Last Updated on August 18, 2025 by adminahb
Photo: Grace Long and Keina.
Riders in the hunter, jumper, and equitation disciplines made their way back to HITS Commonwealth Park in Culpeper, Virginia as the 2025 HITS Culpeper Show Series resumed at the iconic venue. The week marks the beginning of the second half of competition in the summer series, which hosts six nationally-rated competitions from April through August. The venue also plays host to six Virginia Horse Show Association (VHSA) and The League, presented by Marshall and Sterling Insurance, events throughout the warmer months. Show jumping action during the week’s Winston National event came to a head as just over a dozen entries contested the $24,500 Virginia Maryland Tractor Grand Prix. As she has done multiple times before, Grace Long of Warrenton, Virginia captured the win aboard Keina.
Oscar Soberon’s opening track proved to be a fair and still-challenging course, advancing a total of seven horse-and-rider combinations onward into the jump-off. Five of those duos finished the class fault-free, but it was Long’s blazing fast time of 33.703 seconds on Sandra Ruiz’s 10-year-old KWPN mare by F-One USA that stole the show.
“Grace Long always delivers a super ride,” explained Keina’s owner, Sandra Ruiz. “For the jump-off, our plan was to be clean and to be faster than the rest. Keina has a big stride and covers the ground easily, so she is deceptively fast.
For more information, visit HitsShows.com.