Haness and Cavaletto Loma Z Capture $100,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider West Coast Hunter Spectacular Win

Thermal, Calif.—Mar. 15, 2025—For an unprecedented fourth year in a row, Nick Haness galloped away with the win in the $100,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider West Coast Hunter Spectacular. The three-time defending champion claimed his fourth victory aboard Cavaletto Loma Z on Friday, March 14, at the Desert International Horse Park. 

“I'm just in complete shock and just feeling really excited right now,” said Haness. “Cavaletto Loma Z is an incredible horse. I'm so proud of him tonight.”

Having also earned past wins in the Central and Palm Beach iterations, Haness, of San Clemente, California, has now brought home an impressive total of six Hunter Spectacular victories. However, Friday’s 58-horse field was certainly not going to make it simple for Haness to pull off another victory.

At the conclusion of Friday afternoon's Classic Hunter Style Round, Haness and West Coast Equine Partners LLC's Cavaletto Loma Z sat in second place with a score of 91.75. Going into the evening’s Playoff Handy Round, the lead with a score of 93 was held by Nicole Bourgeois, of Wilsonwille, Oregon, and McQueen. Haness also sat in third with a score of 91 aboard Clear As Day.

With the top 17 returning to the Grand Prix Arena to jump in a different atmosphere under the lights, it was still very much anyone’s game going into the evening's Playoff Handy Round.

“There's definitely a big atmosphere and ambiance tonight,” said Haness. “I think that the horses could sense that. I could feel that Cavaletto was excited, but he actually warmed up really relaxed for the Handy Round. He loves the Handy, so I was really excited to come in and try to move up in the ranks as he was not on top of the leaderboard after the first round. I was just thinking to myself, ‘I trust this horse very much.’ I know him very well, and I just was confident that my plan would hopefully work out. He delivered everything I asked him to do for me.”

With a seamlessly handy and smooth second round, Haness and Cavaletto took over the top of the leaderboard and remained untouchable there with a second-round average score of 92 for a final, averaged score of 91.875. For their win, the pair took home $30,000 in prize money as well as a custom WCHR jacket, picture frame, and cooler.

Bourgeois and McQueen, owned by Barbara Lovre, ultimately finished in second place with a very close score of 91.375, and Haness and Clear As Day, owned by Balmoral, held on to third with an overall total score of 91.25

The final WCHR Hunter Spectacular of 2025, the WCHR Central Hunter Spectacular, will be held on Saturday, July 12, at Flintfields Horse Park in Williamsburg, Michigan.

The USHJA sends special thanks to the entire Desert International Horse Park team for hosting the Spectacular and to Official Sponsors Herm Sprenger, Nutrena, and Parlanti for their support.

For more information about the USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider Program, visit ushja.org/WCHR.

 

$100,000 USHJA WCHR West Coast Hunter Spectacular Results

Horse, Rider, Owner
Round 1 Avg. | Round 2 Avg. | Final Score

1. Cavaletto Loma Z, Nick Haness, West Coast Equine Partners LLC
91.75 | 92 | 91.875

2. McQueen, Nicole Bourgeois, Barbara Lovre
93 | 89.75 | 91.375

3. Clear As Day, Nick Haness, Balmoral
91 | 91.5 | 91.25

4. Totally, Mark Kinsella, Teddi Mellencamp
90.325 | 90.5 | 90.412

5. Tangled Up In Blue, Nick Haness, 3P Equine Partners, LLC
88.25 | 92 | 90.125

6. Reputation, Dustin Goodwin, Kalli Heffner Gay
90.25 | 89.75 | 90

7. L'Con Reyes, Simon Schroeder, Bravado LLC
88.5 | 87.75 | 88.125

8. Carlios, Karli Postel, Chloe Recknor
88.325 | 87.25 | 87.787

9. Sinmigo Dos, Halie Robinson, Stable Assets LLC
87.625 | 87.5 | 87.562

10. Concerto, Caroline Ingalls, Caroline Ingalls
87.75 | 87 | 87.375

11. Vino Bianco, Nicole Bourgeois, Hilary Sosne
88 | 85.75 | 86.875

12. Paisley Park, Geoffrey Hesslink, Andesite Equestrian
84.5 | 88.25 | 86.375

Photos: High Desert Sport Photo

Edited Press Release by Desert International Horse Park