The Arabian horse industry’s largest event for youth, the Youth National Arabian and Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show, moves into Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque, July 25-August 1, 2009. The eight-day event combines top-level equine competition in a variety of disciplines with daily youth activities and a shopping expo, bringing approximately $10.2 million to the city.
Nearly 1,000 horses from across the U.S. and Canada will compete each day from 7:30 a.m. to about 10 p.m. in everything from English pleasure to working cow. Highlights of the week will include two clinics put on by the Arabian Professional and Amateur Horseman’s Association (APAHA) on July 25, a Total Arabian Interactive and Learning (T.A.I.L.) experience for youth and families in the community on July 31, and the show’s semi-final and final classes from Thursday, July 30, through Saturday August 1.
The Arabian Horse Youth Association (AHYA) makes up about 10 percent of AHA’s membership and hosts a myriad of youth-oriented activities throughout the week including a Guitar-Hero tournament, the Stick Horse Workshop and Contest, a Flying Pigs Fundraiser and some educational opportunities with the Hippology Contest (which tests horse knowledge) and a novice horse judging contest.
Admission to all performances is free and open to the public. For more information about the public T.A.I.L. program, contact Hilary Nixon at hilary.nixon@arabianhorses.org.
AHA is a major equine association serving 37,000 members across North America. It registers and maintains a database of more than one million Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses and administers approximately $3 million in annual prize money. AHA produces championship events, recognizes close to 600 Arabian horse shows and distance rides and provides activities and programs that promote breeding and ownership. For information about Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses, call 303-696-4500, e-mail info@ArabianHorses.org or visit ArabianHorses.org.