What’s in a name? At HITS, a winner

What does the name Pepita con Spita mean?

I’ve wondered since I started writing about the feisty show jumper a few years ago, and the question crossed my mind again today when she won the $405,300 FEI  5-star Grand Prix at HITS Saugerties with the only double-clear performance.

Hunter Holloway, who rides the gray mare, has searched the internet for an answer, with little luck.

I did some searching of my own and got one definition; a pepita is an edible pumpkin seed.

Okay, and “con” means “with” in Spanish.

As for spita? It appears to be Romanian for fifth wheel. That’s all I could find, but it probably isn’t right. A hint might be that the 11-year-old German-bred Westphalian is by Con Spirit. Maybe they meant to call her Pepita Con Spirit, but someone wrote it wrong? It’s happened before; think of all the weird misspelled horse names that are out there.

So I’ve made up my own definition of spita in the way it applies to “Princess P,” as they call her around the barn. I take it to mean grit, and Hunter expanded on that.

“She’s a really catty, brave mare. She’s full of heart. She gives it her all every time she steps out in the ring and she is very fast as well.’’

And the best things about her?

“I think it’s her heart and how much she tries for her rider,” said Hunter. “Keeping her happy is our main goal.”

There were 25 starters in the grand prix, the finale of championship week at HITS.

Will Simpson, whose unforgettable round in the 2008 Olympics assured a gold medal for the U.S. team, was the first rider to try Scottish course designer Mark McGowan’s route in the wide open space of the Grand Prix Stadium.

But after he and Chacco P secured a clear, the designer had to wait nervously for the twelfth to ride, Great Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire on Cornwall BH, before he could be assured of a jump-off. (In 2017, with a different designer when the class was worth $1 million, victory belonged to a rider with just one time fault and nobody clear, which meant no jump-off).

“I was told this morning that two (clear) was unacceptable and if I could get more than two, the boss would be quite happy. Thankfully, I got four and now he’s happy. I was pleased with that,” Mark related.

Pepita, seventeenth in the order of go, eased the tension further with a third clear, and then Jessica Leto, going four before the end with Cinbura, turned in a fault-free trip.

Discussing his course, Mark said, “the lines were the lines,” contending, “I didn’t overcomplicate it. I was getting them to the fences,” which were “between 1.55-1.60 (meters) in places” but he handled things in such a fashion that exhibitors could “cope with the height.”

Will saw things differently.

“It was too complicated for me,” he said with a smile.

“At my age I can’t get my car out of the driveway without  a GPS.”

Before the class, he told me that Chacco, a Mechlenberg by Chacco Blue, can be difficult.

“He’s best in the show ring,” said Will.

“He’s miserable to hack. I’ve started to take it personal. He’s calm and cool about everything, except when I get on him. He’s getting better. Maybe he’s a late bloomer, a lot like me.”

In the jump-off, a rail down at the ice cream soda fence, the second in the tiebreaker, left Will on four faults with a time of 55.56, which would be good enough for third and a $60,795 paycheck. Amanda had a pole at a vertical, the third-to-last, after getting a little flat while pursuing a much faster time of 51.78.  It would be good enough for second, and $81,860 in prize money.

After seeing her rivals have faults, Hunter didn’t rush with Pepita, but she made the most of her mare’s trip, “relying on her natural quick foot speed” while leaving all the poles in place. That gave her the lead, as the only rider to that point with a clear, even though her time of 54.42 wasn’t all that speedy.  Her strategy paid off in a victory worth $133,749. Jessica, the least experienced in the group, started with a lot of pace, eyeing Hunter’s time. But she had two rails in a clocking of 59.95 to be fourth.

Show manager Rian Beals announced that there will be another 5-star at Saugerties next year.  He also mentioned a big money class at the end of HITS Ocala in the winter, but did not reveal an amount.

In other action at HITS, Jimmy Torano repeated his 2021 victory in the $200,000 Diamond Mills Hunter Prix Final with Laskano. They were on top with scores in the 90s in every round.

“The horse never put a foot wrong. He won every single round, which I believe he also did last year. He is just a horse that doesn’t want to let you down,” Jimmy observed.

In the $50,000 Platinum Performance Hunter Prix Finals, Kaitlin Porath took the victory on Democracy, taking home the victory by more than 20 points.

The $15,000 HITS Green Hunter Prix went to Hannah Isop and Let It B with scores in the high 80s to take the top placing.

The Blackbarn $25,000 Junior/Amateur Jumper Prix was won by Laura Sloey with Beijing LS La Silla.