10/25/2009 Green Creek Hounds Fall  Articles

Green Creek Hounds Halloween Hunter Pace

Held on Sunday, October 25, 2009

Reported by: Boots Plyler & Jan Smith

Fun was definitely the theme for the Green Creek Hounds Halloween Hunter Pace held on October 25, on the lovely grounds owned by Jennifer and Roger Smith. The weather was partly cloudy and slightly cool as the witches, ghosts and goblins arrived for the annual costumed ride. Dressing-up was not required, but many equestrians took advantage of the opportunity to show off their creative skills and the patience of their mounts. Clowns, princesses, a fairy, a dragon, a knight, a sidesaddle lady, two hounds and Super Horse were among the equine styles. The trail was full of scary surprises as well as spooky riders. There was a ghost section, a crow/vulture area, an alley of bats, a web of spiders and even Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. Most of the horses, thankfully, seemed to take these extra hazards in their stride.

The trail for the hilltoppers was about five miles long and the hunter pacers rode a few miles longer. The terrain was a little slick in parts, but it was easy to spot those areas and go slower. Most of the ride went through the forest and along the river, but there were small fields along the way with peeks of the mountains in their full fall glory. The two water crossings on the path were quite substantial. The first one was slippery on the approach but with good footing through the ford and the second had drier banks with wider water and a rocky bottom. This ride was the perfect first hunter pace for a young rider providing that the pony they were riding was well seasoned. The road crossings went directly across with no long treks along the pavement, and the fields were not so open as to be intimidating. It was wonderful to see so many families with children taking advantage of this traditional Halloween event.

The food deserves extra praise. There was a selection of three types of grilled hotdogs with slaw, baked beans and chili. Dessert was a hedonistic delight with a vast array of sweets decorated for the season all arranged by Barbara Ketcham and Pinckney Cochran and served by Barbara, Ilena Budde and Joan McIntyre. The food was ably handled by Cindy Lupin with the help of Matt Ketcham, Mel Brown, Jerry Budde and Robin Bracket on cooking duty. The parking was in a large field and, though the turnout for this ride was quite large, there was plenty of room to tie the horses to the trailers while eating. The capable parking attendants were Steve Gould, Cory and Ray Gasperson, Bill Anderson, Jerry Dove, Jan Whitehurst and CeeCee Wilmanns. The registration desk was staffed by Ruth Gold, M.J. McDonald, Susane Brown, Melinda Holland, Carla Tumbleson and Sally Sturdevant; the start box by Pat and Andy Foster and the half-way point volunteers were Anne Shue, Christie Heuman, Tom and Vicky Jackson, Nina Schug and Ginny Chibbaro.

The pace chairman was Dolores Erthal and the course designers were Christi Fowler and Pat Hale. Trail markers were Christi, Pat and Carla Tumbleson. The trail decorators were Baiba and Arthur Bourbeau and Beatrice Lamb and the flowers were provided by Ilena Budde. Sheila and Harry Grymes and Emmie Osborne supplied the tents and the tables and chairs were provided by Harry and Sheila Grymes. The BBQ grills belonged to Cory Gasperson and Charlie Erthal. The deluxe port-a-potty was thanks to Ed Lubin and the road signs were supplied by Charlie Erthal and Jan Whitehurst. Thann Boyum was the vet on site and the pace was set by Bill Anderson and Karen Sennenwald. Halfway supplies and ice were handled by Kathy and Ric Rondell and carrots were brought by Nina Schug. Emmie Osborne did the ribbons and flyer and the costume prizes were supplied by Nancy Reynolds and Pat Hale. Debra Bundy and Karen Sennenwald sold t-shirts and Blanch Costa hung the posters. Charlie Erthal ran the shuttle to the halfway point and took care of incidentals. The trail workers were: Christi Fowler, Charlie and Delores Erthal, Cindy and Ed Lubin, Dee and Jack Black, Nina Schug, Ginny Chibbaro, Mike and Roberta Axelrod, Kem Ketcham, Ric and Kathy Rondell, Deborah Bundy, Buck Matthews, Carla Tumbleson, Nancy Reynolds, Kathy Godsey, Carol Greata, Carolyne Groves, Emmie Osborne, Elaine and Hugh Hobbs, Paul Nordan, Jan Whitehurst, Susane Brown, Marge Warter, Ilena Budde, Sally Sturdevant, Tom Jackson and Pat Hale.

The costumes judges were Dee and Jack Black. The Grand Prize went to Vera Biggerstaff as “Ms Scarlet O’Hara”. They picked the Witches (team #366) as the Scariest, Sue McDaniel’s “When Pigs Fly” as the Funniest, Autumn Hoyle’s “Momma Bee & Baby Bee” as Best Non-Horse Animals, Michelle Klopp’s “60’s Chick” and Kathy Bethka’s “Pig in a Blanket” as Most Original. Also taking honors as Most Authentic were Kris Yon as “18th Century Southern Plantation Sidesaddle”, Baiba Bourbeau & Beatrice Lamb as “Musketeer & Buccaneer”, and Lisa Postin as “Indian Chick”. Best Horse title was split between Kathy Hodges, Jennifer Madison & Shawna Moore with their mounts as “Two Clowns and a Pumpkin”, Amanda Stickley as “A Devil on Firey Horned Mount”, and Karen Beckwith as “Superman & Clark Kent”. Everyone’s favorite “ah moment” was split and went to Darbie Barr as a Devil and James Kennedy from The Hobbit as the cutest kids.

The Field Hunter Division had a total of 86 riders with an optimum time of 1 hour, 33 minutes and 33 seconds and was won by the team of Rachel Johnston, Cindy and Karen Kaufman of Lincolnton, with a time of one hour, 32 minutes and 15 seconds. Rodney Hawk of Asheville, and Eileen Taylor of Lake Toxaway were second at 1:35:01. Bill and Terry Boger from Simpsonville came in at 1:31:36 for third with Gail Patton from Seneca, and Debbie Thrasher of Anderson, in fourth place with a time of 1:35:50. Fifth place was won by Sharon Carden from Elizabethton, TN, in 1:35:51; and sixth by Jana Hinely of Tryon, and Sue McDaniel from Landrum, who came in at 1:30:56. The teams of Judy Heinrich and Betty Hill of Columbus and Carolyne Groves and Hali Holloway from Simpsonville, received honorable mentions.

The Field Hunter division also included Bobby & Susan Alexander; Michael & Roberta Axelrod; Darbie Barr, Sinclair Berdan, Kathy Bethka, Baiba Bourbeau, Mary Britt, Hannah Bryant, Deborah Bundy, Blanche and Catie Costa, Owen Cothran, Liz Crawley, Chrystal Crispin, Stephanie Culbertson, Sean Eastman, Ken Feagin, Nancy Finkell, Kathy Forbes, Gale Ford, Suess Fraser, Amy Gantt, Tomas Gimenez, Lindsey Gwynes, Duane & Harlene Harm, Lindsey Harte, Judy Heinrich, Betty Hill, Kathy Hodge, Autumn Hoyle, Jordan & Megan Johnson, Sara & Kem Ketcham, Michelle Kwiatkowski, Beatrice Lamb, Linda Lambert, Bonnie Lingerfelt, Denise Loy, Cindy Lubin, Jennifer Madison, Jillian & Travis Mangum, April McCormack, Dean & Roberta McKinney, Lisa Moore, Shanna Moore, Julia Nicopoulos, Susan O'Neill, Bev Phillips, Thomas Pluemper, Stephanie Poole, Joy Porter, Jackie Ranck, Kelly Rappuchi, Peggy Renew, Susanna Richardson, Kathy Rondell, Sarah Silver, Anne & Kelsey Spicer, Bobby Turner, Lisa Tyler, Lisa Williams, CeeCee Wilmanns, Cindy and Emily Wilson and Kris Yon.

The Trail Rider division had 82 participants with an optimum calculated time of 1 hour, 35 minutes and 10 seconds and was won by Sabine Connors and Emeline McGee of Spartanburg, and Allison Neely from Lyman, with a time of one hour, 37 minutes and seven seconds. Susan Carrier and Nancy Hasselbring of Columbus, came in second at 1:32:29. Third was a tie between Karen Graham and Rosy Schlueter from Tryon, and Donna and Leah Odom of Taylors, with a time of 1:37:55. Boots and Sarah Plyler from Greenville, took fifth place at 1:38:03. Sixth was won by Josie Dickins of Columbus, and Michelle Klopp from Rutherfordton, in 1:32:15. Sandra Hyder of Landrum, and Teresa Johnson of Pickens, both received honorable mentions.

The Trail Riders also included Amanda Aiello, Sarah Bailey, Deanna Baldwin, Karen Beckwith, Brenda Blaylock, Becky Bockoven, Thann Boyum, Chris Britton, Melissa Burchett, Kelly Cannon, Danielle Davis, Ruth Ann DeHollander, Marianne Devoursney, Jane & Mark Eden, Kimberly Ewing, Erin Fletcher, Kathy Godsey, Chris Greenwood, Lil Gregory, Jeanne Griggs, Johanna Harris, Susan Hartlye, Susan Haslam, Lacey Hein, Kailly Holden, Liz Strahlo-Holdren, Sheree Holmes, Susan & Wayne Jackson, Lillian Jayne, Sidney Jeffcoat, Jeanne Johnson, James Kennedy, Debra Kennerly, Stephanie LaMarcie, Danielle Lamb, Holly Lewis, Deirdre Perot Lightsey, Avril Lomas, Patti Lovelace, Joe & Kate Manno, Buck & Linda Matthews, Peggy McMakin, Ali Merritt, Connie Moore, Wes Moore, Fran Nagle, Lindsey Newsom, Jeannie O'Connor, Donna & Leah Odom, Morgan Palmer, Lisa Poston, Stephen Queen, Beth Rebels, Russell & Sally Rock, Leslie Scott, Susan Sloan, Amanda Stickly, Emily Stone, Mary Tolles, Terri Vick, Lori West, Kim Whitehurst and Whitney Wright.

We look forward to seeing you at the upcoming events. Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate Halloween at the Green Creek Hounds Hunter Pace on October 25th. Come ride with us at the Foothills Equestrian Nature Center (FENCE) on November 8th. Join us when the Clemson Intercollegiate Eventing Team will host their event on November 22nd. Prepare for the holidays and finish the calendar year’s paces at the Biltmore Equestrian Center’s Hunter Pace on December 6th.

Events will continue straight thru May with only a short break for the holidays, so be sure to check the schedule and come play with us!!

Always remember to check the website WCHPace.org for all upcoming events, news, articles, photos, placements and contact information.

Thank you to our photographer, Lou Smith for being at every event to capture the riders and their mounts as they fly over jumps, canter through the fields and enjoy the beautiful area trails. Hit “Photos” on the website to view the pictures. You can place an order online.

For information on the Western Carolina Hunter Pace & Trail Ride Series e-mail Series Coordinator, Jan Smith at Jan@WCHPace.org or call Jan at 828-894-8760.