SAUGERTIES, NY (June 1, 2025) — Christian Wolffer, owner of Wolffer Estates and three of the horses in Thursday’s $25,000 Ariat Grand Prix, will have plenty of reasons to raise a glass of the Wolffer Estates sparkling wine that he makes at his Sagaponack, New York vineyard and horse farm. His rider, Federico Sztyrle swept first, second and third places in the class on Thursday afternoon, riding out with the blue, red and yellow ribbons and a total of $16,250 in prize money.
Course designer Anthony D’Ambrosio of Red Hook, New York set a course that narrowed the field from the initial 18 horse-and-rider pairs to four that advanced to the jump-off round. Of course, three of the pairs were piloted by Sztyrle, putting the pressure on the only other jump-off rider, Callan Solem of Colts Neck, New Jersey.
Sztyrle set the Great American Time to Beat at 43.209 aboard Fatalis Fatum to start the jump-off. “Fatalis Fatum is a 16.2 hand Hanoverian that I have had for about five years,” said Sztyrle. “He has great scope and wonderful quality. We went in knowing that Callan is really fast so we had to be clear. I couldn’t go crazy and had to be efficient in order to put the pressure on her. It paid off when she had two rails down with her horse.”
Solem was second to go in the jump-off aboard Mianta and dropped two rails, landing her in fourth place. She collected $2,000 in prize money for Quiet Winter Farm/Redfield Farm. Solem, who spends the entire winter at HITS Ocala, said she was pleased with her effort to start the HITS Saugerties show season.
After Solem’s effort, Sztyrle navigated the course unscathed aboard Ambra in 47.140. He has only had Ambra for the past three weeks. “We brought her over from Germany and showed her for the first time in Kentucky two weeks ago. She is going very well, easier than I expected this soon,” said Sztyrle.
He then took the envious last-to-ride position aboard Charming Girl and stopped the clocks at 46.195. “This was her first Grand Prix. She jumped in the 1.50 meter classes at Kentucky and I thought she was ready,” said Sztyrle. “She has a big heart and is really sweet. Just a super horse with great scope.”
Show jumping at HITS Saugerties continues all weekend and culminates on Sunday with the $75,000 EMO Grand Prix. Prior to the feature class, the Morrisville State College Six-in-Hand Belgian Draft Horse Hitch is scheduled to perform. The Morrisville Belgian Hitch is an impressive exhibit that consists of six draft horses from four to nine years of age, ranging from 17.2 to 18.3 hands and weighing anywhere from 1,900 to 2,300 pounds each. Also on tap is an appearance by 27-year-old Ezra Cooley. He has been riding around the world on his horse Big Red, to benefit the National Children’s Cancer Society. Since leaving California is January 2006, they have traveled through 12 states and covered over 5,000 miles. Activities on Sunday are scheduled to begin around noon.
HITS Saugerties officially kicked off the 2007 season on Wednesday, May 30. Three consecutive weeks of shows are on tap until June 17. The $22,500 Children’s/Adult Championship and the $40,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Jumper Championship will close out the spring shows during Week III at HITS Saugerties. After that, HITS Saugerties takes a short hiatus before returning on July 25 for three more weeks of world-class show jumping. The series concludes with one final week of show jumping beginning on September 5, followed by the Marshall & Sterling League Finals, September 13-16 when acclaimed singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega will be on hand for The Year-End High Point Awards Celebration.
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.
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