By Special to the Town Crier

Two young Los Altos riders were first-place finishers in a competition at the Los Altos Hounds-sponsored autumn “Hunter Pace,” a traditional foxhunt event every November at the Woodside-based Horse Park.

Alice Adriaenssens, 13, and Laura Krieger, 12, completed the three-mile long “Hilltopper” class only four seconds off the desired tim, atop their horses Hobby Horse and Mahogany, respectively. They are members of the Pacific Ridge Pony Club at Westwind Barn in Los Altos Hills.

The competitive Hunter Pace is held around the world at this time of year as a way for members of a hunt club to enjoy a day of paces and racing. The idea behind a Hunter Pace is to try to match the speed of a foxhunt. Organizers measure a distance and use a pre-set speed, thereby producing an optimum time for the course to be ridden.

In some races, the team of riders closest to the optimum time - either over or under - wins. In other races, the award goes to the fastest riders.

A Portola Valley father and daughter were high-point finishers of the day. Jef and Fiona Graham won the November competition at The Horse Park. Riding together as a team, the Grahams claimed the blue ribbon in the speed event called a “Point-To-Point.”

In the women’s division, Annie Bradfield of Aptos and Melissa Fischer of Palo Alto were tied as high-point finishers. for the day.