WELLINGTON, Fla.--Patricia Griffith of Katonah, N.Y., on Divine Romance, Californian Nick Haness on Queen Celeste and Scott Stewart of Flemington, N.J. with Fidelio,California Love and Balou's Beau opened World Championship Hunter Rider Week with wins on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Winter Equestrian Festival.
Patricia Griffith on Divine Romance (Photo by Sportfot)Griffith was champion in Section A of the 3’6” Green Hunter division, winning the handy class on Thursday with a score of 90, along with another win on Wednesday, also with a score of 90.
“I was sent the video of this horse in Europe from Meredith-Michaels Beerbaum,” Griffith said. "But then she got sold to Nick [Haness. I stalked him a little, and when she was finally for sale, we bought her.”
“She’s a big horse. so last year we decided with her owner Callie Seaman, a very good amateur rider, that we’d give her more time to develop,” Griffith said. “Last year, she did a lot of the work with the horse in the amateurs and I did a little 3’3” performance hunters, and it was worth the wait. The horse has come into her own and is a spectacular mover and jumper. We’re very excited about the future for her.”
“She has that beautiful big canter and that big slow jump,” Griffith, a trainer at Heritage Farm based in Katonah, N.Y. “She’s careful by nature, so we weren’t sure how she’d do walking onto this stage. We’ve been slowly getting her ready for this at home and she has gotten really good; she can do all the equitation courses. When she’s in there by herself sometimes she over-tries, but she was awesome here this week and really showed up.”
“I don’t show her a lot because she also does the amateurs, so we try to pinpoint the weeks, and I’m just happy the plan worked out,” Griffith said. “I only showed her three times before this week. We’re looking forward to more championships for her."
Victoria Colvin of Loxahatchee, Fla., on Southern Night was Reserve Champion in Section A
Champion of Section B in the 3’6” Green Hunter division was Geoffrey Hesslink of Wellington on Sandori , and. Section B reserve champion was Stewart on Charlie Be Good Z, owned by Gochman Sport Horses.
BACK ON the East Coast for the week at WEF, Nick Haness of Temecula, Calif., won the 3’6” Performance Hunter division on Queen Celeste with winning scores of 92 and 93, plus a win in the under saddle.
Nick Haness on Queen Celeste (Photo by Sportfot)Haness is at WEF to defend his title in the $150,000 Peter Wetherill Palm Beach Hunter Spectacular after winning during ‘Saturday Night Lights’ in 2024.
“There's not much to say other than ‘wow’ about this mare,” he said of the 14-year-old Holsteiner mare. “She is so smart and knows when it's time to shine. She knew that this was a week with pressure and excitement and she really rose to the top.”
“Good horses are just exceptional and hard to find, especially when they have the will and the desire to win like she does,” Haness said. “I don't think anything changed in our preparation or the way we went with Queen Celeste this week. I didn't really ask much of her last week knowing that this was going to be our week to shine. It comes down to the fact that she is just a smart horse.”
“She was champion last year in this division, so it's nice to have her be consistent and feeling in tip-top condition thanks to her caretakers and trainers and everyone behind the scenes,” said Haness.
“Laura Karet is the sweetest ever and a great owner for our sport,” Haness said. “To be a part of her collection of riders and teammates, I'm thrilled. Laura is always a joy to be around and I think she's really proud of owning so many nice horses and watching them compete and be successful. She loves her horses so much; they are definitely part of her family.”
“This is a unique week for me because I have two qualifications,” he said. “I didn't have to qualify but being champion adds to the week's overall feeling. I think that we wanted to see how Queen Celeste was going this week and being that she was on top of her game, I believe that she's one of the contenders I will use for Saturday night.”
Paisley Park, ridden by Geoffrey Hesslink. was Reserve champion of Section A.
Atlas, ridden by Christopher Payne of Cincinnati, Ohio, was Section B Champion in the 3’6” Performance Hunter division , and Colter, ridden by Stewart, was Reserve.
Stewart was also Champion on Fidelio in Green Conformation Hunters and on California Love in Conformation Hunter, High Performance.
Stewart won a third Championship on Balou's Beau in Green Hunter 3'9".
Jimmy Torano of Mohrsville, Pa., on These Day was Champion Open Hunter 3'3".
