Del Mar, California, USA – August 31, 2024 – All eyes were on the Grand Prix Field at Hits Del Mar in Del Mar, California, on Saturday, for the $100,000 SummitMax Grand Prix CSI 2*. The international field of athletes featured riders representing eight countries, including the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Great Britain, Ireland, and Mexico, but it was Great Britain’s young talent Charlie Jones, 25, that reigned supreme with Capitale 6.

World renowned course designer Bernardo Costa Cabral (POR) was the mastermind behind the test, which saw 14 of the starting 39 horse-and-rider combinations jump fault-free. In the jump-off, just six of those pairs managed to produce a second clear performance.

Among them, Thursday’s $39,000 Voltaire Designs Welcome CSI 2* winners, Shawn Casady (USA) and Cool Quarz had not dropped a single pole across four two-star classes in two weeks at Hits Del Mar. They looked poised for yet another victory as Casady guided the 12-year-old Holsteiner gelding (Quarz x San Patrignano Cassini), owned by Morning Star Sporthorses, LLC, to a blazing time of 37.98 seconds.

However, it was all but over. At the end of the order, Jones and Capitale 6 put the pedal to the metal and shaved a full second off the leading time, stopping the clock at 36.92 seconds to pip Cassady and claim the top prize. Casady finished in second, while Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) slotted into third in a time of 39.60 seconds with Carmelo, a 10-year-old Mexican Sport Horse owned by Jose Alberto Martinez Barone.

Final Results – $100,000 SummitMax Grand Prix CSI 2*

1) Charlie Jones (GBR) & Capitale 6 – 0 / 0 – 36.92

2 Shawn Casady (USA) & Cool Quarz – 0 / 0 – 37.98

3) Arturo Parada Vallejo (MEX) & Carmelo – 0 / 0 – 39.60

Source: Press Release from Hits Horse Shows

Photos: © Hits Horse Shows / High Desert Photo

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