Nick Haness and Circa Claim $101,400 3'6"/3'9" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship

Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 13, 2024—Held for the first time in the Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships saw 82 horse-and-rider combinations jump for the 3'6"/3'9" tri-colors. The section concluded on Tuesday, August 13, where $101,400 in prize money was awarded.

After two rounds of tight competition, Circa, owned by Glade Run Farm, LLC and ridden by Nick Haness, took the Championship honors with a 4.5-point lead on a score of 277. Frosted, owned by Rindy Dominguez and ridden by Jennifer Hannan, claimed reserve honors on a 272.50. Animated, ridden by Daniel Geitner and owned by Janet Behling, rounded out the top three with a 271.50.

Tuesday's competition kicked off the week with Ken Krome's and Meghan Rawlins First Round course, which saw Christopher Payne pilot Stephanie Rin's Atlas to the top on a 274, pocketing $7,605. Behind the Cincinnati, Ohio, native was Samantha Schaefer, of Westminster, Maryland, and Deer Creek Farm, LLC's Remedy on a 271.50. In third was Haness with Lynn Olson's Modern Man with a score of 270.50. After the first round, Circa sat in fifth place with a score of 268.

Judges Rob Bielefeld, Robert Crandall, Shane George, Mark Jungherr, Brian Lenehan, and William Sparks saw the top 30 horses return for the Championship Round on a clean slate. Coming into the Championship Round, Haness knew he had to put forth Circa's best efforts to impress the judges. In order to do that, he had to made some changes to his approach from his morning's round.

"I came into the Championship Round with the mentality of 'give it your best shot' since you get a clean slate," Haness of San Clemente, California, said. "I know that Circa is capable of putting in a winning round. I was told by Tom Wright, who is a great trainer, that I was too slow to the first jump in the first round, so I made sure to go up with a good gallop, and from there she was amazing."

Doing just that, Haness and Circa managed to climb up four spots to take the tri-colors. Haness and Circa took home $12,675 for a first-place finish in the Championship Round, along with a trophy donated by Ken and Ceil Wheeler and a variety of prizes from USHJA sponsors.

Hannan and Frosted made an impressive 14-point improvement from the first round to the Championship Round to claim reserve honors. Geitner, of Aiken, South Carolina, ultimately moved up one spot to round out the top three.

"I try to walk the course by myself, formulate a plan, and stick with it," Hannan of Wakefield, Rhode Island, commented on her rounds. "Where a lot of people did nine strides, I did eight because I thought it really suited Frosted."

"This is the biggest year I have ever seen with riders in the 3'6"/3'9" which I think is great to see the support," Haness continued. "It's fun to see all these horses grow up and learn through the ranks and prove they deserve to be here. Having the Championship switched to the Rolex Arena is very exciting. The stadium is beautiful and a lot of people put in very nice rounds."

"It's just such a special day for Hunter and great prize money," Geitner said of the Championship. "It gives owners the recognition they deserve and it's nice for them to have their moment in the spotlight."

The Green Hunter Incentive Championships offer additional recognition to Tier II riders and 20 percent of the prize money through the Green Hunter Rider Ranking System, categorizing riders into two tiers based on their prior competition year earnings within the program. Tier I riders are those who are ranked 1-45 in money won in the program over the past year, and all other riders are considered Tier II. This year, 3'6''/3'9'' Tier II riders competed for an additional $20,280 in prize money.

The 3'6''/3'9'' High Score Overall Tier II rider was Jacob Pope aboard Iwasaki & Reilly's Small Safari, who finished tenth overall with a score of 260.50. The Columbia, Maryland, rider was awarded an additional $6,084 for his efforts.

Between rounds, additional awards were presented to competitors.

Rider Style Award: Elizabeth Boyd
$5,000 High Score American-Bred Award in remembrance of Candie Owens, presented by Oakwell Farms and DS Holdings, LLC: Triple Gold owned by Caron Stucky and ridden by Robert Stucky
High Score Mare Award: Circa

New this year, the 2023 Green Hunter Incentive 3'6"/3'9" Series Leading Riders based on money won were also honored: Haness with $30,305.48; Scott Stewart with $16,368.67; and Payne with $13,861.52.

The USHJA thanks the sponsors who helped to make these championships possible including Title Sponsor Platinum Performance and Official Sponsors CWD, Nutrena, and Parlanti International. Thanks also go to Official Broadcast Provider ClipMyHorse.TV and Livestream Sponsor Windsor Stables; Championship Official Sponsor Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Pharmacy; Supporting Sponsors Essex Classics, RingSide Pro, Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Human Touch, Horseflight, American Hanoverian Society, and Top Line Communications; Award Sponsors Equine Equipment and Boy O Boy Bridleworks; Challenge Round Supporters Ken and Ceil Wheeler; Exhibitors’ Party Supporters John Ingram and Laura Karat; Rider Bonus Awards Supporters Ron Danta and Danny Robershaw; and Bonus Award Donors Oakwell Farms, DS Holdings, LLC, Colleen McQuay, and Patrick Rodes.

The USHJA also thanks Show Manager Hugh Kincannon and the entire Kentucky Horse Shows team for their assistance with the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships.

Wall-to-wall live streaming coverage presented by Windsor Stables is available at no additional cost to members at ClipMyHorse.TV. Additional coverage will be available in the upcoming issue of In Stride.

For more information about the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships, visit ushja.org/GreenChampionship. For online results, visit ushja.org/competition/hunter-week-championships.

Photos: Shawn McMillen Photography

3'6"/3'9" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship Results

Rider | Horse | Owner | Score