The sky was bright and the temperature was cold for the start of the day of the FENCE Fall Hunter Pace and Trail Ride on Nov. 15. Heavy coats were shed and replaced with light vests in hopes of a big warm-up before riders and their mounts took to the trails. Some of the Trail Horses even thought it was their day to be racehorses as they traversed on the Steeplechase Course. Riders returning after their tour of the course were reporting that the trails were magnificent!

The trails were beautifully designed and prepped Dot Moyer, Carol Ten Broek and Ann Swift. This ride took riders to some different areas that they had not ridden before. Riders reported that the arrow signs helped tremendously. The directional arrows guiding those into FENCE who haven’t been there before was a great help as well.

The landowner hosts were Mike Frye, Karen Graham, Larry and Sondra Hodge, David and Shelly Contin Hubbs, Bill and Kathy Jansen, Judith and Bill Kerns, Brian and Kristie Madey, Joe and Kathy Picone, Ron and Deborah Ricci, Barbara Schuvart, Gunnard Rubini of Smallwood Farms, Elizabeth Anne Turner, Trustee, Larry Wassong, Ron and Petesy Wilson, and Jean Wright Revocable Trust.

Registration was at the FENCE Show Office which was nice and toasty on a cold morning. Martha Love, Dana Zygmont, Marilyn Yike, and Jackie Lewis handled the entries very nicely. They made sure riders signed all of the paperwork. Jim Zygmont, Debra Carton, and Andy Foster did a stellar job of parking all of the trailers for an easy exit. It’s amazing how many rigs can be parked in the lots! Even with the rain earlier the week before, the parking areas were quite dry. Rena and Ross Compton were on duty for traffic.

Joey Cabaniss was the timer with his assistant Madeline Clas. Once again Joey joked with the riders while giving directions to make the ride more pleasant. He always leaves the light on for riders and makes sure they know their rights and lefts! Gretchen Verbonic kept things rolling, offering assistance where needed.

Riders were greeted at the Check Point by Christian Demeniens, Laurel Pyatt, Martha Lott, and Sue Carrier. They supplied the riders with some nice cold water, apple juice, and /or some very nice Port. After the three minute rest, riders where sent on their way. A lunch of BBQ sandwiches and BBQ plates, as well as hotdogs, hamburgers and ham and cheese sandwiches was set up under the pavilion and was provided by Foothills BBQ. Included were some baked beans and slaw.

The trail was 8.5 miles and took riders across creeks and through the woods to wide open fields. The scenery was stunning, which brought out several wonderful photo ops. There was the wonderful cross country jumps field with filled water hazard as riders traversed the beautiful FENCE property, as well as a smaller private jump field later in the ride. An extra 10 minutes was built into the Optimum Time for those Field Hunters to play on the Cross Country Course and Sheila’s Playground [the small private jump field Trail Riders skirted just before River Road and the Morgan Chapel Road Bridge].

The turnout was wonderful. There were a total of 113 riders in 58 teams.

Now, let’s get to the results:

There were a total of 55 riders in 32 teams for the Field Hunter Division. The Optimum Time for the Field Hunter division was one hour, 47 minutes.

First place is the Field Division was awarded to Sanders Wyatt from Cornelius with a time of one hour, 47 minutes, 25 seconds. She was just 26 seconds off the Optimum time. The second place red ribbon is awarded to the mother and daughter team of Kathy Bethka from Greenville and Stephanie Culbertson from Fountain Inn with a time of one hour, 45 minutes, 46 seconds. Kailey Beck and Mirri Jene Robertson Haddon from Landrum grabbed the third place yellow with a time of one hour, 44 minutes, 14 seconds. The fourth place ribbon was awarded to Sylvia Brown from Raeford and Kelly Hart from Chester. They had a time of one hour, 43 minutes, 32 seconds. Sara Borkosky and Haley Johnson, both hailing from Simpsonville, took the fifth place ribbon with a time of one hour, 49 minutes, 14 seconds. Another close one! They were one second out of fourth place. Sixth place is awarded to the trio of Jamie Broyles out of Mosheim, Tenn., Elise Rogers from Columbus, and Gail Thompson from Greenville, Tenn. with a time of one hour, 43 minutes, 32 seconds.

Other riders out to enjoy the picture perfect weather were Amanda Aiello, Holly Bacola, Brooke Bailey, Baiba Bourbeau, Carrie Britt, Karen Brockway, Candace Carr, Melissa Champion, Ann Davis, Jill Decker, Erin Desrosiers, Lisa Duscio, Stephanie Easler, Jan Ellis, Joni Fielding, Lorie Fleenor, Carla Fullam, Tim Giles, Beth Goldizen, Rod Hawk, Lisa Kotilik, Beatrice Lamb, Elyssa LaRock, Patti Lovelace, Katie Martin, Nancy Mason, Brenda McNenny, Emily Mitchell, Holly Orfield, Sara Riggins, Zoe Saruis, Donna Schwind, Laurie Smith, Brandon Spencer, Katharine Stancliff, Eileen Taylor, Alan and Jerry Taylor, Paige Tillison, Aileen and Allen Wawrzuszek, Lindsey Weicker and Sherry Wyatt.

There were a total of 58 riders in 26 teams in the Trail Rider-Hill Topper Division. The Calculated Optimum Time was two hours, 24 minutes, two seconds.

First place goes to the trio of Susannah Francis, Dawn Harrison, and Carrie Wilsey, all from Hendersonville with a time of two hours, 23 minutes, 38 seconds. This team was just 24 seconds off of the Calculated Optimum Time. Second place is awarded to Tonette M. Corn from Newport and Deanna McIlwain from Mocksville with a time of two hours, 27 minutes, 42 seconds. The third place yellow ribbon goes to Kelsey Hudson from Bristol, Tenn. and Noah Odum from Bristol, Va. with a time of two hours, 28 minutes, 36 seconds. Ginny Jennings from Tryon and Llyn Josef from Columbus were one second out of third place with a time of two hours, 28 minutes, 37seconds. Fifth place is awarded to Heidi and Tom Trull with a time of two hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds. The sixth place green ribbon was collected by the duo of Tracey Hudson from Bristol, Tenn. and Susan Knickerbocker from Bristol, Va. with a time of two hours, 30 minutes, 29 seconds. Amanda Morfinos and Debbi Stanfield, both from Rutherfordton were awarded an honorable mention ribbon with a time of two hours, 30 minutes, 38 seconds. They were out of sixth place by a scant nine seconds! Congratulations to all riders.

Other Trail Riders out to enjoy the picture perfect day were Courtney Abrams, Briana Ambrosic, Diane Balding, Tara Boyce, Missy Bright, Jack and Nancy Brigmon, Kyle and Olivia Corn Farmer, Amanda Fisher, Lynn Fitch, Gwen Freer, Emily Grimm, Susan Haslam, Lee Herron, Brittney Husband, Nikki Hynes, Caroline Knox, Danielle Lamb, Kendall LeDuc, Keri Lewis, Arlene Lulavage, Bette Mann, Elizabeth McConvey, Cressa Megown, Susan Melvin, Connie Moore, DeAnna Norton, Erin and Reine Pagliano, Jessie and Kent Parent, Annie Grace Plott, Eva Pool, Janna Ritacco, Amber Short, Jill Slinger, Jan Smith, Jennifer R. Smith, Ivey Sumrell, Valerie Quinn, Bobby Turner and Kris Yon.

Up next for the 2015-2016 Hunter Pace Series is The Windridge Hunter Pace and Trail Ride scheduled for Nov. 29, 2015 after being postponed from the week earlier due to the high volume of rain several days prior. The last event of the series before we break for the holiday is the River Valley Pony Club’s Winter Hunter Pace and Trail ride to Benefit Christmas on Miracle Hill.

Check www.wchpace.org often for upcoming events, changes, and view your photo taken by photographers Lou Smith and Emma Arcularius. See you on the trails next time!

– Reported by Missy Bright