I am sure you have all heard of Stayner Haller, and the perpetual L.G.M. Challanger’s Cup Memorial Trophy that is awarded in Area VIII every year since 2007.
Information about the award:
L.G.M. Challanger, a 14.3 Hand Morgan Gelding, owned & ridden by Stayner Haller, completed 104 horse trials between the ages of 12 1/2 & 24 1/2! During his career he had 94 clean cross country rounds, 78 which were double clean, & 83 clean stadium jumping rounds, 81 of which were double clean.
This is a Training Level Award. Requirements & scoring are as follows:
Eligibility requires a minimum of 5 double Cross Country rounds. Once eligibility has been achieved, 2 points are awarded; thus an eligible horse & rider have a minimum of 10 points.
A bonus point is earned if a double clean Stadium Jumping is achieved in the same Horse Trial in which a double clean Cross Country round has been ridden, thus completing the competition on the Dressage score. This makes it possible to earn 3 points per Horse Trial.
This award will be updated for 2024 to include Modified Level:
Training & Modified Level Award:
- Eligibility would remain as above & would include the Modified Level
- Points would be awarded as follows for competitions at the Modified Level:
- 2 1/2 points for double clean CC rounds
- 1 1/2 points for double clean Stadium rounds which occur in the same competition as a double clean CC round thus finishing on the Dressage scorea
Past Winners
| 2007: AWESOME K.C. ridden by Helen Morris | 2014: R HOCUS POCUS ridden by Beth Weisberger |
| 2008: THE IRONY OF IT ridden by Stacy Durham | 2015: CR DYNASTY ridden by Nicole Kowalski |
| 2009: SUPER NOVA ridden by Tracey Corey | 2016: TRISTAN ridden by Mindy Kutzner-Shannon |
| 2010: UNDENIABLE GRACE ridden by Robin Mershon | 2017: MOUNTAIN LIGHT ridden by Jane Beshear |
| 2011: UNDENIABLE GRACE ridden by Robin Mershon | 2018: LADY HANNA B ridden by Kendahl Holden |
| 2011: CANADIAN EXCHANGE ridden by Robin Walker | 2019: CUERNSEY Z ridden by Gabbie Van Scoy |
| 2011: SHAME ON THE MOON ridden by Amanda Wilson | 2021: FINE WITH ME ridden by Anabelle Friend |
| 2012: KISS THE SKY ridden by Jackie LeMastus | 2022: CONFLICT ridden by Laura Crowl |
| 2013: R HOCUS POCUS ridden by Beth Weisberger | 2023: |
Stayner Haller’s Bio:
“After watching my daughter Laurie riding her Thoroughbred hunter “Easy”, I thought jumping looked like fun, so I started taking English lessons at age 50 in 1987. Easy was lost to a tragic accident in 1991 not long after I had sustained a broken shoulder (scapula) & 3 ribs. I then rode school horses for a year.
In late summer of 1992, I told my wife that I was going to either get a horse or resume playing hockey, a sport in which I had been a player, coach, & referee. In October I found an ad in the Wheeler-Dealer, a cheap trade sheet, for a Morgan horse, who was advertised as being experienced in dressage & jumping. I called the owner & inquired about his size how high he could jump. She said he was 14/3 & could jump 3ft 9in! I asked if she meant 2ft 9in. She said “No, I meant 3ft. 9in.”. I made an appointment to see & ride him. He was 9 1/2 years old & made a striking appearance, looking me straight in the eye as though I were being interviewed for a job! During the trial ride I found him to be very willing to go forward & very resistant to leg yield. When asked to jump, he lit up like a Christmas tree & went eagerly toward the target with his ears forked. He jumped in beautiful form. On the last trial jump, he surprised me by taking a very long spot & popping me right out of my right stirrup! His owner, Kathy Harte, & I agreed to a one month trial lease. I bought him after 2 1/2 weeks.
In 1994 one of our barn mates suggested going to the Waterloo Hunt Trials & Hunter Pace. It was a great experience. I got a taste of jumping over natural obstacles in wide open spaces, & Chally took to it like a fish to water! By early 1995 our dressage had improve a lot, & we again went to Waterloo & had a great time, even placing 2nd in the Windy Ridge class which simulated a cross country course. I began to wonder about eventing! My dressage trainer, Cheryl Connell-Marsh, suggested “testing the waters” by going to a schooling days at Hunter’s Run in Metamora, Michigan with Jenny Joseph, her most skilled & experienced event rider. Jenny had grown up 2 houses away from us & used to play with Laurie & her sister, Carol. Jenny was very impressed with Chally, as he jumped everything we pointed him at without question. She described him as very brave!
My experience was in the Hunter ring, but he was a bit too speedy for most judges & did not place well despite being a decidedly better jumper than most of the other competitors. I decided to take dressage lessons to help improve our flatwork. Neither of us took to it very readily, but I persisted, & we made progress. Someone suggested that we try competing as jumpers. What a revelation! Chally loved it, & he was a holy terror in a jump-off! Goodbye hunter ring!
The seed had been planted!
We entered our first Horse Trial in August of 1995 at Hunter’s Run in a Senior Novice division & took home the Blue Ribbon!! And the rest is history!
