Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Romeo B Romance the Crowd in the $60,000 FarmVet Grand Prix During the HITS Ocala Premiere
Riders at HITS Ocala raced to put the finishing touches on their warm-ups on Saturday, January 31, as the penultimate day of competition during HITS Ocala Premiere week came to a head for the $60,000 FarmVet Grand Prix. Held at the iconic HITS Post Time Farm, the popular HITS Ocala Winter Circuit features 10 weeks of top-tier hunter, jumper, and equitation competition in “The Horse Capital of the World,” including a weekly national grand prix. Always one to bring the heat in a jump-off, Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) stepped on the gas with her rising star Romeo B to take the win with a leading time of 40.480 seconds.
Mark McGowan (GBR) set the track for the opening field of 19 horse-and-rider combinations. Using delicate fences and the berth of HITS Post Time Farm’s impressive Grand Prix Ring, McGowan managed to dwindle the contestants down to seven pairings that were able to produce a fault-free first round and punch their ticket to the jump-off.
As the time to beat got tighter and rails fell, the final few rounds quickly became a nail-biter. Laura Gaither (USA) looked to secure the top spot with Hop Mouche after blazing through the timers in 40.958 seconds, but with Goldman-Smolen to follow and hot on her heels, the win was still up for grabs. Despite being what Goldman-Smolen described as “young for his age,” Romeo B showed all style and smarts as the pair just pipped Gaither’s leading time and ran away with the win.
“He is kind of my main horse now at this level,” said Goldman-Smolen of her nine-year-old Belgian Warmblood stallion (Heartbreaker x Branco). “My other main guy decided that he didn’t want to come down here this winter, and I have Sovereign still, who was double-clear last week, but he’s 20 this year. So, Romeo had to step up. He’s got some big shoes to fill, but I’m really proud of him today.”
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