LAH Perpetual Trophies
LAH has over 25 Trophies that are awarded to members at our Hunter Paces. Many of the trophies date from 1985 and the start of the Pebble Beach Pace event. Some trophies commemorate old members who have passed but they left us with wonderful memories. Through the trophies we still fondly remember Gene Rettig, Tony Vacek, Audrey Wolf, Tucker Barth, Tadek Margulewicz and Dick Collins. Master Emeritus Albert Schreck, for example, presented LAH with the Dick Collins Point-to-Point silver hunting cap.
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The History of LAH Hunter Pace Events & Trophies
Hunter Pace events are a tradition in foxhunting clubs all over the world. The idea behind the Hunter Pace is to try to match the speed of an actual foxhunt. Pace events help riders learn or improve horse/rider cross-country riding, paces and jumping skills in a supportive environment. The Hunter Pace event is open to all levels of riders. LAH members, guests, Pony Club and junior riders are all encouraged to ride. We use Beginner Novice and Novice courses which are flagged, with timers at the start and finish. Optimum times are calculated for the course. Riders must try to match the pace without a watch. A fit horse and rider can generally compete in 4 to 5 classes. Perpetual LAH trophies are awarded to LAH members who win a class. Ribbons are awarded to first through third place and results from each event counts toward the Season High Point Championship.
Historically, LAH held four events per season. Starting in 1955, the first event of the season was the Hunter Trials. They were usually staged at the Guernsey Field, now part of the Horse Park at Woodside. Trials rated rider’s equitation & style. Unfortunately, by the late nineties, members had lost their enthusiasm for the discipline of Horse Trials. Beginning in 1973, the second event of the season was the Point-to-Point event held at the Law Ranch at Paicines. This continued until 1999 when the Law Ranch was sold. The third event, starting in 1959, was the Winter Pace, originally held at the Barth Farm in Clements and then in the nineties it moved to Connie Arthur’s Lone Tree Farm near Waterford. Traditionally, LAH celebrated the end of the hunt season with the Pebble Beach Race Meet. First run in 1959, the race meet consisted of a number of races on the flat and over fences which were open to members and qualified riders of other hunts. This was a magnificent venue and attracted riders from throughout the state & beyond. Unfortunately, we lost access to this venue in 1997 and the course was dismantled.
Today, LAH has over twenty trophies that are awarded to members at our Hunter Paces. A few of the trophies date from the 1950s. Some trophies commemorate old members who have passed but left us with wonderful memories. Through these trophies we still fondly remember the spirit of Gene Rettig, Tony Vacek, Audrey Wolf, Tucker Barth, Tadek Margulewicz, Dr Tom Harris and Dick Collins. The trophies are donated by members wishing to honor their old friends, for example, in 1985 Master Emeritus Albert Schreck presented LAH with the Dick Collins Point-to-Point silver hunting cap. Some trophies also recall great hunt horses like Super Sam, Silver Boy and The Dinner Guest.
Since 2000 the current Hunter Pace annual program has consisted of four or five events: We normally try to start the season with a Hunter Pace at the Horse Park at Woodside. If weather permits we try to do another pace before the end of the year at Piers Ranch. The Winter Pace usually takes place at Connie Arthur’s Lone Tree Farm in February/March and then if we can, we hold a mid-season winter pace at Twin Rivers Ranch in San Miguel. To end the season, we go back to the Horse Park or sometimes at Piers Ranch.
At every Hunter Pace we try to hold three standard classes: A Hilltopper Pace at 300 mpm with two riders and no jumps; an Introductory Pace at 325 mpm with two riders, one jumping & one not; and a Hunter Pace Pace at 375 mpm with two riders, both jumping.
In addition, we add two to three of the following classes: A Cross Country Pace at 400 mpm for a single rider jumping; a Change Pace at 350 mpm with two riders, one jumping and the riders exchanging horses half-way round; Fastest Hilltopper Race with two riders, no jumps winner is fastest time; and a Point-to-Point Race with two riders, both jumping, fastest time wins.
We also occasionally run a Team Chase with four riders on a team over a long course requiring gates to be opened/closed and horseshoes & gloves picked up. In a Team Chase only the times of first three riders count.
Our classes usually have 8-20 jumps and we typically run two courses: the slower pace classes use the Beginner Novice (2’7”) and the faster ones use “Novice (2’11”). Distances vary from 1500 -3000 meters.
Trophy Allocation
Class Horse Park & Piers Ranch Connie Arthur’s & Twin Rivers
Hilltopper Pace “The Next Generation” “The Missey & Sam”
Introductory Pace “The Woodrow & The Wolf” “The Vacek Horses”
Hunter Pace “The Master Schreck & The Pairs” “The Paicines & The Rettig”
Single Rider Pace “The Stirrup Cup” “The Halcyon Days”
Challenge Pace “The Baxter & The Tadek” “The Air France”
Fastest Hilltopper “The Master Harris” “The Silver Boy”
Point-to-Point “The Collins Cap” “The Tucker Barth”
High Point “The Hyatt House” “The Field Master’s Plate”
Historically, LAH held four events per season. Starting in 1955, the first event of the season was the Hunter Trials. They were usually staged at the Guernsey Field, now part of the Horse Park at Woodside. Trials rated rider’s equitation & style. Unfortunately, by the late nineties, members had lost their enthusiasm for the discipline of Horse Trials. Beginning in 1973, the second event of the season was the Point-to-Point event held at the Law Ranch at Paicines. This continued until 1999 when the Law Ranch was sold. The third event, starting in 1959, was the Winter Pace, originally held at the Barth Farm in Clements and then in the nineties it moved to Connie Arthur’s Lone Tree Farm near Waterford. Traditionally, LAH celebrated the end of the hunt season with the Pebble Beach Race Meet. First run in 1959, the race meet consisted of a number of races on the flat and over fences which were open to members and qualified riders of other hunts. This was a magnificent venue and attracted riders from throughout the state & beyond. Unfortunately, we lost access to this venue in 1997 and the course was dismantled.
Today, LAH has over twenty trophies that are awarded to members at our Hunter Paces. A few of the trophies date from the 1950s. Some trophies commemorate old members who have passed but left us with wonderful memories. Through these trophies we still fondly remember the spirit of Gene Rettig, Tony Vacek, Audrey Wolf, Tucker Barth, Tadek Margulewicz, Dr Tom Harris and Dick Collins. The trophies are donated by members wishing to honor their old friends, for example, in 1985 Master Emeritus Albert Schreck presented LAH with the Dick Collins Point-to-Point silver hunting cap. Some trophies also recall great hunt horses like Super Sam, Silver Boy and The Dinner Guest.
Since 2000 the current Hunter Pace annual program has consisted of four or five events: We normally try to start the season with a Hunter Pace at the Horse Park at Woodside. If weather permits we try to do another pace before the end of the year at Piers Ranch. The Winter Pace usually takes place at Connie Arthur’s Lone Tree Farm in February/March and then if we can, we hold a mid-season winter pace at Twin Rivers Ranch in San Miguel. To end the season, we go back to the Horse Park or sometimes at Piers Ranch.
At every Hunter Pace we try to hold three standard classes: A Hilltopper Pace at 300 mpm with two riders and no jumps; an Introductory Pace at 325 mpm with two riders, one jumping & one not; and a Hunter Pace Pace at 375 mpm with two riders, both jumping.
In addition, we add two to three of the following classes: A Cross Country Pace at 400 mpm for a single rider jumping; a Change Pace at 350 mpm with two riders, one jumping and the riders exchanging horses half-way round; Fastest Hilltopper Race with two riders, no jumps winner is fastest time; and a Point-to-Point Race with two riders, both jumping, fastest time wins.
We also occasionally run a Team Chase with four riders on a team over a long course requiring gates to be opened/closed and horseshoes & gloves picked up. In a Team Chase only the times of first three riders count.
Our classes usually have 8-20 jumps and we typically run two courses: the slower pace classes use the Beginner Novice (2’7”) and the faster ones use “Novice (2’11”). Distances vary from 1500 -3000 meters.
Trophy Allocation
Class Horse Park & Piers Ranch Connie Arthur’s & Twin Rivers
Hilltopper Pace “The Next Generation” “The Missey & Sam”
Introductory Pace “The Woodrow & The Wolf” “The Vacek Horses”
Hunter Pace “The Master Schreck & The Pairs” “The Paicines & The Rettig”
Single Rider Pace “The Stirrup Cup” “The Halcyon Days”
Challenge Pace “The Baxter & The Tadek” “The Air France”
Fastest Hilltopper “The Master Harris” “The Silver Boy”
Point-to-Point “The Collins Cap” “The Tucker Barth”
High Point “The Hyatt House” “The Field Master’s Plate”
