Sir Bedivere
Owned and ridden by Sue Dudley
Find out what to wear for hunter classes
Find out what to do in the ring
Hunters are divided into four sections - small, lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. Small hunters are up to 15.2hh, and based on a middleweight horse scaled down, so not too fine. Lightweight hunters are usually thoroughbred or similar, about 16hh - 16.2hh, and should have about eight and a half inches of bone. Middleweight hunters are bigger - up to 16.3hh and up to nine inches of bone. Heavyweight hunters are often not much taller, but have up to ten inches of bone. The heavyweight hunter needs substance enough to carry fourteen stone for a day's hunting. While bigger and heavier than the TB types in the LW classes, they should still have quality and not be coarse.
As the name suggests, Hunters (also known as Show Hunters) are the type of horse most commonly (in the past, at least) seen on the hunting field. LW hunters were typically ladies' rides, and as such can also do the Ladies Hunter class, which can be done sidesaddle. Ladies can also ride sidesaddle in a normal hunter class. MW hunters would be ridden by ladies or men, while HW hunters are traditionally men's rides. They are shown plaited because they would have been plaited for hunting, to keep mane out of the way of the reins.
Hunters are heavier than Riding Horses or Hacks.
The Horse of the Year Show holds the finals of the McCusker Hunter of the year and the Ladies' Hunter of the year.
For amateur owners, the SEIB Search for a Star championship has the final at the Horse of the Year Show.
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