Last Updated on August 23, 2025 by adminahb
Caroline Ingalls and Concerto.
The HITS Del Mar Classic I launched another full week of top-tier hunter, jumper, and equitation action in Del Mar, California. Marking an extra-special week and an important stop on the summer calendar, the schedule boasts not only four days of FEI CSI2* action, but also a coveted designation as a World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) event. One of the numerous highlights was the $20,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby, presented by Great American Insurance Group, held Friday, August 22, 2025. Out of an impressive field, Caroline Ingalls of Rancho Santa Fe, California emerged victorious with a standout performance aboard Concerto.
Riders navigated a thoughtfully designed course crafted by Scott Starnes of Coto de Caza, California under the careful eye of judges Robert Carndall and Ryan Lenehan. Featuring a single-round hunt-and-go format, the class began with several fences encompassing the flowing classic round and continued immediately into the handy round. Fourteen horse-and-rider combinations brought forward their best efforts in what proved to be an exciting and competitive class from start to finish.
“The course was so much fun today,” enthused Ingalls. “I loved that it was early in the start of the morning, so the grass was fresh and the jumps were big. The course flowed really nicely for my horse, and we had an opportunity to do some fun inside turns.”
Arturo Parada Vallejo and Castor Construct a Win in the $31,020 FarmVet CSI2* Winning Round
International show jumping returned to the iconic Grand Prix Grass Field at HITS Del Mar Horsepark in Del Mar, California on Friday, August 22, 2025, with the $31,020 FarmVet CSI2* Winning Round. One of the featured events in an action-packed schedule featuring elite hunter, jumper, and equitation competition, the star-studded week also boasts a World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) designation, drawing top athletes to the premier West Coast venue. In the day’s marquee event, it was Mexican rider Arturo Parada Vallejo that reigned supreme with Castor, concluding two thrilling rounds of action in winning style.
Canadian FEI Level 3 course designer Meghan Rawlins set the track for the 22 horse-and-rider combinations set to challenge for the top prize. Per the winning round format, the top 10 from the first round, regardless of penalties, advanced to an all-deciding jump-off on a clean slate in reverse order of merit. As it turned out, nine duos posted a clear opening effort with Mark Watring (PUR) and his own Limbossini RC, a 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Guardus Limbus x San Patrignano Cassini), notching a single time fault to also make it to the short course.
“I really like this format because you have a lot of opportunity,” shared Parada Vallejo of the Winning Round class. “Depending on the situation, you can still get through to the jump-off even if you have a rail in the first round. It also forces you to move a little more quickly. That’s the hard part — making sure you are fast enough to be within the top 10. This course today was great. At the end there was a double of verticals, which was short, so that was a little difficult, but my horse jumped very well.”
For more information, visit HitsShows.com.