Nick Haness & Fan Club Steal the Show in the $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby – Open
Photo © ESI Photography
For Immediate Release:
THERMAL, Calif. – December 11, 2020 – Nick Haness (Temecula, CA) and Fan Club stole the show in Friday’s $2,500 USHJA National Hunter Derby – Open, sponsored by RunAmok Horse Transportation, with scores of 93 and 95. Haness also claimed the second place title with West Coast Equine Partners LLC’s Morrison with scores of 92 and 92. Mitch Endicott (Rancho Santa Fe, CA) and Katie Cook’s Doheny finished in third place for their scores of 90 and 91.
Thirteen entries challenged Michael Pegg’s first course and twelve returned for the Handy Round. “She’s been a really, really top horse. She wins almost every time she competes and this year is her first Green Hunter 3’6” year, so she’s just getting the ropes of the bigger jumps,” shared Haness. “Our first derby was last week and she was second place. I could not be more thrilled that she rose to the occasion today and took over the top spot and won.”
Photo © ESI Photography
Haness and the seven-year-old Holsteiner mare, owned by West Coast Equine Partners LLC, have been paired together for a little over two years. “She was imported by Kent Farrington and when he called me about her he said ‘I have this really special horse.’ She was a lot younger and greener, but I saw what he saw in her and we bought her pretty much instantly,” Haness noted.
“Fan Club basically mastered everything there is to master in the Pre-Green Hunters that there is to master. She was the high scoring horse last year at Thermal in the circuit here. She won the West Coast Pre-Green Finals in September at Blenheim,” continued Haness. “She’s ready to go to the 3’6” level. This week was her first time in the Green Hunter 3’6”, so our plan is to keep developing her and we hope to make her the winner at this level that she was at the last level.”
About the Desert International Horse Park
With nearly 1.3 million square feet of competition and riding space, the Desert International Horse Park is one of the largest equestrian facilities in North America. Offering multiple weeks of world-class equestrian competition from October through March, the facility is a destination location for thousands of equestrians, their horses, family and friends for several months annually. Competitors from all over the world travel to Thermal, CA to not only compete but to enjoy everything the desert has to offer.