Ah, Scottsdale. You can feel it the second you step off the plane; it is in the air and on the breeze, the soft warmth of spring. Spring at least in Scottsdale, is one of the many reasons to venture south this time of year; the other of course is the horses. The big Arabian horse show every February is a huge event down here with people coming from around the globe just to see the horses. Even in the airport there is evidence of the show with posters hung on the walls. This is a major event each year not only for the horse crowd but for the average citizen here as well. Scottsdale is a major event and an inspiration for all other horse shows. People bring their kids and grandparents to the show to see the beautiful versatile horses we all know and love.

Although the show runs from February 13th to the 22th, we where there for the end of the show. With the first day being a day of travel we still managed to make it to the Scottsdale Signature Stallion service auction on the night of the 18th at the show grounds. What a great event and even better idea. Stallions are nominated and their stud service is entered into the auction, with the resulting foal being eligible for the special Scottsdale stallion auction classes in two years hence. The auction proceeds are funneled back into the classes for prize money. The atmosphere was exciting and electric as some of the bidding was quite spirited and some of the auction amounts exceeded the value of the stallions stud fee. What a great way as an owner to see the market place react to your stud and his babies. There where a fair amount of stallions present and some of their get as well. One of my favorites of the night was Desert Heat VF, a beautiful chestnut with an unmistakable look and a big presence about him with his auction fee going for $2,200. Top bidding went to Magnum Psyche for a bid of $16,000. The Canadian Versace son Couturier, owned by the Friesens of Saskatchewan was in the auction as well. I would have loved to have bid on this excellent stallion but alas the budget wouldn’t permit, maybe next year!

The next day was spent at the show watching the yearling and two year old breeding classes. Overall the horses in the classes where very typey and quite nice but one negative was a fair amount of hoof issues with some toeing in and misaligned hoofs to leg. One impression that I came away with in this class is the wide variety of studs and breeding lines represented in the classes. Yearlings by DS Major Afire, Eternety, Odyssey SC and Psyches Legacy were there and all went top ten or better in there respective classes. One little filly that I absolutely fell in love with was a Couturier baby by the name of Tatiana WA. What a great filly with a wonderfully trot and very exotic look. She was shown the gate which I definitely disagree with as she should have gone top ten! Her handler was very charming as well, talking to us and letting us take some wonderful pictures. It is always so great to see some Canadian horses being represented so well at such a highly competitive show.

The rest of the day was spent walking through the barns and peeking into all of the stalls. It is always interesting getting out and seeing all of the various horses and having a chance to talk to their handlers and owners. One highlight of the day was seeing my mare’s sire Fames Mahogany (Fame VF x Oh Mi Mahogany). He was being shown in various western pleasure classes by his owner Lorraine Gai. Having lunch at the time he was most unimpressed with us but we loved him! Funnily enough my mare Myra doesn’t look anything like him but she sure does have his temperament, nice and mellow.

We did manage to catch a bunch of performance classes in the afternoon and overall was quite impressed with the quality of horses in the arena. As well it was nice sitting up in the stands that where very full, even for a Thursday afternoon. Lots of kids and grandparents there as well, who where obviously out just to see the pretty horses. The full stands are envy of any Arab horse show in my humble opinion and some thing that should be strived for here in Canada. The English pleasure stallion’s class was a great one to catch although there were only 4 entries. The power of these stallions is remarkable each with their own flair and presents. The winner was Anza Padron and unmistakable Padron son who has only recently gotten into the show ring and is definitely making up for lost time.

Thursday night was an open house at Midwest Station II under the generosity of David Boggs and family. What a great showcase of horses with mares, their newborn foals and stallions being presented. One stallion that stood out for me was JJ Senior Magnum, a Magnum Psyche son recently imported from Argentina with various National titles to his credit. There was also two of his get there one filly and a colt who where both beautiful and carbon copies of each other. This I like to see in a stallion, an unmistakable stamp that makes his babies all his own. One surprise for me was the Saddlebred stud Revival, what a trot and presence about him, an excellent cross for those looking for a trotting half Arab/NSH. After the presentation the barns where opened and we where able to wander through the aisle ways drooling all the way. What a magnificent array of horses. Some favorites that come to mind are the Stallions Legacy of Fame and Nations, both great horses with nice personalities which are a big thing for me.

Friday morning was a definite highlight for me personally as the stallion that I’m breeding my mare to this year was competing in the 4 year old stallion class. OFW Merlot (RSD Dark Victory x Almadeen by *Almaden) was the first one into the ring and was presented very nicely by Greg Hazelwood. He was in a very competitive class with the likes of Magnum Gold, Iimagine and well as two Jullyen El Jamaal sons. OFW Merlot went top ten with a ranking of eight officially. Such a pretty boy and it make me even more excited for the cross with my mare OFW Myra, I can’t wait for April. Next were the 5 year old mares and what a class it was. The eventual winner was JJ La Estrella, what a beautiful mare and even in a very competitive field was a remarkable entry. One that I really liked for her personality and beautiful eye was a Solistice mare, Solpremacy who went top ten. The most competitive class that we saw was the five year old stallion class with a very deep field. With only eight horses entered it wasn’t the biggest class but the horses where remarkable. It was a deep class with the likes of Om El Shahman, Versaces Gold, Odyssey, Dakharo and some not as well know stallions, all of which where of excellent quality. It was a bit of a nail bitter of a class as it really hard to tell who was going to take the championship, my cousin and I had it at a tie as to who would win with it Odessey SC and Dakharo as our favourites. Odessey SC came in reserve. The winner was Dakharo, a Dakar El Jamaal son who I absolutely fell in love with. Dakharo is a very exotic looking Ali Jamaal grandson with a beautiful face, straight legs and wonderful top line not to mention that great black, bay color. It just goes to show how strong the Ali Jamaal bloodline is to put a noticeable stamp on a grandson.

Later on the day we jumped into our car and headed out to Bob Battaglia farms to see more horses. The Saddlebred stallions, Revival and Sultans Great Day are standing there and they where brought out numerous times by our gracious host David. Both of the Saddlebreds where very well bred and put together as well as friendly and personable. Revival had some fillies at the farm and they certainly where pretty, typey and built to trot. Justafire DGL also stands at the farm and is a remarkable stallion with lots to offer. With excellent confirmation, great legs, feet, a beautifully typey face and strong top line, Justafire, is an excellent all over stud as you get beauty, brains and performance ability. Extreme Echo was also at home due to an injury and I got to peak at him in his stall. Extreme Echo is an Echo Magnifficoo son who has gone top ten at the nationals in halter and it is easy to see why. A very elegant, beautiful stallion that is currently being ridden western pleasure was a delight to meet and was a definite highlight for me. Having received his video and information the year previous I was in love! In person he is a great horse, with excellent confirmation and personality. Unfortunately he wouldn’t fit in my suitcase but it wouldn’t be for a lack of desire on my part.

The next big day at the show was Saturday night with a wide variety of classes on the menu. Being a breeding/ halter person my favorite class for the night was the Junior championship for colts. With the stands completely packed with people it was standing room only for the onlookers. The announcer did a great job of educating the crowd as to what the purpose of the class was for and what the judges where looking for. As well the colts where presented at both end of the arena which let the whole crowd have a look. The unanimous winner was a Desperado V son, named *Rahere. Another feature of the night was the stallion presentation class. The class was a show case of Arabian stallions for the express purpose of letting the crowd get a look at the stallions as they parade through the arena. We actually watched in the back warm up arena and that was a nice treat seeing the stallions so close.

The other class that I quite enjoyed was the Half Arabian Country English Pleasure Championship. This was a large and competitive class with some excellent horse and rider combos. The winner was a very pretty chestnut named Front Row Jo ridden by Vicki Humphrey, they where a pleasure to watch and it appeared from the smile on her face the Vicki was quite happy.

That pretty much sums up our trip down to Scottsdale this year. It was an awesome time with lots of horses, shopping and some sunshine. A couple of impressions that I came away with this year were as follows. You really need to see a horse in person particularly the breeding stallions. So often on paper or even video the true spirit of the horse can’t be captured. As well it was refreshing to see diverse bloodlines in the yearling and two year old breeding classes. And last but not least, the best part about the whole trip is planning next years visit.

Story and photos by Karen Metters, Mission BC