Harrisburg, PA – Harrisburg, PA – The riders of the Elkridge Harford Hunt Club were named the Hunt Night Champions on Monday, October 18, at the 75th Pennsylvania National Horse Show, held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, PA.
The winning hunt was one of eight registered hunt clubs from across Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia represented at Hunt Night, presented by Kinsley Construction and the Quaker City Foundation, and throughout the evening, more than 50 riders participated in the offered Field Hunter, Sidesaddle, Hunter Under Saddle, and Hunt Team classes.
At the conclusion of the competition, it was the team from the Elkridge Harford Hunt Club that had accumulated the most points throughout the evening’s events. For the championship, the hunt – represented on Monday night by Scarlet Davies, Delaney O’Neill, Lauren Mentzel, Robert Keller, Elizabeth Bridges, and Ashton Williams – was presented with the Ralph A. Alfano Memorial Perpetual Trophy, donated by his family.
“Hunt Night gets all of the clubs together, and it’s friendly competition,” said Keller, who has ridden with the Elkridge Harford Hunt Club for nine years. “Without doing this stuff together, [hunt clubs] are not going to survive. It’s important that we get together for friendly competition, and it gives us a chance to show off who has the best horses in the hunt field!”
Earning the Hunt Night reserve championship were the riders of the Bull Run Hunt, out of Virginia, who also topped the Hunt Teams.
In the Field Hunters, 35 Years of Age and Under, the win went to Skylar McKenna and Sovereign Fund of the Mr. Stewart Cheshire Foxhounds. For the win, McKenna was presented with the Max C. Hempt Perpetual Trophy, donated in 1999 by the Pennsylvania National Horse Show.
In the Field Hunters, 36 Years and Older, it was Marlene Allen who took the win aboard Vivan. After being presented with The Chairmans Perpetual Trophy, donated by James Green and Irvin Naylor, for the victory, Allen ultimately earned the Hunt Night Leading Lady Rider Award. As the lady rider who acquired the most points over fences and in the under saddle, Allen will have her name added to the “Polly” Gingrich Caswell Perpetual Trophy.
In addition to the competition, Hunt Night also featured the crowd-favorite Parade of Hounds, put on by the Radnor Hunt Club.
From October 14-23, the 75th-annual Pennsylvania National Horse Show hosts more than 1,200 of the best hunter, jumper, and equitation horses and riders from across the nation. The 10 days of competition will culminate in the $100,000 Grand Prix de Penn National on Saturday, October 23. To learn more, visit www.PAnational.org.
About the Pennsylvania National Horse Show
Established in 1946, the Pennsylvania National Horse Show hosts the country’s top competitors in one of the largest indoor horse shows. Proceeds from the horse show benefit The Pennsylvania National Horse Show Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. Learn more by visiting www.panational.org.
