AHA Shows 101

Horse Show Primer

In order to compete at the highest levels, both professional and serious amateur riders spend a lot of time on the road traveling from show to show working their way through competitive events at the major regional and national shows.

Arabians are well known for their ability to show their stuff during competition in horse shows. If you believe your horse has the ability, action, and looks to be a winner, the best way to find out is to enter a horse show. You could go home with some ribbons, a trophy and/or prize money. Keep in mind that horse shows are offered at many levels from Arabian Community Shows to the National Shows.

There are local recognized Arabian-only shows where participants qualifying for the "regional" and "national" levels. At "open shows," Arabians compete along side other breeds in a wide variety of classes and may use these shows for qualification purposes depending on the type of class and whether the horse is entered into the AHA Open Qualifying program.

Arabian Horse Shows

Arabian horses are shown in virtually every capacity imaginable with the exception of gaited classes. Show ring opportunities under English tack include: Park, Pleasure, Country Pleasure, Hunter Pleasure, Show Hack, Hunter, Jumper and Dressage. The Arabian Western horse can be shown in Western Pleasure, Reining, Working Cow, Cutting, Trail and Western Riding. The junior exhibitor is offered Equitation classes in Saddle Seat, Hunt Seat and Western Seat as well as Showmanship and Western Horsemanship.

The Arabian horse is shown under the rules of the Arabian Horse Association, United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and Equine Canada (EC). The rules are written and amended by the action of the Arabian Horse Association's annual convention and submitted to the USEF/EC.

All Arabian horses participating in the Arabian division of AHA/USEF/EC Recognized shows must be registered with the, Arabian Horse Association, the Canadian Arabian Horse Registry or the Partbred Canadian Registry, if under a year old, the horse must be eligible for registration and registration applied for. Proof of registration must be is submitted to the horse show secretary at the time of entry.

The Arabian Horse Association recognizes more than 400 Arabian events each year around the United States and Canada1. For those who qualify, 18 Regional Shows are available to compete in. National events conducted by AHA include the Youth National Championship, Canadian National Championship, Sport Horse National Championship and U.S. National Championship and provide a venue for the cream of the crop to compete.

Arabian Community Shows are available to allow individuals to compete at the local level and give first time competitors a place to test the show ring "waters". They are a friendly low key atmosphere and provide a great stepping stone to advance to the AHA Recognized show level.

Whether you are a first time competitor or a seasoned veteran of the show ring, AHA offers several ways to "showcase" your Arabian horse.

To view the rules and regulations of competition please view the following links:

• Arabian Community Show Guidelines
• Current AHA Handbook
• Equine Canada
• United States Equestrian Federation