Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

Goldens Bridge Hounds hunter pace starts fall riding season

AMENIA — Picture this: You are riding over ‘hill and dale’, around corn fields, through the woods on old logging roads and covering miles of countryside on a trusted steed with a friend or two by your side. It is called hacking out or trail riding. Now throw in lots of jumps (that you don’t have to do if you don’t want to – there are ‘go-rounds’) a mapped out course, a rest stop where you and your horse can get a sip of water and a wonderful lunch when you’re finished and you have a hunter pace.

The hunter pace is a competition, but many people enter with little or no intention of paying any attention to how fast they’re going, wanting only to take in the beauty of their surroundings and the pleasure of riding on land they might not otherwise be able to access.   

Plenty of area riders keep their horses at boarding barns that have limited availability to open land for trail riding. The hunter pace is the perfect solution. Like so many things, it is seasonal and the Golden Bridge Hounds hunter pace kicks off the fall season on Sunday, Aug. 23, at MeriMac Farm in Amenia.

The hunter pace is designed with fox-hunting as the model, thus the mixed terrain, a variety of jumps (coops, post and rails, drops, logs, water, perhaps a ditch — and at Beckenrah hunter pace, a picnic table) and the ‘pace,’ set by a team of riders prior to the event; they ride the course at a pretty good clip as though they were on a hunt following hounds. The time it takes them to get around becomes the ‘ideal’ time. Not exactly scientific, as the weather and footing can be different on the day of the pace from the day they did the ride, but these events are for fun.

Some hunter paces take the hunting motif all the way and require formal hunt dress: black coat, white shirt with stock tie and black dress boots, hunt cap (yellow vest optional). Others go the informal route, just requiring a riding helmet. It is not uncommon to see plenty of riders riding western style at the hunter paces that allow informal attire.

The Goldens Bridge Hounds hunter pace allows for teams of up to three riders. The first team will set off at 8:30 a.m., the last, around 11 a.m.

The teams are usually staggered in increments of three to five minutes. Some riders will overtake teams in front of them; the protocol is to request permission to pass. The slower riders should move aside to allow those competing for time to move ahead. The course, if ridden at a leisurely pace, can take a couple of hours.

A country luncheon will be served at MeriMac and is available for $15 to non-riders.

This year’s  Goldens Bridge Hounds hunter pace will be held in memory of Anthony “Tony†Schnelling, who died last month at age 62. Schnelling owned MeriMac Farm with his wife, Bettina Whyte, who survives him.

To sign up for the Goldens Bridge Hounds hunter pace, go online to goldensbridgehounds.org or contact Donna Alderman at 914-763-6465 or by e-mail at kelsmacmom@yahoo.com.

Latest News

Classifieds - August 11, 2026

Classifieds - August 11, 2026

AUTOS FOR SALE

1990 Mazda Miata hard top/soft top. Manufactured Oct. 1989. 64,000 plus miles. 99% original parts. $20,500. 203-215-0729.

HELP WANTED

Garden Help. Looking for an experienced person to weed my acre garden and cut back some plants. In Salisbury. For July and August. Could continue into Fall. naylor99@gmail.com

Keep ReadingShow less

Legal Notices - August 11, 2026

Legal Notices - August 11, 2026

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF RICHARD A. MCGRIFF, Late of Salisbury (26-00241)

Keep ReadingShow less

Olly Josiah Rea

Olly Josiah Rea

MILLERTON — Our precious Olly Josiah Rea, beloved son, cherished brother, treasured grandson, and dearly loved by so many, went home to be with his Savior, Jesus Christ, on July 25, 2026, at just two years old.

Though his time on earth was far too brief, Olly’s life overflowed with joy, laughter, and unconditional love. He filled every room with his contagious smile, infectious giggle, and endless curiosity. His joyful spirit had a way of drawing people to him, and it was impossible not to smile in his presence.

Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Samuel Marshall Busselle

Samuel Marshall Busselle

MILLERTON — Sam Busselle, Millerton resident for 50 years who dedicated himself to connecting people and improving life in his community, died peacefully July 31, 2026, at Woodland Pond, New Paltz, New York. Born in 1940, he was the son of architect Alfred Busselle and educator Martha Knapp Busselle. He grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, where he graduated from the Lawrenceville School and then Yale University, which he attended on a swimming scholarship, followed by a master’s degree from the Yale School of Architecture. He then taught high school for several years in the Boston area, where he met his wife, Rebecca.

Sam, Rebecca, and her 7-year-old son Wynne moved to Manhattan, quickly expanding their family with the birth of Katrina and Max, all the while gut-renovating a floor of an abandoned SRO on St. Mark’s Place. Weekdays Sam left the lively East Village neighborhood by bicycle to work uptown on Fifth Avenue for the General Learning Corporation in the environmental services division. On weekends he tore down plaster walls, laid flooring, built bookcases, plumbed a kitchen and bathroom, and cut a door to a sizable outdoor rooftop where the family grew tomatoes, and the kids splashed in a plastic swimming pool. Strapped into kiddie seats on their parents’ bikes, with Wynne in the lead, the family explored New York City and picnicked in its parks.

Keep ReadingShow less

Astrid Daphne Satre

Astrid Daphne Satre

SALISBURY — Astrid Daphne Satre passed away peacefully on July 25, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida, after spending the last year and a half at a rehabilitation center. She was 87 years old.

Born on April 11, 1939, in Salisbury, Connecticut, Astrid was the only daughter of Astri and Magnus Satre. Her parents emigrated from Norway in the early 1900s and settled in Twin Lakes, Connecticut, where she spent her childhood surrounded by the beauty of the Berkshire foothills and the rich Norwegian heritage that remained an important part of her identity throughout her life.

Keep ReadingShow less
The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News 2026 interns
Photos by Madi Long

Meet the next generation of community journalists. Eight interns joined The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News this summer. Below, each shares a brief note on their experiences.


Keep ReadingShow less
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.