For Immediate Release – September 2015

The Maryland Hunt Cup Association presented the silver trophy in honor of S. Bryce Wing to Margaret Howard Worrall for her outstanding contribution to Maryland timber racing.

Margaret Worrall is known for her accomplishments as an equestrian writer, an active environmentalist, and the owner of a Maryland Hunt Cup and Virginia Gold Cup winner.  Yet, it is not well known that in 1995 after she and Jay Griswold co-chaired the 100th Anniversary of the Maryland Hunt Cup, Margaret was made the first female member of the Maryland Hunt Cup Committee.  In 1998, she was made Secretary and served in that capacity until 2006.

Charles “Cuppy” Fenwick, Secretary of the Hunt Cup Committee for 31 years, brought Margaret onto the Committee. “I’d been Secretary for far too long and people were getting tired of me,” the 91-year-old explained, with a chuckle. “I asked Margaret to become Secretary because she had a reputation of being able to accomplish what she set out to do.  I could rest assured that she’d handle everything properly.  Looking back on her tenure, it is clear that everything worked out well, and that she should get the credit for it.”

Upon retiring as Secretary in 2006, Margaret undertook the conservation of the Maryland Hunt Cup archives.  Working with conservators at Johns Hopkins University, she had the entire archival collection digitized, including minute books dating to 1894, newspaper clippings, copies of every program, and all films in the archives.  Margaret remains an active member of the Hunt Cup Committee.

“I have the luxury of having Margaret, a walking timber racing encyclopedia, on the Committee to help in innumerable ways,” stated Sherlock “Shockey” Gillet, the current Secretary, in making the presentation.  “Her spearheading of the Hunt Cup’s Archive project – a multi-year effort that required patience, attention to detail and commitment – was invaluable.  In addition to her direct contributions, Margaret has been an advocate for open space, which is critical to continue the foundation of our sport, foxhunting.”

Bryce Wing was a member of the Maryland Hunt Cup Association from 1939 until his death at age 85 in 1975. He was Secretary of the Maryland Hunt Cup from 1956 to 1966 and president of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association (now the National Steeplechase Association) from 1948 to 1964. He was also a member of The Jockey Club and a Master of Foxhounds at Elkridge-Harford. Mr. Wing’s devotion to horses, hounds, and racing was lifelong.

Margaret advanced the cause of steeplechasing through hundreds of magazine articles and the majority of her eight books, including The History of the Green Spring Valley Hunt Club (1993), 100 Runnings of the Maryland Hunt Cup (1996), The  Grand National Steeplechase1898-1998 (1998), and The My Lady’s Manor Races 1909-2009 (2010). In the late 80s and early 90s, the Worrall family’s sensational timber horse, Von Csadek, owned by Margaret and her uncle Herb Sheppard, trained by husband Doug Worrall and ridden by son Patrick, won over twenty races in the U.S. and England, including My Lady’s Manor, Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, Virginia Gold Cup, and the Maryland Hunt Cup.

Margaret’s passion for timber racing and preserving the Maryland countryside go hand in hand.  In the 1970s, Margaret and Doug Worrall were among the first in Baltimore County to put their Butler farm, Scanden, in the Maryland Environmental Trust.  From 1991 to 1995, Margaret worked full time as the Executive Director of the Valleys Planning Council and served ten years on the Baltimore County Board of Appeals. Recently, she has served as an MET representative on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where she now lives in Cambridge.

Growing up in the Butler area, Margaret hunted with the Green Spring Hounds and grew to love the Green Spring hunt country. She has worked as a volunteer in many Maryland venues, including serving as District Commissioner of the Green Spring Hounds Pony Club, and serving on the Maryland Horse Industry Board for Historic Horse Trails.

The first Bryce Wing award was presented in 1976. In the following 39 years, the trophy has been awarded 29 times.

For additional information, contact Sherlock Gillet, Secretary info@marylandhuntcup.com