Haness and Stewart Dominate Rein Family 3'6" Performance Hunter Division
From across North America, the top horses and riders in the hunter discipline flocked to Wellington, FL, this week for World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) Week at the Winter Equestrian Festival. The sixth week of competition shines a spotlight on all divisions of the discipline and gives amateurs, juniors, and professionals alike the chance to qualify for Saturday night’s $100,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular.
Over one hundred of the country’s best performance hunter horses took center stage in Wellington International’s International Ring. Two champions were crowned in the California Split Rein Family 3’6” Performance Hunter division. The two tricolor awards were presented to Scott Stewart of Wellingotn, FL, and Nick Haness of Temecula, CA, for their top placings.
For Haness, the victory is extra sweet as his winter season has been planned around this very week and he has committed many hours in flight to dominate the hunter ring on both the east and west coasts.
“This week was definitely on my radar being that I won the WCHR Pro Rider Finals at Capital Challenge last year which gave me a bye into Saturday’s class,” he explained. “I have been back and forth between Wellington and California every week for the past five weeks; I typically take the red eye on Monday night and land Tuesday morning to come straight to the horse show. I’ve had an incredible season so far though, and I’m feeling strong going into Saturday night’s event so it’s all worth it.”
Haness’s partner, the 12-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Glade Run Farm, LLC, Queen Celeste earned top ribbons over the two-day division including the win in the stake class as well as the win in the Section A under saddle.
“She has the best jump and way of going,” Haness stated of the mare. “She’s a seasoned horse who has spent her whole career with very good people in her corner. She’s always been an eye-catching judges’ favorite, so I feel special to be partnered with her.”
His time with the mare started roughly one year ago when he was asked to catch ride Queen Celeste for the 2022 $100,000 WCHR Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular.
Stewart made the most of his day by qualifying one more mount for Saturday evening’s featured event. Known as one of the top hunter riders in the world and a multiple-time winner of the Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular itself, Stewart showed no signs of slowing down this week as he earned two firsts, a third, and a fourth throughout the division for the champion title.
“We’ve had a great week and our preparation has worked out so far,” explained Stewart. “We use our program to show a few times before this week in hopes of having our string peak here and have as many as we can qualify.”
For Stewart, the key to a top hunter horse is jumping style and eye-catching looks which are qualities he says his mount For Always, a nine-year-old Oldenburg gelding, has in abundance.
“He is used to jumping bigger fences, so this height is quite comfortable for him, but he still jumps in a way that doesn’t sacrifice his style,” he added of the mound owned by Dr. Betsee Parker. “I know him very well because we have had him since he was four years old, and that familiarity is a nice trait to have when going into the International Ring.”
Reserve champion of Section A in the Rein Family 3’6” Performance Hunter division was Can Can and Christopher Payne. Can Can, owned by Stephanie Ring, also received the Champion Equine Insurance Hunter Style Award. Reserve honors in Section B went to Geoffrey Hesslink and Bond for owner Shadowfax Equestrian, LLC.
Mitchell and Stewart Claim Tricolors in Equine Tack & Nutritionals 3’6” Green Hunter Division
Canada’s Brady Mitchell riding Epic Style and Scott Stewart aboard Spirit D’Intro Z shared the Equine Tack & Nutritionals 3’6” Green Hunter title in the International Ring. Thirty-six entries stepped into the ring, but it was Warmblood gelding by Cloney, owned by Rein Family LLC, as well as Scott Stewart and Spirit D’Intro Z, a Zangersheide gelding by Stakkato, owned by Gochman Sporthorses who were crowned champions of the division.
Mitchell was thrilled after his winning round and said, “My horse was very good yesterday, he was Section A winner of the jumping class yesterday and he won the hack. In one way the pressure was off because I knew I would probably have the tricolor, but of course you want him to keep winning. He’s a horse that really seems to rise to the occasion, so I feel really lucky to be able to ride him.”
This pair has been showing since last January, and Mitchell described Epic Style as, “The best feeling horse that I ride. He has the most beautiful and strong topline and the feeling his bascule gives you in the air is truly second to none.”
Epic Style navigated the course in the International Ring exceptionally well this morning, “it’s great riding in this ring, I love riding in this ring. I love when we get to ride the hunters in here because you’re able to get on a real pace and I feel like it shows off the horse’s really well and some horses are big event horses and really shine in this environment and I think he is one of those horses.”
With consistent top ribbons, Stewart was similarly pleased after taking home the tricolor with Spirit D’Intro Z. “Spirit is actually a new ride for me. He’s a really talented jumper, and before circuit we decided to play with him in the hunters becuase he’s a lovely mover,’ said Stewart. “We are all very pleased. It’s always great riding in the International Arena here at WEF. He was brave and it rode great out there today.”
Champions of the Day
Antares High Performance Hunter
Nottingham, ridden by Scott Stewart and owned by Dr. Betsee Parker.
WRMC High Performance Conf Hunter
Gratitude, ridden by Christopher Payne and owned by Provence LLC.
Equine Tack & Nutritionals 3’9” Green Hunter
Whimsical, ridden by Scott Stewart and owned by Gochman Sport Horses LLC.
Green Conformation Hunter 3’6”
California Love, ridden by Scott Stewart and owned by Rivers Edge
Adequan® 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter 18-35
Tztargazer, owned and ridden by Chloe White.
Golden Glock WS, ridden by Cassidy Rein and owned by the Rein Family LLC.
NetJets 3’3” Amateur-Owner Hunter 36+
Hemingway, owned and ridden by Stephanie Bulger.
Snaks 5th Avenchew 3’3” Junior Hunter 15&U
Fabian, ridden by Mimi Maddock and owned by Maddock Horses LLC.
Sam Edelman 3’3” Junior Hunter 16-17
Rare Cask, ridden by Sadie Berkhout and owned by Northern Ridge Stables, LLC.
Calou, ridden by Sadie Furr and owned by Michael Britt-Leon.
Tebbel, Ward Split Victory in CHF37,000 CSI3* Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 6
International jumpers moved back to the stunning derby field at Equestrian Village during KASK-sponsored WEF 6. A who’s who of show jumping battled for a qualifying place in Sunday’s CSI3* Grand Prix over tracks designed by Ana Catalina Cruz Harris (MEX) in the CHF37,000 CSI3* Adequan® WEF Challenge Cup Round 6.
After 101 horses tested the course, 20 returned for the tie-breaking jump-off. In a California Split, Mclain Ward (USA) and René Tebbel (UKR) shared top call. Ward and Vins vd Tojopehoeve Z, a 10-year-old Zangersheide gelding (Vagrant Z x LBH Calvados) owned by Ardencote Stud topped Section A of the class. Ward and Vins vd Tojopehoeve Z stopped the clock at 37.89 seconds in their jump-off debut together.
“That’s the first time I’ve ridden the horse in a jump-off and he gave me a great feeling in the first round,” said Ward, who recently took over the ride from fellow U.S. athlete Laura Kraut. “Laura and Nick Skelton were kind enough to let me ride this horse and bring him along in Wellington this season. He’s done young horse classes at places like Aachen, so he has a lot of experience.”
Vins vd Tojopehoeve Z was previously campaigned to the CSI3* level by Julie Welles (USA) and is now stepping up even further with Ward, a two-time U.S. Olympic team gold medalist. “We felt it was time for him to come back to the states and move up. We started in the 1.35m this season and the horse responded beautifully.”
Fellow U.S. rider Jimmy Torano took second in Section A with his own Chewbacca HCC, and Kraut took third riding Dorado 212 for owner St. Bride’s Farm.
Tebbel, who hails from Germany and represents Ukraine in international competition, was just fractions of a second off Ward’s pace to win Section B in 38 flat aboard Chanyon. Chanyon is a 15-year-old Oldenburg gelding (Chacco-Blue x Grand Canyon) owned by Gut Einhaus, LLC, and was previously campaigned to the Olympic Games in Tokyo by Japan’s Daisuke Fukushima.
“I watched Mclain and I thought in the second corner my horse was moving so I had to do one stride more there,” said Tebbel, who is back in Wellington training U25 rider Ansgar Holtgers JR.
“It wasn’t fast enough to beat Mclain, but it was good enough,” continued Tebbel. The plan for Chanyon is to be Holtgers Under 25 mount while Tebbel keeps him legged up in select events.
“The horse has all the experience, and it’s exciting for me to be back here competing in Wellington.”
Cathleen Driscoll (USA) took second behind Tebbel riding Arome for owner Plain Bay Farm, while Canada’s Samantha Buirs was third on her own Chic D Emma Z.
18-Year-Old Tom Wachman Scores CSI3* Win
The Wellington Equestrian Realty CSI3* 1.45m highlighted opening day on the derby field with a win for 18-year-old Tom Wachman and Lazzaro Delle Schiave, a 14-year-old Italian Sport Horse gelding (Acodetto 2 x Gluecksgriff) owned by Coolmore Showjumping.
Wachman stood atop an all Irish podium with Darragh Kenny and Vancouver Dreams taking second and Conor O’Regan rounding out the top three on Mendini DR. From a field of 37, Wachman was lighting fast over the speed portion of the two-phase class to pip Kenny by only two tenths of a second.
“My focus was a clear in the first round and then get him a bit relaxed because the second round suited me,” said Wachman who was the youngest athlete in the field. “I was quite tight back to the first one of the second phase and then I could leave out strides because he’s big-strided and scopey. He can stand off the fences and he actually jumps better on the grass; you can really dare him at the fences.”
Kenny was last to jump and a fierce competitor to have chasing you. Of the pressure, Wachman noted, “I was a bit nervous because Darragh was very close to me, so I was very happy that I just beat him out.
“You can learn so much even just watching the warm-up [here in Wellington],” claimed Wachman in response to the depth of Thursday’s field that brought forth some of the top riders in the world. “It's great to have that opportunity here.”
Wachman is now focused on the CaptiveOne Advisors 1.50m on Saturday with Lazzaro Delle Schiave.
