Thermal, CA – March 16, 2025 – Amanda Gomez and Thank You RS have only been partnered for a few short weeks, but they came together just in time to conclude the 2025 Desert Circuit with a big win. On Sunday, March 16, at the Desert International Horse Park, Gomez piloted Thank You RS to victory in the $40,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic.
“Thank You RS is a mare that [owner Christopher Megahey] shipped over for Desert Horse Park just to show the 10 weeks here,” explained Gomez of the 9-year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare. “She is a bit quirky, so [Chris] came to me after watching me ride my mare, [Charly-Ann], and said, ‘I think that this could be a nice mare for you to have in your string, and maybe I can give you the opportunity to sit on her a couple of times and see what you think.’”
That was just roughly three weeks ago, and already Gomez and “Bubbles” – as the mare is known in the barn – have meshed quickly. That was particularly evident as they easily cleared the jump-off timers in a time of 39.17 seconds to take home the win on the Grass Field.
Finishing in second place as the only other double clear rider was none other than Thank You RS’s owner, Megahey. Aboard his own Casian S, Megahey stopped the clock in 41.28 seconds. Third place went to Kassidy Keith and Havana, and Kyle King and Bynamic’s Conthaloubet finished in fourth.
“My plan with Bubbles never was to go all out and try to be super, super fast,” said Gomez. “I kind of was just hoping the class played out the way that it did end up playing out and that I could be conservative enough and still get to know her, but maybe push just enough, which is exactly what ended up happening…I knew that if I did my part, and we left all the jumps up, that her natural foot speed was probably going to be fast enough, and it was today!”
Gomez continued, “The season here at [the Desert International Horse Park] started a bit slow for me. Not anything bad necessarily; just maybe one down in the jump off. It wasn’t my normal flow. To cap it off with being so successful this last week has been amazing. [Charly-Ann] winning the Friday class and then this new mare for me, Thank You RS, winning today has been just an absolute high. I’m so thankful for both of those mares. Ending the circuit with a day like this has been amazing.”
For complete results from the $40,000 FarmVet 1.45m Open Classic, click here.
