Cavaletto Loma Z may have spent plenty of time in the jumper ring with Ashlee Bond before moving to the other side of the show grounds, but according to trainer Shari Rose, his willing attitude made for an easy transition to the hunters.

“He has always tried to do the right thing,” Rose said of the 11-year-old Zangersheide (Chellano Alpha Z—Ula-La Sparkle Loma, Celano). “He has never once said, ‘Oh, I don’t really feel like that today,’ or, ‘Oh, I don’t want to do that.’ He always has his ears forward and [says], ‘What do you want me to do?’ ”

Gail Ellis of West Coast Equine Partners LLC owns “Cavaletto,” who competes in the high performance hunters and USHJA International Hunter Derby series with Nick Haness.

“He loves Nick and trusts Nick with his soul,” said Rose. “I mean, you can see [it] when they’re together. It’s so hand in glove; there’s never an argument. He comes through the turn, looks at the jump and says, ‘OK Nick, what do you want me to do?’ ”

That trust is a big part of what has made Cavaletto one of the most successful horses on the derby circuit. He won five international derbies in a row on his way to placing seventh in the Platinum Performance USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship held Aug. 15-16. He also topped the $100,000 WCHR/USHJA West Coast Hunter Spectacular (California) this winter and finished 11^th at the 2024 Platinum Performance USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship (Kentucky).

Both Rose and her assistant Gabby Gavalas emphasized what a great charge he is.

“He’s not hard to get to the ring, and he’s really easy just to handle,” Gavalas said. “Everything’s good about him.”

We sat down with Rose and Gavalas to hear more about what Cavaletto is like when the tack comes off.

• Rose said his personality has blossomed over his time in the barn. “At first he stood in the back of his stall when we got him,” she said. “He didn’t want to come talk to you. Not in a bad way, but he was just like ‘No, I’m good.’ Now he’s really happy and more social.”

• When Cavaletto came to the barn, he came with a trick: smiling on cue. He’ll happily do his trick for treats—and he’s not picky about those.

“He likes everything,” Gavalas said. “Carrots, bananas—with the peel off—and apples, he loves them.”

• Rose describes Cavaletto as one of the easiest horses to have in the barn.

“He’s easy on the crossties and easy for the boys to clip,” she said. “He’s not particular about eating; he just does everything right.

“He doesn’t fight, doesn’t kick, doesn’t act up, doesn’t pull back, never gives the [grooms] any trouble,” she added. “He’s just a nice horse.”

• The only thing that’s not perfect about Cavaletto, says Rose, is his feet. The team relies on farrier Tyler Talbert to keep his hooves, which require special TLC, in tip-top shape.

• Cavaletto loves his therapies and a relaxed routine. He gets treated with the Bemer blanket and occasionally gets MagnaWave at horse shows.

“He mostly happy hacks,” Rose said. “We just have to keep his body fit. He gets turned out regularly. For him it’s nothing stressful. He’s a very easy horse.”

• Cavaletto isn’t a typical gray. “I don’t think he’s a filthy one, and we’re very lucky he’s not inundated with melanoma. I think at this age, if he’s not showing it coming out now, knock on wood, we should be good.”

• Rose prefers having Cavaletto to be ridden rather than longed on horse show mornings to stretch his legs, so Gavalas throws a leg over when Haness can’t.

“You don’t have to [do a lot],” Gavalas said. “He’s so great to take on trail rides and stuff because he’s not spooky, he doesn’t look at anything. He has a great time being out on the track over there [at the horse show] or over where that grass field is. Just changing it up so it’s not always just riding [in the ring.]”

• At home his routine is similar.

“He doesn’t jump that much, because he so knows his job, and he doesn’t canter a lot either, because trotting is a much better gait to work on fitness and everything,” said Rose. “So he just stays good in his body and muscled up, and that’s all he needs to do.

“If you notice, he’s a little bit chubby,” said Rose. “Not fat, but I like them well-covered. To jump the size jumps he does he couldn’t really be conformation chubby. I think he looks great right now, and he has lots of muscle. I just want him to be pretty fit.”

• Cavaletto doesn’t have one dedicated groom. Christian, Gaspar and Javier Navarro, brothers who work for Rose, all take turns with him.

“They love the horses so much,” Rose said. “I don’t have to say, ‘Oh, go handwalk that one.’ I’ll be driving the golf cart, and I’ll see them out grazing one or handwalking one because they want to.

“They’re wonderful people,” she added.

• If he were a human, Rose said Cavaletto would be a gentleman.

“He’s very mannerly,” she said. “He’d be well spoken, well-educated and have the best manners ever.”