Culpeper, Va. – July 8, 2026 – Show jumping action at the Cavalier Classic kicked off on Wednesday afternoon during HITS Culpeper with the $2,500 Adequan Open Welcome, where a competitive group of athletes gathered to vie for the winning prize. In the end, Caroline Adams topped the three-horse jump-off with Djebelle Du Cloferre, besting second-place finishers David Matisz and Zorba TT by two full seconds. Grace Long and Idial Stm Z rounded out the top three with a double clear effort.
“This was a great way to start the week!” expressed Adams after her win. “Djebelle Du Cloferre is a horse I got about a year ago. She has so much scope and talent, but she’s very bloody, so I really took my time getting to know her and figure out the rideability. She’s come a long way and has become super consistent, and today was a huge testament to that.”
Jaime Morillo set a welcoming track for the day’s feature class, which included an oxer-vertical away from the gate early in the course, bending to a seven-stride line before heading home over a delicate vertical-vertical double combination and finishing with a bending line away from home. Three horses completed the course without error and advanced to jump-off, where they began over a new vertical and rolled back to the first line, then continued to the first double combination before galloping to another new vertical and making a tight rollback to the final fence.
Adams was the pathfinder of the day with Djebelle Du Cloferre and the first to show over the jump-off track. The pair picked up a quick gallop to the first fence and never held back, making a very tidy rollback to the final tall vertical and galloped through the finish line in a clear 44.210 seconds. Long was next with Idial Stm Z, but they opted for a more conservative track and stopped the clock in a fault-free 47.434 seconds. Matisz was the last to try and catch Adams with Zorba TT, but their clear round in 46.508 seconds would rank second, and Adams returned to accept the winning title.
“We didn’t do anything too crazy in the jump-off – she has a huge step and can turn really well, so I just stuck to my plan, and it worked out today,” explained Adams, who is based out of Middleburg, Va at Oakleigh Farm. “Ella was jumping really well and felt amazing. This is our first big win together, so it was exciting to have it all come together today. She’s such a smart mare and so fun to have in the barn because she’s very sweet and easy to handle, so we love having her as part of the team. Our next stop is the Kentucky Summer Horse Shows, so this was a great way to kick off the summer!”
The Cavalier Classic at HITS Culpeper will continue through Sunday and feature the $5,000 Alliant Private Client Open Prix on Thursday and the $24,500 Virginia Maryland Tractor Open Prix on Saturday. For more information about HITS Culpeper please visit HITSShows.com.
