In addition to the
Virginia Fall Race meet is the Field Hunter Championships named
in memory of Mrs. Theodora A. Randolph, Master of the local
Piedmont Fox Hounds for over 40 years. Founded in 1989, this
event brings together fox hunting enthusiasts from all across
the U.S. and Canada to participate in the week long trial. Mounted
judges ride alongside the numbered contestants as they hunt
with five area fox hunts over a seven day period. At the end
of each day's hunting, the judges announce the horses selected
to compete in the finals held Sunday at Glenwood Park - prior
to the start of the first race.
The
Sunday finals of the Field Hunter Championship give racing spectators
a unique opportunity to watch a mock fox hunt. The finalists
then follow the Field Master and are judged on how their horse
performs.
After
this "mock" hunt, the finalists are narrowed down
once again and asked to negotiate a handy hunter course in the
center of the race course, one at a time, for the championship
title. They might be asked to dismount and re-mount from a log,
unlatch a gate and close it from horseback, or trot over a fallen
tree. The judges ask the riders to show each horse's different
hunting skills, and after these individual tasks are completed,
a champion is chosen. Trophies are awarded to the Champion,
Reserve Champion as well as Best Turned Out and Most Suitable
Pair.
A
$2,500 cash prize will be awarded to the 2005 Field Hunter Champion's
Hunt.
PARTICIPANTS QUALIFY
THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE FINALS WITH OUR SPONSORING VIRGINIA HUNTS.
Finalists compete over
a hunter course designed by
judges to test the horses' manners and hunting abilities.
Trophies will be awarded
for Field Hunter Champion, Reserve Champion, Best Turned Out,
Most Suitable, and Champion of (past) Champions.
A $2,500 cash prize will
be awarded to the Field Hunter Champion's Hunt
by The Bonnie Family
