Rolling Rock Hunt Hunter Pace

First flight team winners...Michah Lisi, Grace Fielder Erin Phelps — **First flight team winners…Michah Lisi, Grace Fielder & Erin Phelps**

Set in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania, the Rolling Rock Hunt recently hosted a much celebrated Hunter Pace.

What is a “Hunter Pace?” For those not familiar, a Hunter Pace is a competitive event derived from foxhunting. Teams of two or three riders follow an outdoor course laid out over terrain (this one by RR Huntsman Sam Clifton) which is meant to simulate the riding conditions encountered during a foxhunt – that is, a mixture of gaits that a foxhunter typically uses as a fox’s scent is found and followed by hounds through open country and along wooded trails. There is no set length for a hunter pace course, and it’s up to each team to guess the ideal time to complete the course and to ride accordingly.

On the day of the event, the team which completes the course in a time closest to the ideal wins first place. Most hunter paces are divided into two divisions, with different ideal times. Rolling Rock Hunter Pace had three divisions, First Flight, which face the most challenging jump course, Second Flight, not quite as challenging, and Hilltoppers, which enjoyed a more leisurely ride.