74 SIDELINES FEBRUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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By Holly Hugo-Vidal
Relatively speaking, Nick Haness is the new kid on the block;
however he’s not all that new to the horse show scene. As a
junior, he was very successful – acting almost as a junior and
a professional -- riding many horses for owners even before he
turned pro. As a junior he won many championship ribbons on a
beautiful bay gelding named Providence.
Born and raised in Orange County, California, Nick began
taking riding lessons at Coto de Caza. Although he traveled
around from Rancho Santa Fe to Northern California to catch ride,
his Huntersbrook Stable is at Coto De Caza, right back where he
started!
Growing up in an equestrian community, horses sparked his
interest at a very young age. His best friend had horses in her
backyard and he always had a fascination with them. When he
was three, his babysitter would drive him in the golf cart to feed
carrots to the horses. By the age of four, he was having one lesson
a week and by six he knew he wanted more! One of fve boys,
he is the only rider in the family. His brothers were athletic but
involved in other sports and his parents were certain that riding
was merely a passing phase for Nick -- but that was not to be.
At 15, he was buying and selling horses and training for owners,
giving him experience well beyond his “junior status” age. When
it came time for college Nick was forced with a big decision --
whether to pursue an education or continue with horses. Nick
turned professional after he aged out of the junior division and
although he had good grades, he knew what he wanted to do with
his life. Everything led him down that path!
Nick did a lot of observing in the beginning. He went to shows
and watched John French and Peter Pletcher compete and
studied how they prepared horses for the ring. He attributes much
of his riding style to these top professionals. When Nick was young
Nick Haness
Nick and
Cristiano
show off
their style at
Thermal in
the $10,000
Devacoux
Hunter Prix.
Photo by Gail
Morey
he remembers watching the Olympics and The World Cup and
thinking about the thrill of performing in front a crowd and hearing
them cheer. He thinks in the hunter world, riding in a derby is the
closest thing to that, “especially when you win!”
He loves the derbies, saying that the added pressure and the
level of diffculty makes him more focused. “In the derbies, you
really form a bond with your horse, because you have to trust
them and not override. Luckily, I have a good group of horses
that I’ve had for a while that I know. I really like the handy rounds
because it can separate the horses that are cautious verses one
you can really just go for it, which I like because I’m kind of a risk
taker.”
Nick has won six of the twelve USHJA derbies offered at
Thermal during the last two years, which he feels is his biggest
accomplishment so far. Not bad considering he has only been a
professional for six years and is 24-years-old.
In addition to riding, Nick also has students that compete in all
divisions, although as he puts it, “the art of equitation” is his favorite.
“I’m a bit of a neat freak and a perfectionist, so the equitation for
me is an art. I enjoyed riding in the equitation albeit for two years.
I love teaching equitation and I enjoy the process of developing
horses for Big Equitation classes. One of my students was 10th in
the Maclay Finals last year. As much as I love a good hunter, I am
hoping to get some grand prix horses which might surprise some
people who think of me as a hunter rider. I have shown jumpers
and would love to have a string of grand prix horses someday.”
This winter, Nick will head to Palm Beach to ride horses for
another trainer. Although he’s been to Palm Beach this will be the
frst time he will compete there. He will then return for six weeks
at Thermal. Nick is defnitely one to watch in the horse world and
it will be exciting to see what he does next!
Holly Hugo-Vidal is Sidelines’ California correspondent and
writes the “West Side Story” column. Holly is located in Rancho
Santa Fe, California. Holly specializes in hunters and equitation
as well as adults. She is an “R” USEF judge, clinician and an
author. Her most recent book is “Build Confdence Over Fences.”