Friends invited us to go along to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. So late Saturday afternoon we motored north. The show itself takes place over about 10 days and last night was the final competition for some of the events. None of us know very much about horse shows; we like horses, so thought we would enjoy this new experience.
I will apologize in advance for the quality of my photos. I was too far away, the light was very poor (late afternoon, little natural light inside the covered building) and movement by the subjects. In spite of all that, I am sharing what I got from our Saturday adventure.
I remember these two bronze statues from the Rodeo we attended in Scottsdale at Wild West (same complex) in March 2008. But I didn't take pictures of them back then.
The 'center ring', home of the announcer, dignitaries in the world of Arabian Horses, the judges, scorekeepers and those presenting the ribbons and rose necklaces.
It was interesting to watch these four young people walk through the jumping course.
After the competition we learned these four are brother and sisters, the youngest 8 years old. They are the Garnans from Idaho and all four competed in the finals. I am sorry to say I do not know if the oldest won the competition. She is the one giving advice to the youngest sister.
Ice hockey has its Zamboni; horse shows have the Kubota.
It was interesting to hear the rules and time limits for this competition, and to see how each of the competitors 'attacked' the fences for the most points.
This competition included Arabian and half-Arabian horses.
The Arabian Hunter Pleasure Championship was the third from the last event of the evening. It was interesting to see the form of the horses in the other four events. Sometimes the heads were up, sometimes they were down. We tried to guess at what the judges were looking when the horses and riders entered the arena. The horses and riders were ordered to trot, walk, canter, step backwards, stop and other commands we did not know or really see the difference. Usually there were between ten and twenty units being judged in each event. As the evening wore on, we got colder and colder, sitting on the bleachers while the desert chill crawled up our backs. Some very dedicated and seasoned Arabian horse lovers sitting behind us shared their coats and blankets with the four of us, so we were able to 'stick it out' until nearly the end. As the crowd thinned out, we moved down into the reserved seating where I took photos of the last two events.
It was the tails of the horses that caught my eye in the Arabian Hunter Pleasure Championship for riders 18-39 years of age.
The horses were trained to hold head and tail positions at all times in the show ring.
From my friend who attended the horse show the weekend before, I learned the tails of the horses often had extensions. Yea, I know...hair extensions for horse tails!
These ten won best of show. From the ten, one was selected as Reserve Champion or second place, and then a Champion was selected. The Champion wore the silk rose 'necklace', a very colorful blue ribbon, and probably big $$$$.
Also interesting was the rider's apparel and their mannerisms. All the women wore their hair in a very similar style. In the Hunter Pleasure class, the rider's bottoms were tan colored. In the Country English Pleasure class a prior event, the jackets and riding pants were dark colored, no plaids, no tans, only
dark black, brown or gray, matching coats and pants.
This was one of the two gentleman riders in this event. His horse's tail was shorter, not long and flowing like the other horses. One horse in one of the hunting events even had a bobbed tail. It really stood out amongst all the flowing tails!
The second to last event was the Arabian Mounted Native Costume Championship. We stayed long enough so I could get some photos of the beautiful costumes of the horses and their riders. While standing in the bathroom line, the woman ahead of me shared their costumes cost thousands of dollars. I can see why.
The form of the horse and rider is just beautiful, even if it is blurry!
This tail was always in this position, off to the side.
We also learned a horse could be competing in more than one event, with the same or even a different rider.
This was probably the most decorated horse in this event. There were six competitors. We didn't stay to see which one won. This event was like the others. The riders and horses were told to walk, trot or canter, and stop. This event was the only one where the horses were allowed to gallop.
We decided we would go back next year, but during the daytime so we could visit the different barns and get up close to the horses and riders. Curt and I decided we liked a rodeo better, but then that is what we know. We were ill prepared in the what to wear department. We will know better the next time. Thanks for inviting us, Carol & Dennis and for moving us outside the box in the world of horses!
I am going to attach my friends blog so you can see her post of Sunday, Feb. 19th, titled "What a Day...What a Day". She learned so much more about the horses and events and takes beautiful photos. We shall see if this works.
http://throughmycanadianeyes.blogspot.com/
PS: It works on my computer, I hope it works for you.
