Hannan Receives Inaugural Walter J. Lee High Score Hunter Award

Jennifer Hannan & Clueso. Photo by SEL Photography

Jennifer Hannan has attended the Fairfield June Show for three decades, but she experienced a new "first" at the venue Thursday, as she received the inaugural Walter J. Lee High Score Hunter Award. Recognizing the high score professional hunter rider of the competition, the trophy was donated earlier this year by renowned hunter judge, trainer, and breeder Walter "Jimmy" Lee.

Hannan, who owns and operates her Ocean Echo operation out of Wellington, FL, and Wakefield, RI, earned the highest marks of the week's professional hunter divisions aboard Michael Baum's 7-year-old stallion Clueso; the pair received a score of 90 in the Green Hunter 3' division.

"We've had [Clueso] just over a year, and he's just coming into his own now and really hitting his stride," Hannan said. "I always think that coming here is so beneficial for a young horse's development. We're stuck in such small rings all of the time with a lot of atmosphere, so it's just nice for them to be out in the open and gallop in the grass."

Some of Hannan's earliest memories as an equestrian have their roots at Fairfield. As a junior rider, she contested Pony Finals at the venue and recalls competing in pony divisions alongside Fairfield riders and trainer Emerson Burr, who ran the Fairfield program for more than 50 years (1945 to 2001). 

"I can just remember a sea of ponies in this field," Hannan recalled, "and Emerson—he was the face of this for so long. Those are things I'll never forget."

Hannan is now among hunter sport's most premier riders. She returns annually to the Fairfield June Show with a group of amateur riders and young horses.

"This show is so historic and has been around for so many years and I think has gone through so many generations," she said. "In this sport, we've had so much change, and everything is becoming a lot bigger and enhanced these days, so it's nice to come to a more wholesome horse show that's sort of grassroots and back to where we all started. I love that!"

Jennifer Hannan receives the inaugural Walter J. Lee High Score Hunter Award.