Wisconsin natives, Mark and Judy Zeitler are preparing for their eighth annual memorial hunt in honor of Mark’s father, Karl Zeitler on April 7th. He passed away in October of 2010. “It’s a great way to remember Mark’s father and spend time with many of our horse show friends,” Judy told us.
Mark and Judy Zeitler are from Abrams, Wisconsin, where they own and operate Zeitler Show Horses. Mark and Judy emphasize training two and three-year-old futurity horses and have won multiple Congress Championship titles. Mark and Judy also train horses and clients for both the western and English events. Zeitler Show Horses is home to the three-year-old stud; VS Cracked The Code (pictured below). Mark and Judy’s hunting dogs are well known in the industry, and they travel to all the shows with the couple.
When Mark’s dad passed away, he decided that he wanted to do something in his honor. Mark explained that his dad was a fan of hunting and was a bird hunter. After he passed, Mark wanted to do something that would keep his dad’s name alive. With that in mind, they started a bird dog field trial memorial in his name. The memorial hunt is located in Oconto Falls, Wisconsin at the Fox Ridge Game Farm and is designed to raise money for the local police departments.
The money raised from the memorial hunt goes to the K-9 officers in the surrounding areas. “Local areas are starting to depend on us,” Mark said. K-9 officers are not given funds to buy new police dogs, which are only used for seven to eight years. So, Mark and his wife decided the money raised would be given to support the K-9 officers in the surrounding police departments. So far, this charity event has donated funds for four trained K-9 officers in Northeast Wisconsin. These dogs are actively working to help apprehend dangerous criminals, keep drugs off our streets and in the detection of explosives.
Last year, the hunt was able to reach its goal, which resulted in providing the Oconto County’s sheriff department with a K-9 named Barron. This year, the Karl Zeitler Memorial Hunt will raise money that will provide Marinette Country with a dual-purpose patrol dog.
Within the Karl Zeitler Memorial Hunt, there are three divisions, the pointers, flushers and youth. Prizes are given to the top two in each division. During this hunt, there will also be activities and raffles. This year’s raffle will consist of rifles, handguns, chainsaws, jewelry and spa packages
The horse industry is always quick to give back to their local communities, or those in need and Mark and Judy are no different. Creating a charity event is no easy task, in fact, Mark stated that the memorial hunt has become a lot of work, but states that it has been worth it.
To find out more about this charity event or to donate, please visit their Facebook page here.
View a slideshow below of pictures from previous years during the event.
About the Author: GoHorseShow intern, Kinsey McDougald is a junior at Oklahoma State University where she is a part of the equestrian team. Originally from California, she grew up on a ranch and showed registered Hereford cattle and Quarter Horses. Since the day she was born, horses have always been a part of her life.
