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 compete at a variety of levels, from AHA, USEF and EC recognized all the way to the Nationals. The Horse Show Primer is a great introduction to the world of showing Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses.
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 AHA One Day 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.