, including the black and white EquiFit hurdle. “I think I had too much time to sit and wait,” she said. “I really didn’t think we would have a jump-off after watching everyone take rails down.”
Holding the envious last to ride position, Porter was able to take her time and set the Great American Time to Beat at 42.08 and earn some valuable points towards the World Cup. She is currently in second place, just one point behind Richard Spooner.
“I wanted to ride my own plan,” said Porter. “I knew I had to stick to the course that I walked and not get away from what was in my head early.”
Summer is 12 years old and won the Pacific Coast Grand Prix Horse of the Year in 2006. Porter was born in California where she was a successful junior rider. She moved to Europe for seven years and now is putting her stamp back on the West Coast.
A pair of Canadians also had some success in the $75,000 Footing Authority™ Grand Prix. John Pearce and Archie Bunker were third, finishing the first round with just one time fault. And Jill Henselwood was fifth aboard her top mount, Special Ed, dropping only the flank jump in front of the Oasis Club VIP Pavilion.
“He just touched it,” said Henselwood. “It was my fault. I was looking at the triple bar and took my eye off of the flank jump. It was a good effort.”
“The course was tough, tough, tough,” said Pearce. “It had a lot of big jumps and it was very technical. It was a World Cup caliber course.”
Show Jumping at HITS Thermal continues Wednesday through Sunday at the HITS Desert Horse Park, in Thermal, CA. Friday’s featured class is the $30,000 Ariat Grand Prix and on Sunday, the featured class will be the second $75,000 Footing Authority™ Grand Prix. Also on Sunday, February 11, HITS and Purina Mills present Kids Day from 11 am until 1 pm. With 12 rings to visit, there is a lot to see and do for the entire day, including pony rides, a petting zoo, and the popular T-Rex Tunnel. Future athletes can even test the speed of their fastball on a radar gun.
The Purina Mills trailer will also be on hand and will have several games for children to play. Other activities include caricature drawings, clowns, and toy giveaways courtesy of Wishes Toy Store. Admission is $5 for adults on weekends while children 12 and under are admitted free.
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 has 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 allows for new growth opportunities including the construction of the HITS Desert Horse Park. HITS generates significant economic impact in each of its five venues in California, Arizona, Florida, Virginia and New York.
Mandy Porter and Summer win the first ever $75,000 Footing Authority™ Grand Prix.
Results
1 Summer Mandy Porter Wild Turkey Farm $22,500 0 0 42.08
2 Kaskaya Jill Humphry Leone Equestrian $16,500 0 8 41.124
3 Archie Bunker John Pearce Forest View Farms $9,750 1
4 Gyro Rich Fellers Harry and Molly Chapman $6,000 4
5 Special Ed Jill Henselwood Juniper Farms $4,500 4
6 Carlson Guillermo Obligado Guillermo Obligado $3,750 4
Other Results
Adequan Open Hunter - Fenwick, ridden by Vanessa Brown and owned by Amy Brubaker, Woodland, CA
Farnam Adult Hunter 18-35 - Hudson Bay, ridden by Katie Cook and owned by Sarah Rahmatian, Los Angleles, CA
Farnam Adult Hunter 36-45 - Round Midnight, ridden by Elizabeth Oliver and owned by Mountain View Farms, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Farnam Adult Hunter 46 & Over- Latin Love, ridden and owned by Jan Handtmann
M & S Adult Hunter Classic - Round Midnight, ridden by Elizabeth Oliver and owned by Mountain View Farms, Rancho Santa Fe, CA
M & S Child Jumper Classic - Esprii, ridden and owned by Brandi Beattiee, Yorba Linda, CA
M& S Adult Jumper Classic - O’cerefina, ridden by Natalia Madlock and owned by The Plaid Ranch, Petaluma, CA
$5,000 PCHA Jimmy Williams Classic, Sponsored by Apollo Farms - Apache, ridden and owned by Richard Spooner, Aqua Dolce, CA
$10,000 Shoot for the Moon Jr. A-O Jumper Classic - Jack De Memoyon, ridden and owned by Vanessa Mannix, Calgary, AB Canada
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