February 2019

I thoroughly enjoyed the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show! I had never been to one of these shows and was not entirely sure what to expect. I arrived around 10 AM and parked in a big open gravel parking lot that was at this point was just starting to fill up. Golf Cart drivers were making their rounds from the parking lot to the main entry building for those who did not want to walk. I hopped on and took advantage of the ride. Admission for my age group….59 was only $10.00 which gave me access to the all-day events.

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is an annual event sponsored by the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona and hosted by WestWorld of Scottsdale, the most prestigious Arabian horse show in the United States. This show had its beginnings in 1955 when it held its first show on the grounds of the Arizona Biltmore Hotel. After the show’s beginnings, Ann McCormick bought 150 acres in Scottsdale and made it into the horse facility know as Paradise Park where the show was held for many years. Since then the show has been held at WestWorld. It has grown from 50 horses to over 2,400 horses bringing top owners and breeders from around the world competing for a chance at winning. A win at Scottsdale means big money in the breeding barns.

One of the first things I did was take the Golf Cart tour of the grounds. I found the dressing up of the stalls pretty amazing and homey.

I got to take one of the group tours to the stables where the retired Arabian Horses were so that visitors could learn more and get up close to them.

There were many different styles, categories and age groups for showing the horses and judgings.

There were many, many vendors selling all kinds of things related to horses, here are some photos of a few things I liked.

Scottsdale Western Days was another fun event that took you back to the early days of the West. I arrived early with my folding chair and had a seat up front on the parade route. Old town down Scottsdale is a perfect setting for the annual Parada del Sol Parade with its western history, stores, and restaurants celebrating the city’s past, present and future. The parade was full of colorful costumes, mounted horse-riders, horse-drawn carriage, marching bands, wagons and stagecoaches representing many cultures from Mexican to Native American, Arabian and Western.

Parade

After the parade, I wandered over to where the festival was being held to celebrate the Arizona Indian culture to raise awareness of Arizona’s indigenous communities through traditional food, storytelling, dancing, and singing.