Lightning Strikes for McQueen and Nick Haness To Win 2023 WIHS Grand Hunter Championship Title
The 2023 Washington International Horse Show, presented by MARS Equestrian™ continued on Tuesday, October 24, and at the conclusion of the professional hunter divisions in The Show Place Arena, it was McQueen and Nick Haness who ruled supreme. The formidable duo won the Green Conformation Hunter division championship, the Grand Green Hunter Championship, and the overall WIHS Grand Hunter Championship title.
On the opening day of WIHS, McQueen was second in the model and won both over fences classes with a score of 90 in the first class and a whopping 92 in the handy. On Tuesday’s deciding day of competition, Haness then piloted the beautiful bay to a red ribbon in the stake class with a score of 90. A win in the under saddle sealed the deal for the numerous championship titles that followed.
“I have to say that I feel like McQueen and I think together on course,” explained Haness of his ride with the nine-year-old KWPN gelding by Cornet Obolensky. “I understand him all the time. Riding him by this point of the year just feels like a partnership that’s unlike anything else. I feel like when he thinks, I think with him, and we think together. I just know the cues to let him know this is an impressive venue and this is an important class for us to win.
“That horse is just a winner,” continued Haness. “He’s an absolute dream to ride, and he knows when it’s time to shine. He tries his hardest to always give you that blue ribbon every single time. That is an unusual and exceptional feeling in a horse. We ride and train these horses day in and day out, and many of them are winners, but they have to want to be the winner, and McQueen wants to be the winner.”
McQueen and Haness have racked up an impressive resume this year alone. They won the $100,000 World Champion Hunter Rider (WCHR) West Coast Hunter Spectacular, sponsored by Irene Neuwirth, in early May, the Grand Championship title at the Devon Horse Show later the same month, the Platinum Performance United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) 3’6″/3’9″ Green Hunter Incentive Championship in August, the Grand Hunter Championship at Capital Challenge Horse Show in the beginning of October, and most recently, had a clean sweep of the Green Conformation Hunter division at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show. Now, they are WIHS Grand Hunter champions.
“This is absolutely a huge honor for us and our team today,” expressed Haness, who hails from Temecula, CA. “It’s a big, very exciting, and important win for us. McQueen has been an amazing horse all year long and has delivered outstanding performances. Being Grand here is just exceptional and incredible. For us, this feels like an Indoors three-peat. This is our final show together of the year, so it was a great way to finish it off with a bang. We could not be happier for everyone involved.”
The “everyone” that Haness mentions is the big support team around McQueen. It starts with McQueen’s previous owners of Balmoral Farm, Inc., Carleton and Traci Brooks, who have been responsible for the gelding’s preparation and care. Together with new owners Paige and Lanie Walkenbach of Walkenbach Equestrian LLC, along with trainer Jim Hagman and Haness, everyone has united for success.
“I feel like all of us have really come together as horsemen to produce results like this, and it is an extremely proud moment for all of us to be crowned the Grand Hunter Champion this week at Washington,” stated Haness. “McQueen is a character. He’s so athletic and so capable, but he’s such a gentle horse. He’s very, very intelligent. He’s a horse that has potential to jump the mountains because he’s so scopey. He utilizes that and channels his strengths into winning almost every time.”
For the Grand Champion Hunter honor, McQueen and Haness were presented with the Rave Review Challenge Trophy, donated by Stoney Hill.
Scott Stewart, of Wellington, FL, was named the Leading Hunter Rider, presented by Betsee Parker, and was awarded the Scott Stewart Leading Hunter Rider Perpetual Trophy.
Professional hunter champions included:
Green Hunter 3’6” Champion: Colter, Scott Stewart, Sophie Gochman
Reserve champion: Daydream, Scott Stewart, Gochman Ventures LLC
Green Hunter 3’9” Champion: C’est Jolie, Nick Haness, B R Farms LLC
Reserve champion: Drumroll, Geoffrey Hesslink, Meridian Farm LLC
Green Conformation Hunter Champion: McQueen, Nick Haness, Walkenbach Equestrian LLC
Reserve champion: California Love, Scott Stewart, Rivers Edge
High Performance Working Hunter Champion: Autograph, Hunt Tosh, Ceil Wheeler
Reserve champion: Milagro, John French, Kent Farrington LLC
High Performance Conformation Hunter Champion: Nottingham, Scott Stewart, Betsee Parker
Reserve champion: Jordan, Scott Stewart, Sophie Gochman
Jeyanandarajan and Boggus Take WIHS Children’s and Adult Hunter Glory
Children’s and Adult Hunters wrapped up the action-packed day of competition, where Lakshmi Jeyanandarajan rode Ratatat to the top of the $10,000 Children’s Hunter Championships, sponsored by MARS Equestrian™, and Rachel Boggus guided Chevito to the win in the $10,000 Adult Hunter Championships, also sponsored by MARS Equestrian™.
Twenty-nine horse-and-rider combinations contested the first round of the children’s championship. The top 12 then returned in reverse order of merit for a second round, and the combined total score from the two efforts yielded the final result. Jeyanandarajan sat in second after earning an 85 from judges Daniel Geitner and Richard Fancher. As the penultimate duo in round two, Jeyanandarajan delivered when it counted most with a foot-perfect trip and the high score of 92 for a two-round total of 177 and the win.
“I was very focused on the plan that my trainers had built for the round,” said Jeyanandarajan, who trains with Mitch Endicott and John Bragg of Bridgeport Farms in San Juan Capistrano, CA. “We wanted to have a solid trip coming back in the position that we did. I was trying to maintain my rhythm and not fuss with my horse too much. My trainers know, and I know, if I leave his face alone and maintain a rhythm, he does the rest. To have that pay off in such a major way and execute the plan as well as we did, I’m really happy with that round. It’s my first time scoring above a 90. My previous personal best was 86.5, so to get a score like 92 is really special.”
Jeyanandarajan has had the ride on Ratatat, affectionately known as “Nick” in the barn, for almost two years. Together, they’ve come up the levels from the Short Stirrup division through the Children’s Hunters.
“Nick is such a sweetheart in the barn and under saddle,” shared Jeyanandarajan of the 16-year-old Hanoverian-cross gelding. “He’s always got his ears pricked when you come in. He’s always looking for you – he’s also always looking for a cookie! He just takes such great care of you, and we’ve built a bond on that.”
This season marked the pair’s first time competing at Indoors. They picked up a win in the $10,000 North American League (NAL) Children’s Hunter Finals, presented by Charles Ancona, and the Grand Children’s Hunter Championship at the Capital Challenge Horse Show earlier this month. Now, their WIHS victory is the icing on top.
“To win a class like this feels incredible,” stated Jeyanandarajan, 17, of Irvine, CA. “We’ve had a long few shows at Indoors. To finish off on such a great note, especially in my first time at Washington, is amazing. I know my trainers and family would have been proud no matter what we got, but to achieve this kind of result is extra special. It’s been a lot of long practice hours from the Short Stirrup to here. I’m glad I was able to do that for the whole team.”
Second place in the championship, with a total score of 169, went to Dylan Clark and Clear Ride LLC’s Captain Jack, an 18-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Chello. Khloe McSwain and As Ever, a 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Calido I owned by Ella Trotz, completed the top three with an overall score of 167.5.
In the adult championship, 22 combinations made up the competitive field. The class followed the same format as the children’s, with the top 12 returning for the second round.
Last to go in round one, Boggus of Fort Wayne, IN, earned an 85 to return for round two sitting in fifth place. With nothing to lose, she delivered the high second-round score of 90 for a two-round total of 175 to secure the victory.
“I do a lot of my showing at WEC in Wilmington, Ohio, so I have a lot of indoors practice with him, which was really, really helpful for me here because I’m used to riding him inside,” explained Boggus. “Typically, I don’t ride him so late at night, so he was a little brighter than I anticipated in the first round. I didn’t do as good of a job as I wanted getting him straight to the two-stride, so my trainer Abby Blankenship told me, ‘You saw how much movement there was in the standings in the children’s class after the second round, so don’t give up. Give it your best ride.’ I really tried to correct the things I didn’t do as well the first round, and then I felt like I nailed the second round. I was really happy with it.”
Boggus has been partnered with the 14-year-old Holsteiner gelding by Chepetto owned by 18 Gauge LLC since February. Blankenship heard “Cisco” was available and knew it would be a good fit for Boggus to chase her aspirations.
“I really want to thank Cisco for making my dreams come true,” expressed Boggus. “He is so experienced. He has done this a million times, and I knew I could count on him. I wanted to ride him well because I thought he deserved it.
“I think he really likes to feel loved and like he’s good boy,” she continued. “I always try to give him a little bit of special attention. Today, when I got to the show, I made sure to go in his stall with some treats and I talked to him about what we were going to be doing today and how it was a bigger class. I told him I really love him and knew he could do it. I feel like he has a good bond with me, and he wants to do a good job for me because we have a good relationship.”
In addition to her riding pursuits, Boggus also juggles being a mother to a 14-month-old baby, along with her job working for multiple clinics as a doctor with specialties in anesthesiology and interventional pain management to fund her goals in the sport.
“I want to show people that you can do this even if you have to work, and you have kids, and you’ve got a million other things going on,” she said. “I was glad I could win today to show that. It’s a lot, but riding is my passion. It’s what I love to do. I was glad I could win today to show that.”
Finishing on a score of 174, Rachel Tanio of Sparks Glencoe, MD, and Cordolensky, Jennifer Tanio’s 11-year-old Austrian Warmblood stallion by Corlensky G, took second-place honors. Allison Carter rode her own Twenty Twenty, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Lordanos, to third place with a score of 172.
Competition continues at the 2023 WIHS on Wednesday, October 25, with the conclusion of the Amateur-Owner Hunters, as well as the $10,000 Children’s Jumper Championship and the $10,000 Adult Jumper Championship, both sponsored by MARS Equestrian™.
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