The Bud Hawley Cup is given in memory of one of Area III’s most dedicated and fun folks. Howard “Bud” Hawley was
born in CT in 1929 and grew up on the East Coast. He was distribution center manager for American Cyanamid. While
living in Ohio in his early career, Bud owned and raced Standardbreeds on the Northfield and Ohio Fair Circuit.
After moving to Georgia, he and wife Peggy established Barlyn Farm. Although he did enjoy the occasional trail
ride, Bud’s greatest equine pleasure was accompanying daughter Barb to events as she progressed through Young Riders
and into adulthood. Never one to be idol, Bud recognized the great need for an announcer at an event and set about
the task. From 1977 until shortly before his death, Bud’s calm, baritone tones covered most of the competitions
in Area III. As an announcer, his encouragement, rye humor and tireless commentary were very welcomed in a
time when most events had very little in the way of communications. At the Midland 3-Day and Horse Trials he often
gave the campers their 6:30 wake up call and then announced non-stop till the last novice horse finished cross
country well after 6:00pm. Every rider got the same attention and commentary from “The Mouth of the South.”
One winter day when Atlanta was expecting freezing weather, Bud came home from the office early to see that
pipes in the barn were protected from freezing. During the process, he left a gate that separated the barn from
the swimming pool enclosure ajar as he was working on pipes in both locations. His 2 year old Appy colt spotted
the error, nudged the gate open and proceeded to fall into the pool. Bud was quoted in the Gwinnett newspaper
article covering the event as an “equine flotation expert” for rescuing the critter. Bud ultimately sold the
horse saying he did so because the colt couldn’t do the backstroke.
Bud’s good humor, helpfulness to any and everyone at a competition, and positive attitude in the face of adversity
provided the impetus for this trophy. We remember him being there through floods, dark of night, hurricanes, snow,
lack of electricity, rickety stabling, wind blowing down fences, missing secretaries, lost numbers, candle light
scoring, recalling ribbons, cross country falls, camp grounds, dogs on course, truck breakdowns and dozens of
other things that he made right. Eventing has grown and improved in many ways, but the need for volunteers like
Bud who so thoroughly enjoyed the people, the horses and the sport is still the same. Thus the Hawley Cup is
given each year in Area III to recognize those extraordinary volunteers at every level without whom we would
not have eventing.
---- Thanks to Pat Maykuth for providing this information. 05/01/04