Thermal, CA – February 7, 2016 – A jam-packed weekend of big money classes continued with Desert Circuit III’s $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix. A 16-effort course set by course designer, Bernardo Cabral, of Carnaxide, Portugal, tested each horse and rider but only one would emerge victorious.
Jeff Campf and Chevejo NB on their way to a $25,000 SmartPak Grand Prix win. Photo courtesy of HITS Horse Shows, Inc.
Jeff Campf of Canby, Oregon, and Chevejo NB, owned by Double A, LLC, took home the blue and the first-place prize. Second was awarded to John Pearce from Bermuda Dunes, California, and Chantico, owned by Forest View Farm and Karen Ball. Kasey Ament of Agoura Hills, California, and Arthos R, owned by Montis Horse Management earned third.
The course included rollback turns, bending lines and two mid-course combinations. Clearing the fences seemed to be the challenge of the day, but seven horses and riders conquered the first-round course to advance to the jump-off.
First to return to the ring was Beverly Hills, California, equestrian Gavin Brodin and Allstar 5, owned by No. 44 Sport Horses, LLC. Brodin navigated the shortened course smoothly until his mount refused the vertical that served as a prelude to the home-stretch combination. They finished with four jumping faults and four time faults, totaling eight faults in 59.997 seconds.
Peter Petschenig, riding out of Murrieta, California, and Pamela Bilek’s Uppercut Charannais, followed to take their chance on the jump-off. Unfortunately, several rails early in the course would earn them 16 jumping faults as they crossed the timers in 53.055.
Next in the order was Marc Grock of Olivenhain, California, and Little Gancho, owned by Moonlite Beach, LLC. They clocked in at 54.159 seconds with four jumping faults after an unfortunate rail at an oxer in the middle of the shortened course.
A clear round for the jump-off had not yet been seen, but John Pearce and Chantico would soon prove that it could be done. They powered through the course, clearing the last fence as the crowd cheered for a fault-free round in 47.876 seconds to take the lead.
Petschenig returned to the jump-off with his second mount, Saint Quentin. Petschenig beat out his own time but could not take the lead away from Pearce as they crossed the markers in 45.672 seconds with eight jumping faults.
Pearce’s lead would not remain as Campf and Chevejo NB followed to take their turn at the 8-fence jump-off course. They crossed the timers a full second faster in a fault-free time of 44.826 seconds to take the lead, putting Pearce in second-place.
The final horse and rider to test the jump-off was Kasey Ament and Arthos R. As they galloped toward the last oxer of the course, a speedy win was on the horizon, but a heartbreaking rail at the final fence earned them four jumping faults as they crossed the timers in 42.376 seconds for third-place.
| Place | Horse | Owner | Rider | Prize | R.1 Faults | JO Faults | JO Time |
| 1 | Chevejo NB | Double A, LLC | Jeff Campf | $7,500 | – | – | 44.826 |
| 2 | Chantico | Forest View Farm& Karen Bell | John Pearce | $5,500 | – | – | 47.876 |
| 3 | Arthos R | Montis Horse Management | Kasey Ament | $3,200 | – | 4 | 42.376 |
| 4 | Little Gancho | Moonlite Beach LLC | Marc Grock | $2,000 | – | 4 | 54.159 |
| 5 | Saint Quentin | Peter Petschenig | Peter Petschenig | $1,500 | – | 8 | 45.672 |
| 6 | Allstar 5 | No. 44 Sport Horses | Gavin Brodin | $1,250 | – | 8 | 59.997 |
| 7 | Uppercut Charannais | Pamela Bilek | Peter Petschenig | $1,000 | – | 16 | 53.055 |
| 8 | Luebbo | Kylie Co. | Jamie Barge | $750 | 4 | – | – |
| 9 | Brisbane | Barbara Phillips | Susan Hutchison | $750 | 4 | – | – |
| 10 | Thumb’s Up | Linda Starkman | Joie Gatlin | $500 | 4 | – | – |
| 11 | Hopscotch | Poseidon Stables | Karianne Boyce-Lockhart | $500 | 4 | – | – |
| 12 | Camerino | Wells Bridge Farm LLC | Paul Rohrbach | $500 | 4 | – | – |