The inaugural Evergreen Invitational hosted a high-performance hunter demonstration on Friday, September 14, and six horses and riders showed spectators what the true sport of hunters is all about.

Diane Carney, a Chicago-area trainer, has taken a special interest in the high-performance hunter movement and is part of the United State Hunter Jumper Association's High-Performance Hunter committee. She, along with others, including trainer Rush Weeden, coordinated this weekend's event. M.K. Pritzker and Evergreen Farm, Stacey Lefton Glick and King's Crossing, and Walsh Harness & Saddlery generously sponsored the event with both ribbons and prizes for the riders.

"Those on hand enjoyed the exhibitor party and appreciated the galloping and jumping efforts of the horses," Carney explained. "This demonstration was about the sport of the handy hunter making smooth turns to beautiful, solid 3'9" and 4' natural fences. We saw the principles of riding and the art of the hunter here this weekend."

Six horses performed two rounds each over a course designed by Carney and Weeden on the invitational grand prix field. The course was set at 3'6" to 3'9" with four optional fences set at 4'. It began with a 3'9" aiken, followed by a 3'9" stone wall and the first four-foot option of brush boxes.

Carl Weeden and Argento mastered the course beautifully and earned the high score for the first round while Brenda Mueller and That'll Do, owned by Don Stewart and Carney, earned the high score in the handy hunter round. Junior riders Catie Hope and Stephanie Pearson both kept pace with the professionals, proving that the high-performance hunter course can be completed by anyone. However, it was Rush Weeden and his five-year-old mount who were the most consistent, earning the overall high score.

Carney, based out of Hampshire, IL, has been both an active participant and influential trainer in the hunter and jumper community for many years. Her contributions to the industry extend to the many clinics that she teaches every year, in addition to those that she hosts annually for U.S. Show Jumping Chef d'Equipe George H. Morris and top hunter/jumper trainer Don Stewart, Jr. Carney is also a driving force behind the United States Hunter Jumper Association's High Performance Hunter Committee, which seeks to develop a program that will bring the lost art of tradition and horsemanship back to the show ring.

For more information, please visit www.dcarneytelluride.com.