Sara Schultz and Trade Secret Secure Grand Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship at Fairfield June
- Catie Staszak
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Sara Schultz and Trade Secret. Photo by SEL Photography
Sara Schultz has attended shows at the Fairfield County Hunt Club with her trainer Carla Sacco for nearly 20 years. The New York native has fond memories showing at the venue as a child, but if you ask her what her favorite moment is, she'll point to her latest.
Schultz and her 12-year-old Belgian Warmblood gelding Trade Secret secured the 2026 Grand Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Championship at Fairfield June, earning their biggest honor to date at the World Championship Hunter Rider (WCHR) competition. Along with the title, they received the Lydia Theurkauf Perpetual Memorial Trophy.
"I came here when I was a kid and then started doing the Amateur-Owner Hunters last year with [Trade Secret]," Schultz said. "I think this might be my favorite memory. Last year, he was really good, but a little green. This year, he was a little green again, but we really pulled it out."
The competition in the division was tight, with Schultz and Evan Doyle with Qereno van den Dael trading places at the top of the division. Ultimately, a win in the $1,000 Junior/Amateur-Owner Hunter Classic set Schultz and "Oakie" apart, with scores of 85 and 80 putting them at the top of the class.
"He has his quirks, but I love him," Schultz said of her horse. "He is always a little pokey and slow, which is my type of ride. In the barn, he's very sweet...He loves to ride bareback and go trail riding. He's a really good boy."
Schultz and "Oakie" were partnered at the end of the 2024 season. With a pair of visits to Devon and a foray indoors at the Pennsylvania National under their belts, the pair is hitting its best stride and embracing new experiences.
"I love showing on the grass. It's like a new challenge," Schultz expressed. "Everywhere else has sand [arenas], except for maybe the Hampton Classic, but Fairfield is so close to home, so convenient, and it's really great to do something different."
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