The New England Hunter Trials have have been held every fall since 1932, with the various New England hunts taking turns hosting the competition. The Hunter Trials is designed as a competition for hunter type horses, but have become a wonderful test for horses of all disciplines, especially eventers. These include horses and riders that hunt regularly with a recognized hunt as well as horses and riders not affiliated with a hunt.
The purpose of the Hunter Trial is to determine the best cross-country hunter horse or group of hunter horses. The ideal hunter horse is capable of negotiating the natural obstacles on course while also giving the rider a safe and enjoyable ride.
The hunter trial course consists of natural obstacles typically found in hunting country. The divisions have been established to allow riders of various levels of experience (and bravery!) to participate, whether they are actually hunting or not. With the exception of Teams and Pairs, the course is ridden individually. It is not a timed event and is judged on the horse's performance only. Divisions include Novice 2'6", Seniors/Open 3'6", and Heard Cup/Open High 4'0".
New England Hunter Trials 2022
(Photo of MERRIE HURWITCH AND SHILOH
courtesy of Myra Hudson Photography)
In 2022, Green Mountain Hounds and North Country Hounds jointly host the New England Hunter Trials on Sunday, October, 23rd, at beautiful Huntington Farm in South Strafford, VT. The day was glorious, the jumps wonderful, and thanks to the organizers and volunteers, the 2022 Hunter Trials was a great success!
Placings
CONGRATULATIONS to our wonderful junior riders Isabelle Gilbert for placing SECOND on her fine TB Rosie and Merrie Hurwitch for tying for FOURTH on her lovely Connemara X Shiloh in the Qualified Novice Division of 23 riders! Wentworth Hunt juniors are AMAZING!!
(Photo of ISABELLE GILBERT AND ROSIE
courtesy of Myra Hudson Photography)
Congrations to Sue Levy for winning the Heard Cup, Ginny Weiss for having the highest score and Tracie Sales for coming in a very close THIRD in the Qualified 3’6″ Division, and to all Wentworth riders for such a fabulous showing!
The top placings for the 2022 Hunter Trials are below (click on the image for a larger view). Click here for all placings and each rider’s total and fence scores.
(Click on the image for a larger view.)
Photographs from the Hunter Trials are available from Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography and Myra Hudson Photography. Check them out!
(Photo of HEARD CUP WINNER SUE LEVY AND DANNY
courtesy of Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography)
(Photo of MARILYN MARIANO AND PHOENIX
courtesy of Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography)
New England Hunter Trials 2021
The 2021 New England Hunts Hunter Trials was hosted by Norfolk Hunt at their Steeplechase Course in Medfield, MA, on Sunday, October 24. Riders enjoyed the wonderful weather, footing, and jumps! Our riders excelled at all course questions and brought home placings that make us very proud! Special congratulations to Tracie Sales and Ebony for keeping the Heard Cup firmly in Wentworth Hunt hands! We never doubted!!
Wentworth Hunt Placings
Heard Cup 4″
Tracie Sales and Ebony: 1st place
Sue Levy and Danny: 2nd Place
(Photo of TRACIE SALES and EBONY courtesy of Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography)
High Point Award
Sue Levy
Senior Qualified 3’6″
Ginny Wiess: 2nd place
Maia Lindner-Liaw: 3rd place
(Photo of Ginny Wiess courtesy of Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography)
Novice Qualified 2’9″
Ike Williams: 1st place juniors, 3rd overall
George Barker: 4th place
Merritt Carey: 6th place
Pairs 2’6″
Merrie Hurwich & Isabel Gilbert: 1st place
Tracie Sales & Erin Whitmore: 4th place
Merritt Carey & Asa Woodman: 5th place
Pairs 3’6″
Sue Levy & George Barker: 1st place (tied)
Lauren Dallaire & Maia Lindner-Liaw: 3rd place
(Photo of Lauren Dallaire & Maia Lindner-Liaw courtesy of Jim Mertz, Suddenly Still Photography)
New England Hunter Trials 2020
We are very sad to state that the 2020 New England Hunter Trials were canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
New England Hunter Trials 2019
Wentworth Hunt riders rode well and had a wonderful time at the 2019 New England Hunter Trials on Sunday, October 20th at Bradley Palmer State Park.
Many congratulations to Wentworth Master Sue Levy for bringing home the Heard Cup!
(Photo courtesy of Shawn Tinkham Photography)
We are so proud of all of our riders including Anna Jenoski and Tracie Sales on the chrome chestnuts winning the Pairs division with Sarah Jacobson and Lise Russell in sixth, Wentworth Hunt masters team of Daun DeFrance, Sue Levy, and Marilyn Mariano winning the Teams division, Tracie Sales with an impressive fifth in the Qualified 3'6" division, and Anna with a second place, Marilyn with third, and Liza Hart with sixth in a very competitive Qualified Novice division.
Special shout out to Sarah's delightful Albert who graciously agreed to stand in for Nasa. Your humble jump judge at fence 11 happened to overhear the event photographer exclaim about that trusty steed: "Wow! Now he's something special!"
Photo courtesy of Shawn Tinkham Photography
Here are the results:Congratulations to all, and many thanks to our faithful volunteers without whom equestrian events could not happen. Thank you!