Thermal, CA – March 15, 2025 – Nick Haness has a passion for selecting and developing young hunters, and – even based solely on the results of Friday’s $20,000 DIHP Platinum Performance Young Hunter Championship – he is quite good at it. On March 14, Haness swept all three of the top spots in the young hunter finale class, taking home the top honor aboard South Coast and finishing in second and third with Taylor and St. Moritz, respectively.
Haness and South Coast were one of the first entries to jump the two-round class, and they wowed the judges right out of the gate, earning scores of 96 and 94 for a 190 total.
“South Coast is such a cool horse,” said Haness of the 6-year-old Warmblood gelding, owned by West Coast Equine Partners LLC. “He’s a beautiful horse and tremendous mover. In fact, he won the $20,000 Under Saddle Championship here in Thermal just a few weeks ago. So not only can he move, but he can also perform and jump as well. He’s wise beyond his years for being a 6-year-old. He handles himself beautifully. I will say, to date, he’s one of the easiest horses I’ve ever had. His preparation for any event basically is to feed him treats. We don’t even lunge him; we don’t ride him in the ring in the morning. He’s just a really reliable, really happy go-lucky horse.”
Haness imported South Coast from Germany when the gelding (by Floriscount) was 4 years old and has been bringing him along ever since.
“I actually taught him how to jump, so it’s kind of been a really fun journey with this horse,” said Haness. “One of my favorite things in my career is to select and import and bring along young hunters. I’ve been doing that since I was a teenager, so it’s really fun for me. It’s exciting. I love that we have opportunities now in a class like this to wrap up our circuit with a high-stake money class for the young hunters. I love the incentive programs for the young hunters. I don’t just go out there and buy the winning horse. I like to produce them from the ground up. I’m proud of my horses when they come out in a field like this. All of my horses honestly had great rounds. They went very well. I’m excited for the future with these young hunters next year and the rest of this year. It’s how they start, and if they have this great foundation now, I think they have a long-lasting and great career.”
For full results of the $20,000 DIHP Platinum Performance Young Hunter Championship, click here.
