Thermal, Calif.—March 8

In the second week in February, Nick Haness rode West Coast Equine Partners’ Cavaletto Loma Z in the $49,900 USHJA International Hunter Derby and things didn’t go too well. They started out strong, with “Cavaletto” finishing second in the classic round, but when he slipped on the grass field in Round 2, Haness opted to retire and save him for another day.

That day came today, when the pair topped another $49,900 USHJA International Hunter Derby, the feature class of Desert Circuit Week 9.

Archer Bailey set a challenging course for the 47 competitors who contested the class, held in the Grand Prix Arena at Desert International Horse Park, including a triple bar as the first fence of the classic round.

“Starting out with a triple bar is definitely something to think about, and you [need to] start with some pace, you need that impulsion,” said Haness, Temecula, California. “I started my canter on the other side of the arena. And knowing my first jump was a triple bar I started gaining impulsion with my horses, so by the time I made a short roll back to the first jump, they were ready to clear the back rail, and a lot of horses did the first jump pretty well today.”

Cavaletto, 10, earned third-place marks from Don Stewart and Paddy Downing-Nygard in the first round, behind top ranked Tangled Up In Blue (Halie Robinson) and Star Quality (Emily Esau Williams) in the classic round. Haness had the advantage of riding two other mounts before he came into the ring on Cavaletto, and he had his mind set on one thing: gallop.

“Hunters should be done with pace,” he said. “I’m a strong believer in pace and brilliance, especially in a $49,900 class like this one was. It’s an international derby, a strong competition field, so go for it—go in the ring and make an impression. Show the judges that you want to win the class. Don’t go in and be conservative and slow. Take chances and pick up that gallop.”

Haness kept up the pace through tight turns over maxed-out oxers, and nailed the “dreaded trot jump” to win the handy round and move up into the lead.

Cavaletto had an earlier career as a jumper with Israeli Olympian Ashlee Bond. Lexi and Ilan Ferder called Haness last year and suggested the Zangersheide (Chellano Alpha Z—Ula-La Sparkle Loma, Celano) could be missing his calling in the hunter ring.

“I’d describe him as brilliant horse,” said Haness. “He’s very smart, with a great face and great expression, and he’s very intelligent. That horse can jump.”

Watch their winning handy round, courtesy of ShowGroundsLive.com:

Shari Rose trains Cavaletto for Gail Ellis of West Coast Equine Partners, but Haness handles most of the riding duties.

“Last year we took him to [Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships] in Kentucky,” said Haness. “He actually did his first big championship in the summer. He finished I think [eighth] and he got a great ribbon at derby finals. He ended up getting a 95 in the handy round in Kentucky. That was one of the best rounds I’ve had on that horse in the handy portion.”

Catch up on all the action from Desert Circuit 9 in the March 25 issue of The Chronicle of the Horse, and be sure you’re following the Chronicle on Facebook and Instagram.