Attending a hunter pace (Sewickley to be specific) for the first time- questions

[ex-racer_owner]

My team and I will be attending the Sewickley Hunt Hunter Pace this Sunday, October 3. Not one of us has ever done a hunter pace before and we aren’t quite sure of a few things.

1. Do we need to dress up in any certain way? I know it is not formal, but should team members dress alike? The high temperature is only going to be 60 and more like low forties when we arrive at the location. We were originally thinking matching polos, but would matching fleece pull overs be okay?

2. I see from my search on hunter paces that some teams have a team name. Is this standard procedure, and more specifically for anyone familiar with this particular hunter pace, is it expected? We want to come up with something clever or funny and between the three of us, it might take some time! :lol:

Any other words of wisdom or advice about what to expect would be greatly appreciated! We are very excited to participate and want to make a good showing, and hope to have a great time.

UPDATE in post #10

[GilbertsCreeksideAcr]

Hi there,
Hunter paces are a blast. There have been a lot of threads on them recently. Here:
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/search.php?searchid=8003430

[ex-racer_owner]

I did do a search on hunter paces, but I did not come across some of the information I was hoping to find.

Another question that I have is: Is there a penalty if your horse refuses a jump?

Are there “officials” posted throughout the course?

How do the participants know which way to go? Are there flags or some sort of marking to follow or look for?

[rwfarm]

You will see an aray of attire at the Sewickley Hunter pace. It is a bit long so dress comfortably. Most people will wear boots and breeches. Some teams have matching saddle pads or same color polarfleece. It is just for fun so wear something comfortable. This pace has check points though out to make sure people dont get lost. THere are markers to follow. People go for optimum time. You can go around jumps if you choose not to jump.

It is strickly for fun.

[jenarby]

Hunter paces are a lot of fun. Very casual! Dress for comfort (you might want to layer a bit in case it warms up). Some people match shirts, saddle pads…some put matching glitter on their horses or ribbons. The only real dress requirement is a helmet. I’ve never been to a pace where people gave a team name.
As far as jmuping, you should probably enter the hilltopper division if you think your horse may not jump something you present to. That way you can jump whatever you want but are not required to jump anything. It makes for a wonderful xc schooling opportunity. And for those of us who tend to be chickens, we can pick and choose what we feel comfortable going over.

Every pace is different so some may places jump judges around the course or in tough areas just to make sure everyone is getting by okay. It takes a lot of volunteers to place one at each fence so normally it is just on the honor system when you ride in the jumping division.

Biggest thing, have fun!
I’ll be there this weekend as well. My first time to Sewickley. I heard they put on a lovely lunch afterward as well!

[AliBus]

great event…

We did this last year for the first time and were completely unprepared – it was WAY longer than we thought – we mostly walked and came in with the slowest time – but it was a BLAST! This year we have prepared better and are ready to move at something faster than a snail’s pace

Lots of teams play the match game (mine included) but some don’t – like others have said anything goes – you will be fine in fleece pull overs – last year we did long sleeve polos, and this year we were planning on short sleeve polos until the weather did a nose dive…so we are currently undecided…

Finally, there are no officials, like others said you jump what you want and go around what you don’t. Last year I didn’t jump any – but this year I hope to do some…

Also, the course is well marked and there are volunteers at several check points along the way to make sure everyone is making it through ok – they also have people at most (if not all) road crossings to help watch for traffic.

And, there is a stop about half way where you can get off, stretch and grab a snack – if you need/want too!

Its all very laid back…

The brunch is tasty Hope all of you have a SUPER ride Sunday!!

[jenarby]

So how did everyone do?
My team was 3rd in the hilltoppers. We rode in red jackets, three bays (one had a white tail). The check point stops were great, they handed out cookies, port or water for a break. The footing was iffy in a few places but not as bad as I expected with the amount of rain overnight. Brunch was delicious!! I had no idea they even had an open bar! This was my first time doing this pace and I can’t wait to go back!

[ex-racer_owner]

Wait, the bar was an open bar?!! I missed that part:lol:

Sadly, not all of my team members were able to attend- we had one failure to load this morning after the horse hit his head in the trailer. Myself and my remaining team member had a great time, even with some less than ideal footing in spots. I think I may have found my horse’s calling! He really seemed to enjoy this type of activity, as opposed to horse showing, and it works well with his type of energy. I was very worried about having enough brakes, since I wasn’t sure if we were going to have lots of horses galloping by or with us, but he did just fine in the french training snaffle. I had thought about what equipment to use, stronger bit, running martingale, but it wasn’t an issue, yay!

We were the team of blondes in raspberry fleeces with a gray and a bay. Yes, he was the very noisy, unhappy bay horse on the trailer making lots of noise:o I like to think it was because his “babysitter” wasn’t with us, as it was not his normal behavior (yes, really!).

Many, many thanks to all the folks who made this event possible. We had a great time and look forward to next year’s!

[AliBus]

sounds like you all had fun…

we didn’t make it – we made an executive decision not to go because the weather folks were calling for rain – and we are almost 2 hours away – we didn’t want to make the drive and find out it was too soggy But there’s always next year! Glad you enjoyed it so much!! Post pics if you have any

[ex-racer_owner]

Update

There is a local horse publication called “Horse Connections” that did a very nice article about the Sewickley Hunt Hunter Pace. My BO/pace partner texted me this morning to let me that there was a picture included in the article of us and our horses in this month’s edition! Such a nice surprise and wonderful cap to an already great experience. Can’t wait for next year’s pace- so much so I am going to call and find out about riding as a guest in a hunt. I can see how this addiction begins!:lol:

[Fancy_That]

I got hooked on Hunter Paces…arent’ they the most fun?

[QUOTE=ex-racer owner;5198569]
There is a local horse publication called “Horse Connections” that did a very nice article about the Sewickley Hunt Hunter Pace. My BO/pace partner texted me this morning to let me that there was a picture included in the article of us and our horses in this month’s edition! Such a nice surprise and wonderful cap to an already great experience. Can’t wait for next year’s pace- so much so I am going to call and find out about riding as a guest in a hunt. I can see how this addiction begins!:lol:[/QUOTE]

Congrats! glad you had fun! This is why I got hooked on Hunter Paces. You literally get to socialize with friends (I ride with my sister, we keep our horses together and do everything horsie-together), ride together, do XC “schooling”…and just have a blast going around the course.

Plus you get a nice friendly potluck lunch afterwards and prizes/ribbons for those that do well.

It’s so addicting! Team Chases are super fun, too. And my local hunt club does all kinds of fun classes where you “switch horses” in the middle, etc.