Early spring every year the American company HITS organises the series “Desert Circuit” here. And this happens continuously 7 weeks in a row. Comparing to Europe where most of the horse shows take place only at one weekend in one ring per year this would be equivalent to 84 horse shows in total!

Some weeks ago my company “Olaf Petersen Horse Equipment” has supplied a new designed and colourful set of obstacles. When I was course designing the World Cup class in Thermal now, I met again – and he still sits in the saddle – one of the world wide most successful and best stylist from Europe again, the legendary Irish Eddie Macken. 1974 and 1978 he was Vice-World Champion in show jumping, 1977 Vice-European Champion, and with his 58 years of age today he still jumps the most difficult courses the same way as in the old days.

He lives in Canada now, and he told me that in 2008 in summer he will start for the first time after many, many years in Dublin at the CSIO. He has been competing there in the old days more then 25 years in a row, and now he returns. I am sure that his countrymen will enjoy Eddie jumping with quite some glasses (paint??) of Guiness.

Look at the newest pictures of Thermal, pictures of the New World of show jumping. Private planes besides the practice ring, bronze sculptures as decoration in the course, and as distances at the show ground are quite long, almost everyone moves with a golf cart.

HITS as organiser does not have to worry about one thing, the weather. In Thermal riders seam to find eternal sunshine like in the old song “It never rains in Southern California”.