As the summer season at the HITS Del Mar Horsepark in Del Mar, California, comes to an end, international show jumping is proving to be just as hot during the HITS Del Mar Summer Classic II on August 26-30, 2026. For the second week in a row, the West Coast’s crown-jewel grass field at the iconic venue set the stage for a CSI2* division, drawing a plethora of top international horse-and-rider combinations. In the featured class of the day on Thursday, August 27, it was Ireland’s fast-flying duo of James Chawke and Daido van’t Ruytershof Z that raced to victory in the $31,020 CSI2* Alliant Private Client Cup.
Ten nations were represented in the thoughtfully crafted first round conjured up by esteemed Canadian course designer Meghan Rawlins, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. With an 86-second time allowed, 13 duos managed to produce a fault-free effort and persevere into the exhilarating jump-off.
Early in the order to take on the short course, Kaitlin Campbell (ISR) returned to the turf with Karius, an 11-year-old KWPN gelding (Van Gogh x Drossan) owned by Mirasol Equestrian LLC, setting the benchmark time of 41.960 seconds for the remaining challengers. Her reign atop the leaderboard was short-lived, however, as Chawke and the 12-year-old Zangersheide mare (Dieu-Merci van T&L x Bamako de Muze) owned by Britt Scheifele raised the bar once again with an unbeatable 40.700 seconds on the clock.
“Today was more of a galloping course,” shared Chawke. “I thought everyone was really fast — maybe quicker than I would have hoped they’d be. I had to step up my game to catch them, which was a fun challenge. My horse is naturally very quick, careful, and nimble, so this style of course suited her, and it worked out in our favor today.”
“This week was actually a change of plan,” he continued of his schedule with Daido van’t Ruytershof Z. “I wasn’t planning on showing her, but a few things changed and I decided to enter her in the class. Last week was her first week back competing after a bit of a break, and I thought she was a little rusty; however, today I thought she was back on her game, and it shows in the result.”
Campbell returned to the course for another attempt with her second mount Cloud, a 10-year-old Dutch Sport Horse (Carleyle x Quiz) owned by SWS Training & Sales, but her efforts could not improve upon the leading time, resulting in a second-place ranking aboard Karius and completing the top three with Cloud.
International show jumping continues on Friday, August 28, with the $31,020 FarmVet CSI2* Winning Round, before culminating in the $90,000 CSI2* Grand Prix of Del Mar, presented by Purina Animal Nutrition, on Saturday, August 29. National hunter, jumper, and equitation competition continues through Sunday, August 30. For complete results, please visit www.showmanagementsystem.com.
