Monday Morning and Liza Towell Boyd
The Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame honored the 2017 inductees during a ceremony on June 9 at the Legends Club at the Tryon International Equestrian Center in Mill Spring, North Carolina. The Tryon Riding and Hunt Club created the Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame to recognize outstanding Show Hunters and Horsemen from North and South Carolina.
During this, the inaugural year, the inductees included Finally Farm’s famed show hunter Monday Morning. In addition, trainer Jack Towell was a 2017 honoree and also inducted longtime friend and trainer Danny Robertshaw. Other inductees included Kathryn G. Clark, Jarrett Schmid, Protocol, Remember The Laughter, Silverminer and Western Prospect.
“It was a blast. Joann Loheac (the Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame Committee chair) did an amazing job organizing it, as did the entire committee that hosted it,” said Liza Boyd. “It was such fun to hear all of the great stories. Jack received an award, and he spoke for Danny Robertshaw and talked about a class that Danny won at the Washington International on Protocol when Jack was judging. He kept saying, ‘It was the best round I’ve ever seen—except for that one round with Brunello at Derby Finals…the stories were amazing.”
Liza rode Monday Morning to countless Junior Hunter championships in the mid-1990s. His HOF bio read:
Monday Morning – was an off-the-track-Thoroughbred and champion Junior Hunter. He was owned and ridden by Liza Towell (now Boyd), of Finally Farm in Camden, South Carolina. Monday Morning was champion at the Devon Horse Show, Capital Challenge, the Pennsylvania National, the Washington International and the National Horse Show in the Small Junior Hunter division. He won the inaugural $25,000 WCHR Palm Beach Hunter Classic Spectacular in 1997, with an average two-round score of 90.6. Liza Towell Boyd distinctly remembers the night of her victory, “I have to say, it is probably one of the most memorable highlights of my career. It was a huge boost as I started out as a professional the next year.” In 1996, Monday Morning was named The Chronicle of the Horse “Overall Horse of the Year.”
Liza and Monday Morning after winning the inaugural WCHR Hunter Classic Spectacular in Florida in 1997. Painting by Michael Tang based on a photo by Tricia Booker
“When Monday Morning got his award, I’d kind of forgotten his story and everything that happened,” said Liza. “He had bowed his tendon on the track, and one truck came to take horses to the slaughterhouse and one arrived at the same time to pick up the broodmares. He got on the wrong truck. When he got to the farm, a lady saw him and said, ‘He’s pretty. I’ll rehab him.’ Then there’s another part of the story when she’s driving him to Florida from New York and gets stuck in a snowstorm. She ends up leading him down the interstate, and he was clipped without a blanket. He ended up tied up in a chicken coop. I think in the end he was so appreciative to have me and become a show horse.”
The Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame had a casual inception. One evening in October of 2016, Gerald Pack, of Columbus, North Carolina, and Jack Towell ran into each other while dining at Landrum’s The Hare and Hound. Gerald and Jack began reminiscing about all the great show hunters and horsemen from the Tryon area. Their journey down memory lane became an endless list of famous horses and individuals from the Carolinas.
“Soon after, Gerald called me with the idea of putting together a Hall of Fame to honor these notable people and horses,” said Joann Loheac on the HOF website page. “At that time, we were serving as directors on the Tryon Riding & Hunt Club’s (TRHC) board. We were excited to add the Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame to TRHC’s historic and equestrian centered organization.”
The induction ceremony included a slideshow on the Jumbotron that included great, old photos. “The whole thing gave me goosebumps,” said Liza. “It was a fantastic evening.”
For more information, to view more photos and read about this year's inductees, please visit the Carolinas Show Hunter Hall of Fame website.
