Lexington, KY – August 13, 2024 – The 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship kicked off on Tuesday in the Rolex Stadium during the Bluegrass Festival Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park. The 3’6″/3’9″ Championships took center stage as 82 horses vied for the winning honors. After two rounds of competition, it was Nick Hanass and Circa who came out on top after earning three scores in the 90s during the championship round. Jennifer Hannan followed in second place with Frosted, while Daniel Geitner and Animated rounded out the top three.
“Circa came into that second round and her expression and her canter consistency was beautiful,” expressed Haness after his win. “She gets to the jump and she really jumps with her legs very snappy. She’s more of a slow and consistent horse and I had to try to go for it today – I definitely had to take some chances.”
Nick Haness and Circa
The 3’6″/3’9″ Championships consisted of two rounds offered at both 3’6″ and 3’9”. All horses were invited to compete in the first round, and then the 30 horses with the highest scores from the first round advanced to the second round, where they started with a clean slate. The flowing courses designed by Ken Krome and Meghan Rawlins used the expansive Rolex Stadium to allow horses to showcase their style over the beautiful fences.
Riders returned in a randomized order for the championship round, with Haness drawing the top spot with Circa. Going first, he knew would need to be brilliant to impress the judges and garner scores that would leave the rest of the field chasing him. With a nearly flawless round, the duo did exactly that to receive scores of 93, 92 and 92 from the three panels of judges and top the leaderboard with a score of 277 points.
“I came into the second round with the mentality of giving it my best shot,” noted Haness. “I know that she’s capable of putting in a winning round. I had to randomly go first once and that kind of threw me for a little bit of a loop. But if you go first and you lay it down, I feel like it can work out to your benefit. I was very excited about the feeling that the mare was giving me going around the course. I was told by Tom Wright, who’s a great trainer and horseman, that I was too slow to the first jump in the first round and I don’t make the same mistake twice. So I went in and just picked up a good gallop and from that point forward she was amazing.”
Twenty-nine rounds later, Haness’ score stayed on top and he returned to the center of the arena to be awarded the championship title with the 8-year-old Holsteiner mare owned by Glade Run Farm. The victory was extra special for Haness, who imported Circa when she was 5 years old before she was purchased by the Karat family, and he has enjoyed continuing to be a part of her journey with the team at Uphill Farm.
“Circa is a very special horse to me,” explained Haness. “It’s been very rewarding to be a part of her journey and that makes it extra special for me. I do catch ride a lot of horses and she’s one that I have a special bond with, so it makes these victories even more special.”
Hannan also had a beautiful round with Frosted, a 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion owned by Rindy Dominguez. The duo earned a total score of 272.5 for the second place prize. “I definitely stuck to my plan,” she said. “I try to walk by myself and make a plan and formulate it. Frosty is a class act all the way around. He’s a stallion but you would never know. Everything about him is just a pleasure. He tries his hardest every time and he’s a great competitor.”
Jennifer Hannan and Frosted
The third place award went to Geitner and Animated, a 10-year-old Oldenburg gelding owned by Janet Behling, who were just one point behind Hannan with a total score of 271.5. Geitner enjoyed the course for the second round saying, “They changed the placement of a couple jumps to keep these horses bright. The lines were open enough that you could really showcase your horse today. It’s a special day for hunters – great prize money and the owners feel the recognition that they deserve. It’s nice for them to have their moment in the spotlight.”
Daniel Geitner and Animated
This marks the first year that the Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship has been held in the Rolex Stadium, and Haness enjoyed having the opportunity to showcase the horses in this special ring.
“I think that the Rolex is a great venue to compete in,” concluded Haness. “The stadium is beautiful, the views are great, and I think the horses feel pretty comfortable in this arena. They gave us a nice little holding area down below, so after you warmed up you could step into this little lower arena and get them acclimated. I think that many, many horses went great today. A lot of people put in really nice rounds and I’m excited about this new change for sure.”
The 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA Green Hunter Incentive Championship will continue on Wednesday with the 3’/3’3” Championship, where 144 horses are set to compete. The week continues with the 2024 Platinum Performance/USHJA International Hunter Derby Championship, which will get underway on Friday in the Rolex Stadium.
For more information about the Kentucky Horse Shows, please visit www.kentuckyhorseshows.com.