Nick Haness and Odette Garner $243,990 3'/3'3" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship
Lexington, Ky.—Aug. 16, 2024—The 3'/3'3" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championships saw more than 140 horse-and-rider combinations compete in the Rolex Stadium during the Bluegrass Classic at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky, from Wednesday, August 14 to Friday, August 16 with $243,990 in prize money up for grabs.
After three days and three rounds of neck-and-neck competition over courses designed by Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins, Odette, owned by John and Stephanie Ingram and ridden by Nick Haness, took the Championship honors with a 4.5 lead on a score of 278.5. Kate Conover claimed the reserve and third ribbons with LSMB, LLC's Straight On, and Shadow Ridge Farm's Courtside.
Wednesday's competition started with 144 horse-and-rider combinations in the First Round, where judges Rob Bielefeld, Robert Crandall, Shane George, Mark Jungherr, Brian Lenehan, and William Sparks saw Odette and Straight On shine above the field and tie for the Round One blue ribbon. This earned both a spot to move straight onto the final round without having to compete in Round Two.
“The past few days were magical with Odette,” expressed the San Clemente, California, rider after his win. “She is a very unique animal – I've probably never come across a mare as smart and as easy as she is. I think that the format is wonderful that we could show the first day and she went great for us. We were able to skip a day and come back in the third round fresh and give her every opportunity to have the best performance. She’s a mare that does not require a lot of training or practice. She's pretty much a natural freak all on her own, so the less that we do, the better. This week really panned out in our favor in a great way!”
Krome and Rawlins set a welcoming track for the horses, featuring flowing lines and beautiful fences set at the 3’ height to begin and then the 3’3” height. Conover, of Ocala, Florida, and Courtside went at the beginning of the 3’3” section and set the score to beat at 272.5 with the 7-year-old Dutch Warmblood. Haness entered the ring just a few rounds later focused on the task at hand and immediately grabbed the judges’ attention. Keeping an even rhythm and jumping brilliantly over each fence, Odette and Haness were awarded a 278.5 to go straight to the top of the leaderboard.
“I loved the course today,” said Haness. “It really benefited an ambidextrous horse. There were a lot of jumps, left lead, right lead. You had a two stride on either lead on each side of the arena, some long bending lines and some long gallop jumps. One of my favorite things to do is to show off a nice loose gallop, especially to the single oxer. There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders with Odette, but once I went in the ring, it felt like an old partnership just coming together like it does every day.”
Odette is an 8-year-old Oldenburg who was purchased after Tom Wright saw Brianne Goutal riding the talented mare during the Winter Equestrian Festival.
“Odette stood out to Tom instantly,” noted Haness. “He texted me and said, ‘I think I just saw the nicest Hunter I've ever seen.’ And for Tom Wright to say that is a statement – he's had so many wonderful horses for the Ingram family and other families in the past that he's trained and he knows his stuff. A few days later we owned the horse and I got to show her for the first time. I have to say, she rarely scores less than 90. I don't think she even flinched at the atmosphere, the pressure. She didn't feel any of the nerves whatsoever. She was very focused and she's a horse that's so special.”
After winning Tuesday’s 3'6"/3'9" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship with Circa, Haness has become the first rider to sweep both sections of the Championship.
“The Green Hunter Incentive Program is just so exciting and great for our industry,” he concluded. “For the Hunter sport, for the owners to want to purchase and develop horses from a young age and let them develop through the ranks. These Championships are something that we strive for when we buy these horses from Europe or if they're bred in America. We raise them through the ranks and they're ready and prepared for this big venue. It's just so exciting to showcase that on such a large, national scale. The feeling here in the Rolex is so exciting. I think that the live stream throughout America, people are tuning in from all over, watching this, learning from it. It is such a great program for these horses to have something special for them.”
Conover and Straight On returned to the ring at the end of the 3’3” section and edged just ahead of Courtside with a score of 274 to earn the reserve championship title. Straight On is a 7-year-old German Sport Horse gelding who is normally ridden by professional Marisa Metzger, and Conover just took the reins this week for her friend.
“Marisa reached out to me a little over a month ago about riding Straight On this week,” explained Conover. “I trust Marisa and she knows the horse really well. She said the less we do, the better he is going to be. I did one round as a practice and he went great the first day. He's a quiet horse and it was nice that he didn't have to go both days because I felt today he was just as crisp as he was the first day. This course did require horses to be ambidextrous, and he is very left and right leaded, which was nice. Out of the double you could take your lead and really show flow. He's got such a big beautiful canter that I felt like I could really show that off today on the course, which was nice.”
With their tricolor, Haness and Odette collected $24,399 and were presented the Bye for Now Perpetual Trophy donated in honor of Joey Darby.
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'/3’3” Tier II riders competed for an additional $48,798 in prize money.
The 3'/3'3'' High Score Overall Tier II rider was Dorothy Douglas riding MTM Gift of Gab for Anne Moody, who finished sixth overall with a score of 267.5. The Ocala, Florida, rider was awarded an additional $14,639.40 for her efforts.
“It's a fun incentive for riders,” said Douglas. “MTM Gift Gab is a horse we imported about two years ago. Ann Moody does him in the Children's Hunters. He was trained by Mike McCormick this week, but normally Patti Shoemaker trains him. I just want to give thanks to that family for sending a couple of horses with us this week. It was a really fun class to bring horses along and he'll definitely be ready for his kid in the future.”
The 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship concluded on Friday, but the week continues with the 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, featuring the championship Handy Round on Saturday morning in the Rolex Stadium.
Between rounds, additional awards were presented to competitors.
- Rider Style Award: Elizabeth Naber
- High Score Amateur Owner: Caitlin Burns riding her own Primetime
- High Score Junior Rider: Chandler Wilks riding Cortalima Z owned by Ride Right, LLC
- $2,500 High Score American-Bred Award in remembrance of Candie Owens, presented by Oakwell Farms and DS Holdings, LLC: First Fuzion owned by Grace Greenwood and ridden by Hugh Mutch
- $250 High Score 4- and 5-year-old: Revival owned by Cecil Wheeler and ridden by Hunt Tosh
- $2,000 Texas Super Series Bonus Award, presented by Colleen McQuay and Patrick Rodes: Just Heff owned by Kirby McCool and ridden by Nada Wise
- $250 High Score Mare Award: Moonlight owned by Seth Vallhonrat and ridden by Daniel Geitner
- $250 High Score Thoroughbred Award: Capture the Music owned by Pauline Lampshire and ridden by Hunter Kay
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.
Edited press release with Cavaletti Consulting, LLC
Photos: Shawn McMillen Photography
3'/3'3" Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship Results
Horse | Owner | Rider | Score
1. Odette | John and Stephanie Ingram | Nick Haness | 278.50
2. Straight On | LSMB, LLC | Kate Conover | 274
3. Courtside | Shadow Ridge Farm | Kate Conover | 272.50
4. Estero | Ann Rice Ervin | Hunter Kay | 269.50
5. Kaiden GPH | Little Brook, LLC | John French | 268.50
6. MTM Gift of Gab | Anne Moody | Dorothy Douglas | 267.50
6. Chacoolou | Julia McNerney | Havens Schatt | 267.50
8. Wonderstruck | Privet Farm, LLC | Holly Orlando | 266
8. Emerald Silver | Opening Bell Sporthorses, LLC | 266
10. Way With Words | Shelia Motely | 265
11. Ultimate Romance | Ashley Weiman | Nick Haness | 264.50
11. Oceanside | Hallowell Lane Farm, LLC | Patricia Griffith | 264.50
