That’s a Wrap for the 2018 Canadian National Arabian & Half- Arabian Championship Horse Show

  (20-AUGUST-18) AURORA, COLO. – The 2018 Canadian National Arabian & Half-Arabian Championship Horse Show wrapped up in Brandon, Manitoba this past week and it was a great success. The show was held from August 12 – 18 at the Keystone Centre.

There were over 770 horses during the seven day period that participated in over 270 different classes. Horse show classes ranged from Halter, Dressage, Driving to Western Pleasure, Ranch Riding, Park Horse and more.

The Arabian Western Pleasure Association (AWPA) Equine Athlete HA/AA Western Pleasure AAOTR Maturity and the AWPA Arabian Horse World Arabian Western Pleasure AAOTR Maturity saw a great turnout with the new added minimum prize money of $15,000 for each class.

Also, again this year, we had numerous individuals from the public come for the Total Arabian 
Interaction Learning (T.A.I.L.) Tours that were hosted Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the show. Tour participants learned about the history of the Arabian Horse Association (AHA), history of Canadian Nationals, learned more about the various horse show classes offered at an Arabian horse show and were then ushered to the stalling area of the barn where they were greeted by an Arabian horse. Participants had an opportunity to meet the horse, learn more about what the horse is used for and pet and take a picture with the horse. The group also explored the barn area and saw how exhibitors and horses “lived” while at the show.

In addition to the normal tours, a special tour was set up on Monday, August 13 for 400 kids from the Legion National Youth Track and Field Championships games which was held in Brandon over the weekend. The kids had the opportunity to enjoy lunch while watching the horse show classes, and were then escorted to the stalling area to meet a horse and ask questions about the breed. It was a great day and a first for meeting a horse for many of the kids!

Armed Forces Day was celebrated on Friday, August 17 by wearing red and having military award presenters in each ring. The finals that night were kicked off with opening ceremonies and the Colour Guard from Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shilo to round out the Military Appreciation Day. Thank you to all that have or are currently serving!

On Friday, horses were treated to a sweet treat during the Horse Sundae buffet held in the
commercial exhibit area from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Owners and trainers came and “built” a sundae for their horses which consisted of tasty items such as apples, carrots, alfalfa pellets, a waffle bowl and more. Horse sundaes were sponsored by Masterfeeds, Spring Fling and Sterling Equestrian Products & Apparel.

Many fun and endearing stories were heard at Canadian Nationals as well. For example, Dee Dee Kramer and Kelly Davis struck a rare find on a trip to an antique store. They found a trophy form the 1976 Canadian Nationals. They immediately knew they had to buy the trophy and bring it with them to Canadian Nationals to share with others. It was displayed in the Awards Room during the show for all to see. To view all of the stories and interviews in the Canadian Nationals Daily Updates, go to www.arabianhorses.org/CNL.

During the show, we had an #ahaBlueRoom social media contest where we asked show attendees to catch their horse doing something silly at the show and post it on Facebook using the #SillyHorseSelfie hashtag. The winner was Danny Thompson and he will be receiving a CINCH gift certificate for his winning picture!

Throughout the week, AHA captured entertaining and behind-the-scenes pictures of the show. Make sure to check out all of the photos on AHA’s Facebook Photo Album. Also, to order official show photos, visit Jeff Janson Photography at www.jeffjanson.com .

Canadian Nationals entry statistics, show results, livestreaming and much more can be found at www.arabianhorses.org/CNL.

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AHA is a major equine association serving 84,000 Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horse owners across North America. AHA registers and maintains a database of more than one million Arabian, Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian horses. AHA produces championship events, recognizes over 392 Arabian horse shows and distance rides and provides activities, education, and programs that promote breeding and ownership.