Young hunters took center stage as Friday drew to a close in the Main Hunter ring. Topping an exceptional field of young talent in the $20,000 Ramard Young Hunter Championship was True That with Nick Haness aboard. The pair put in two flawless hunter rounds to take top honors.
Nick Haness and True That. Photo by ESI Photography
“He’s actually a very little horse; he stands at about 15.1-15.2 [hands high] so he’s quite a little guy,” Haness said of True That, a 6-year-old Mecklenburger gelding owned by Rainie Rose. “But he has a big stride and a really big jump. He’s a newer horse for us; we just purchased him from Don Stewart, so we’re just getting to know him. He qualified to do this Young Hunter Championship which is very exciting because we’ve never had a young hunter championship for this much prize money. We were really excited to gear up for this week and bring our best young horses to showcase the future that’s so bright for young horses on the West Coast.”
This new class is an excellent opportunity for young hunters to take to the main stage at DIHP. Haness has already found himself in the winner’s circle countless times since the season got underway in November at DIHP, and with promising young talent he will surely continue his winning ways.
Nick Haness and True That. Photo by ESI Photography
“The desert is a great place for young horses,” Haness, of Temecula, continued. “It’s a great opportunity to bring horses either from Europe or who are just young and still learning. To have a class designated just for them allows them to be on a level playing field which is awesome. The [young horse classes] are fair and let the horses develop, increasing each year in height. A final like this is a great opportunity for horses to continue to grow and it’s the last show of the year for them so this was a really exciting and nice final.”
Final Results: $20,000 Ramard Young Hunter Championship
1. True That / Nick Haness / Rainie Rose / 90 + 84.75 = 174.75
2. Quintessa WSS / Gabriella Pattinson / Nicole R Lean / 83 + 87 = 170
3. First Class / Nick Haness / Nick Haness / 84 + 85 = 169
4. Remark RW / Michael Dennehy / Jennifer Singer / 85 + 83 = 168
5. Clase Azul / Jamie Sailor / SWS Training & Sales / 81.5 + 86 = 167.5
6. Vagadam PSH / Nick Haness / Margauz Spitzer / 81 + 85.5 = 166.5
7. Speakeasy / Lisa Wall / 3P Equine Partners, LLC / 80 + 84.5 = 164.5
8. Vatikan / John Zambrano / Karin Binz / 75 + 84 =159
9. Concierge / John Zambrano / Kristi C Siam / 74 + 72 = 146
10. Picnic / Katrina Karazissis / Lisa Hankin / 82 + 50 = 132
11. Kingston / Halie Robinson / Stonefield Sport Horses LLC / 89 + 40 = 129
12. Conmiga / Marisa Metzger / Kathryn Fleck Peisach / 82.5