Pacific District MFHA Field Hunter Qualifier! 
​Saturday, April 15th on the Hunter Trials field!

The top six horses in each division will receive the title of  MFHA Field Hunter and their names will be published in The Chronicle of the Horse, Covertside and In and Around Horse Country!  Remember, you don't have to own the horse you compete on! Qualifier awards include ribbons for 1st through 6th place, prizes for 1st through 4th place, a ribbon and prize for the best junior in each division, a ribbon and prize for Best Turned Out and a gift of recognition for all competitors! There is also an award for the Best Overall Junior and the Best Turned Out for the Appointments Class. We'd love to see a strong turnout of adult and junior members for this Qualifier (you have to be a member to compete) and the top two Field Hunters in each division are qualified to compete at the VA Hound Show on May 27th in the MFHA Field Hunter Championships! 

Results - Appointments Class

Overall Qualifier Placings
1st Place - Liza Sibley
2nd Place - Alexandra Sullivan
3rd Place - Lauren Murphy
4th Place - Lynn Wilbur
5th Place - Lola Michelin
6th Place - Carmen Walker

Best Dressed Junior: Grace Coonrod
Hunter Division
1st Place - Claire Kachmarek & Sumiko
2nd Place - Lynne Wilber & Summer
3rd Place - Lola Michelin & Urbanus
4th Place - Cindi Wood & Griffin
5th Place - Carmen Walker & Talk of the Town
6th Place - Keri Gorman & Starhopper

1st Place  Junior: Grace Coonrod

Hilltopp Division
1st Place - Katherine Schaefer & Wrenwood Kaliber
2nd Place - Brenda Mozakowski & Michievous Abbigal
3rd Place - Jannie Stowell & Icee
4th Place - Laure Murphy & Andi from Evans
5th Place - Liza Sibley & Utah Beach
6th Place - Alexandra Sullivan & Doc Holliday
ATTIRE: 
ADULTS' ATTIRE: For the three performance phases, from the MFHA guidelines for this Qualifier, adults should wear formal hunting attire BUT  "a competitor in a suitably cut hunting coat will be as competitive as one in a shadbelly or frock coat!" 
JUNIORS' ATTIRE - Informal or ratcatcher attire is correct for juniors, as is wearing your hunt coat with WHC colors. 

It's not only a chance for our members to win regional MFHA Field Hunter titles, ribbons and prizes, but ALL entry fees are being donated to WHC's Hound Fund so it's a big WIN for our hard-working hounds! Entry fees are $100 for the Qualifier for adults, $75 for juniors, and $50 if you only want to show in the "Best Dressed Turnout" or Appointments Class! 

Here's how the Qualifier Works

TWO DIVISIONS: Adult/Junior Hunter (jumping) and Adult/Junior Hilltopper (non-jumping). The Hilltopper division is like our 3rd flight, walk, trot and canter, just NO jumping and they will be following the Hunters' flight at a slower pace! And the juniors, over 11 yo and under 18 yo compete with the adults; however, there is an overall "Best Junior Award" for BOTH the Hunter and Hilltopper Divisions!

For the Best Turned Out  class, the competitors, divided into two sections (Adults and Juniors), will first be judged on turnout, including appointments. This phase has its own award which will not count toward placings in a qualifier or in the Finals. It is independent of and judged separately from the performance phases of the competition and, as noted, is divided between adults and juniors unlike the performance phases. 

COMPETITION FORMAT : The qualifier has FOUR phases, three of them count towards the overall Qualifier winners: 
  • Class One: "BEST DRESSED TURNOUT" -  this is an old-school "Appointments Class" and is optional for Qualifier competitors! The Turnout score does not count towards your final score, and it is the only phase where juniors are pinned separately from adults! This is for the "Best Dressed" rider and horse, and if  you have a tack trunk full of hunt appointments and want to show in ONLY the Turnout phase, you can! This is an unmounted class and a full list of appointments is in the attachment from the MFHA below! The suggestions are from a bygone era in foxhunting, when riders wore silk top hats and no one rode with a saddle pad so that you achieved "closer contact" with your horse, just look at all those old foxhunting prints! And several members have appointments to loan for this class, contact MFH Melody or Jt. MFH Theresa Lazares, if they don't have what you need, we'll try and find it!  The Best Turned Out phase does not count toward the selection of the qualifying competitors. Once the judging is completed, the competitors, if not wearing safety headgear, must change into safety headgear before the riding phases begin. Please note that the performance phases, though not judged on appointments, are to be ridden in proper hunting attire and tack. Any substantial deviation from traditional attire and tack during the performance phases may incur penalties at the judges’ discretion.
  • Class Two: UNDER SADDLE - Hunter and Hilltopper divisions will be judged in separate classes  (first jumping, then hilltopping); this is a flat class that will be held on the Hunter Trials field and you may be asked to walk, trot and canter, halt, back up or stand at the judges’ discretion allowing the judges to see the horses’ way of going and get an overall view of the competitors. The Hunters may be asked to hand gallop. Way of going and suitability of the hunter to the member is taken into consideration!​
  • Class Three: CROSS-COUNTRY - This phase (the highest weighted of the three performance phases) consists of a mock hunt or possibly a short drag hunt, depending on the feasibility of using hounds. Competitors will follow a field master for approximately 2.5 to 3.5 miles over fair hunting country with obstacles and typical hunting situations, including checks, a ware staff, queuing up in front of a fence (not applicable to hilltoppers), etc.

  • Class Four: INDIVIDUAL TESTS -  Competitors will perform an individual test to determine the Champion and Reserve Champion for the MFHA Field Hunter Qualifier. For the jumping division, it will consist of a handy hunter course of about 8 fences, possibly including a trot over fence, a gate to be opened and closed, a rail to be dropped, a lead over fence and a horse to be ponied. The test for the non jumping division may include a hand gallop and halt, a gate to be opened and closed, a rail to be dropped, a lead over fence and a horse to be ponied.

Our Judge - Julia Kubicek

 Julia is a former WHC member who came home to the PNW this year after a number of years on the east coast. Julia has competed in Qualifiers in the MFHA Southeast District and she has her colors with Whiskey Road Hounds in South Carolina where she led Second Flight. Julia has also been a member of Aiken Hounds and has hunted with the Palm Beach Hounds. Currently Julia is the Assistant Trainer at Heirloom Equestrian in Battleground, WA and is a very popular trainer of horses and riders, especially junior riders and has introduced many juniors to foxhunting through Woodbrook Hunt Club! We're very excited to have Julia as our main judge!