On May 29, 2012, championship rider and trainer Louise Serio was inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame during the prestigious Devon Horse Show. Serio has been an instrumental part of the hunter community since she began Derbydown, a nationally recognized show hunter barn, in 1975. She helped found the American Hunter Jumper Foundation, the World Champion Hunter Rider Program, and the United States Hunter Jumper Association. Serio has won championship honors at the country’s most prestigious horse shows, won the Old Springhouse Trophy for Lifetime Achievement, been named the Chronicle of the Horse Hunter Horseperson of the Year, and represented the United States as part of the WCHR Hunter Team at the 2009 World Cup Finals and the USHJA International Hunter Derby Team at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.

Serio helped Co-Found the American Hunter Jumper Foundation alongside Geoff Teal, who commented, “Louise has an amazing record of giving back to the sport. She has changed the sport of showing hunters in so many positive ways and along the way helped a countless number of people in our community that have found themselves in some sort of need. I think the real reason that she is receiving this honor is that in her own way, she is never satisfied. She never quite rode that horse well enough, she didn’t quite communicate to her student what she wanted clearly enough, and she has never yet been able to help enough people or do enough things for our sport. We have all benefited from her

outlook.”

Some of Serio’s recent accomplishments include winning the WCHR Pro Hunter Spectacular, the $50,000 USHJA Hunter Derby at the Winter Equestrian Festival, the World Champion Hunter Rider title, and the Capital Challenge Pre-Green Classic. Some of her championship mounts include Gray Slipper, Castle Rock, Red Panda, Rock On, Rock Star, and Phillipa.

When she is not riding and showing, Serio is dedicated to giving back to the sport. She has served on the Board of Directors for the American Hunter Jumper Association, USHJA, USHJA Foundation, and the USEF. Serio is also a member of a number of committees, including the National Hunter Committee, the Open Hunter Task Force, the Hunter Restructure Committee, the World Champion Hunter Rider Committee, and the High Performance Hunter for International Hunter Derbies Committee.

“It was such an honor to be chosen to be inducted into the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame,” expressed Serio. “It was such a great evening for me because my entire family was there. I am thrilled and flattered to receive such a special honor.”

During the 2012 Devon Horse Show, Serio’s students had their own success in the hunter ring. Serio and her granddaughter Mary Jo claimed the leadline championship. Bridget Hallman showed Do Tell and Hearsay to top finishes in the Amateur-Owner 36 & Over Hunters, alongside Gillian Grant and Ledger. Blair Balmer and Black Tie represented Derbydown in the Amateur-Owner 3’3″ 35 & Over Hunters, earning good ribbons in the division. Jane Maguire and Nickleback rounded out the final weekend, where they captured the Local Hunter Championship after winning and over fences class, as well as the under saddle. Orysia Bezpalko and Bayside also claimed a Local Hunter Championship, winning and over fences class and placing third in the stake round and the under saddle.

The horses and riders of Derbydown will now gear up for the Upperville Colt and Horse Show in Virginia before traveling back to the Devon, PA, for the Brandywine Valley Summer Series.

About Louise Serio and Derbydown:

Owned and operated by top hunter trainer Louise Serio, Derbydown is nationally recognized as one of the foremost show hunter barns in the country. It is a training, boarding, showing and sales business with a multi-level horse facility providing all levels of instruction to A-quality showing in Kennett Square, PA. Serio began training at Derbydown in 1975 and she consistently trains and rides champions in every division at the most prestigious shows on the East Coast. Serio also travels the country to judge at those top shows in which she is not competing. Some of her championship mounts include Gray Slipper, Rock On, Rock Star, and Phillipa. Most recently, Serio was victorious in the 2011 WCHR Pro Hunter Spectacular aboard Castle Rock at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

For more information please visit www.Derbydown.com.

Photo Credit: Louise Serio was inducted to the National Show Hunter Hall of Fame by Jimmy Lee during the Devon Horse Show. Photo By: Nancy Jaffer. Photograph may be used only in relation to this PMG press release.

Photo Credit: Louise Serio and Mary Jo Serio during her National Show Hunter Hall of Fame Induction. Photo By: Nancy Jaffer. Photograph may be used only in relation to this PMG press release.

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