Ocala, Fla.—Jan. 26   

After jumping to the top of Jan. 24’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix, Tracy Fenney of Flower Mound, Texas, found success again on Jan. 26 in the $50,000 HITS Grand Prix, this time aboard MTM Farm’s Centano.

The class was once of the first to take place in the all-new Ocala Horse Properties Stadium at HITS Ocala. The stadium was constructed for special classes at the 2014 HITS Ocala Winter Circuit, including the inaugural Great American $1 Million Grand Prix to be held on March 24. The Jan. 26 $50,000 Grand Prix was the first grand prix to be jumped on it.

With twenty-three in the first round and 11 advancing to the jump-off, speed was the priority. True to form, Fenney and MTM Centano did what they do best—they went fast. They were third to challenge the jump-off course and set the Great American Time to Best with the first clear round in 46.02 seconds. 

“I knew that the riders behind me could go fast, and anyone in the jump-off could have come away with the win,” said Fenney. “Going early in the jump-off, I didn’t have much of a choice but to go as fast as I could and try and put as much pressure on them as possible. Centano is a really big horse, so most people look at him and assume he is slow, His stride is deceiving because he covers so much ground.”

A full 4 seconds adrift of Fenney was Derek Braun of Lexington, Ky., who rode Split Rock Farm, Inc.’s Cyraneiky to a clean jump-off trip in 50.19 seconds for second place. Daniel Damen of Ocala, Florida challenged two trips later with a clear round aboard Chuck & Dana Waters’ Quintus 66. Their time of 50.21 seconds, just fractions of a second behind Braun, settled them in third.

The fourth and final double-clear effort of the day came from Jordan Coyne of New Port Richey, Fla., and her own Cordovo. They were handed fourth-place honors after posting a time of 51.17 seconds. Lisa Goldman of Hawthorn Woods, Ill., who won both grand prix classes during Week 1, capped the top five on Mary Goldman’s Centurion B. She was faster than Fenney, but took down a rail at the second-to-last jump to pick up 4 faults.

The new HITS Ocala Horse Properties Stadium.