The U.S. Hunter Jumper Association World Championship Hunter Rider Task Force is launching the West Coast Hunter Spectacular, to be held on April 20.

The competition, part of the Flintridge Spring Classic in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., will include two rounds where professionals, juniors and amateurs compete head to head.

Created to mirror the excitement of the Palm Beach Spectacular (Fla.), the West Coast Spectacular will offer at least $30,000 in prize money.

Geoff Teall, chair of the WCHR Task Force, said this class has been in the works for years, but the strong membership growth of WCHR over the past three years helped push the idea into reality.

“The program is very popular on the West Coast. It seems like the farther you get from the East, the more popular the program is, especially on the regional level. We’ve been trying to give them a special class out there,” said Teall, of Wellington, Fla. After exploring a few options, show manager Dale Harvey suggested Flintridge.

Points from the West Coast Spectacular won’t count toward regional or national awards, just like the Palm Beach Spectacular, because the class isn’t available to enough WCHR members.

However, Teall explained that could change in future years if there’s enough interest to warrant adding spectaculars across the country.

“If we can get this class to sell in the West Coast and then get it down to Texas, and if we could make it so that there’s something in each region even, that would make it something that could count [for points],” said Teall.