Canadian Oympics Eye Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix

Thermal, CA – Canadian Olympian Jill Henselwood couldn’t have imagined a better way to finish the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit than to win the blue and a first-place check of $90,000 in the $300,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Bradon Construction’s Bottom Line.

The decorated Grand Prix Rider has won a Team Silver Medal at the Olympics, a Gold Medal at The Pan Am Games, and now she can call herself the Champion of the richest Grand Prix in the history of show jumping on the West Coast, which closed out the six-week HITS Desert Circuit at the HITS Desert Horse Park in Thermal, California.

After taking the blue in the $300,000 Lamborghini Grand Prix of the Desert, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, aboard Bottom Line and collecting a cool $90,000 in first-place prize money, the accomplished Grand Prix Rider is making her plans to attend the historic Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix on September 12, at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York.

Henselwood wasn’t the only Canadian High-Performance Rider who excelled at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit. John Pearce on Son of a Gun was amazing in the four FEI World Cup Qualifiers during the circuit, and won the $50,000 HITS CSI-W Grand Prix, presented by Pfizer Animal Health, en route to being named the Royal Champion Leading World Cup Rider at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit. Pearce’s accomplishments earned him a one-year supply of Royal Champion Supplements and, according to Pearce, he will also be traveling to HITS-on-the-Hudson for the Pfizer $1 Million Grand Prix.

Not to be outdone, John Anderson, who was a member of Team Canada in 1988, had several top finishes aboard Foxdale Farm’s Terrific en route to winning this year’s Catena Leading Grand Prix Rider Award at HITS Thermal and received a beautiful Catena diamond-faced watch for his efforts.

A host of talented riders took the victory gallop after their Grand Prix triumphs at the 2010 HITS Desert Circuit, including two-time Olympic Gold Medal Winner McLain Ward, New Zealand Olympian Guy Thomas, and World Cup Veteran Keri Potter, just to name a few. These riders, plus many more, have their eyes set on qualifying for the historic Pfizer Million at HITS-on-the-Hudson in Saugerties, New York and many are making plans to compete at HITS Saugerties and Culpeper to earn the necessary Grand Prix classes and win enough prize money to make the Top 40 cut for the class. Thanks to her win in Sunday’s featured class, Henselwood now leads the Pfizer Million Eligible Rider Rankings with a total of $104,000 earned in prize money. While Henselwood enjoys safety in the top spot for now, she is joined in the top five by Thomas in second place on Peterbilt with $83,950, Potter in third on Rockford 1 with $53,150, Susan Hutchison in fourth on Cantano with $43,500 and Helen McNaught in fifth on Caballo with $43,000. For a complete list of the Pfizer Million Eligible Rider Rankings, click here.