The Marlborough Hunt Bowl fixture, an annual event since 1956, is a four-part event designed to demonstrate the strengths of the individual participants as well as the team efforts of the assembled Hunts from neighboring counties and states.

The Hunt with the most points overall is awarded the prestigious Marlborough Hunt Bowl for the year or until the next running of the fixture. The idea for the event originated from the late Capt. Newton H. White, Jr., who was an avid Foxhunter, as well as, the first commander of the carrier “Enterprise”. While serving on MHC’s board after his distinguished Naval career, he gave birth to the idea of a friendly hunting competition. Capt. White purchased the magnificent bowl from Tiffany’s in New York.

The first event of the day, the Hunt Pace Event, takes the riders over a course of 4-1/2 miles with six jumps and three checks of two minutes each. The rules for this event require that each of the four members of the various Hunt Teams must lead his or her team over a part of the course. Each of the members upon reaching one of three checkpoints falls back as the next member of the team rides to the next checkpoint. This continues until the final checkpoint, where the last of the team members takes the lead back to the starting point.

The second event, Bench Judging of Hounds, determines which hound is best based on uniformity of size and color, animation and hunting fitness. The third is Roading Hounds to a Line, wherein a Huntsman is judged on handling the hounds from one point to another. And the final event, the Field Trial, is when all the hounds are gathered together and set on a fox scent drag line. Points are accumulated for the first hounds to pick up the scent, follow and find deviations in the line and first one to the “gone to ground” location.

All in all it is an exciting day of sport and friendly competition among Hunt Clubs. A festive banquet is held afterwards at the MHC Clubhouse celebrating the successes of the day and awarding the beautiful silver Hunt Bowl, bearing each winning Hunt Clubs name since it’s inception. The winning club receives the honor of holding onto and displaying the bowl until the running of the next Marlborough Hunt Bowl fixture.

Recent Hunt Bowl Results

1995 - Plum Run
1996 - Potomac
1997 - Goshen
1998 - Fairfax
1999 - Fairfax
2000 - Canceled
2001 - New Market
2002 - Canceled
2003 - Howard County
2004 - Red Mountain
2005 - Marlborough