Nick Haness and Anna Tyler Shine in Great Lakes Equestrian Festival Hunter Derbies
Friday was derby day in the Highstreet Arena during week three of the Great Lakes Equestrian Festival (GLEF), presented by B&D Builders. Nick Haness of Temecula, CA, topped the $10,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, presented by Don Stewart Stables, riding HH Elmo. Haness claimed the derby win for the second week in a row after winning last week’s open derby with Et Cetera during World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) week at Flintfields Horse Park.
The 11th season of GLEF features six weeks of FEI competition running through August 10, showcasing an FEI Nations Cup CSIO3*, the FEI North American Youth Championships and the return of Major League Show Jumping CSI5* competition to Traverse City. Highlights also include the $100,000 USHJA World Championship Hunter Rider Central Spectacular and weekly qualifiers for the all-new $150,000 Traverse City Equitation Championships debuting in September.
Held in a single round hunt-and-go format, Haness had one shot to impress the judges—and on the back of HH Elmo—he was unstoppable.
“HH Elmo makes the impossible possible,” said Haness of the 16-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by Lindsay Maxwell. “In the handy portion, there was one turn that I thought was impossible, but he did it so well.”
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