Colorado Arabian Horse Club Welcomes Everyone To The Estes Park Show Show Off: Success at the 2011 Colorado Arabian Horse Club’s Estes Park Show To breathe new life into old roots, the Colorado Arabian Horse Club contemplated all of the challenges that faced the 63 year-old Estes Park Colorado Arabian Horse show. In attempting to preserve such a rich part of the living history of the Arabian breed and the legacy of this show, several key components to revitalizing this significant event became a critical part of the enduring success of the landmark competition. One of the Club’s paramount concerns for 2011 Estes Park show was to honor the long and distinguished history of the show appropriately. In 1948, astute Arabian horse owners from Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Nevada formed the West Central Arabian Horse Association. Their first show was an immediate success and was held on July 10, 1949 in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with 137 entries from 12 states. The second was also held in Cheyenne, but in 1951 the site shifted to Greeley, Colorado. In 1952, the show was again held in Greeley, as a group of Arabian horse owners from Colorado had assumed responsibility for the show. Denver was the site for the next two horse shows. 1955 was a year that set the course for this important show for the next 56 years! The organizing group became incorporated and was known as the Colorado Arabian Horse Club. The seventh annual show was moved to Estes Park and the newly completed Stanley Park Fairgrounds, where it has been held ever since. Starting in 1958, the show’s dates were moved to the Fourth of July weekend, another tradition which continues to this day. The first U. S. Arabian Horse Nationals were held in Estes Park in 1958. The first Nationals, held to select National Halter Mare and Stallion Champions, were simplified events when compared to today’s extravaganzas. The first National Halter Stallion Champion and Mare were Mujahid, owned by Richard Newman of Golden, Colorado, and Surita, owned by Jedel Arabian Horse Ranch of Richmond, California. These early selections were made with serious deliberation: judging of a class often took over an hour before a winner was selected. The Nationals were in Estes Park from 1958 to 1962 before being moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico due to the increase in size. With all of this valuable history at stake, the club still faced many challenges. Like so many Arabian clubs in this current economy, questions remained of how to continue hosting this show with both, entries and revenue, down over past years, a trend that has affected other shows as well. So began the process of analyzing what could be done differently to change the outcome of the success of the show. Although there were no easy answers, several themes emerged through monthly meetings and discussions; one being community draw and involvement, another being securing financial support of local merchants, and a third being the need to rely heavily on CAHC’s driven volunteers and their spirit to make the show a success. Certainly, the club took some risks that were “new” to incorporate into the 2011 show like the “extreme versatility challenge” and an Arabian barrel racing class. Including the community into the 2011 CAHC Estes Park show was achieved by inviting the public on Saturday July 2nd to “Meet an Arabian Horse” and providing locals, visitors, and children with the opportunity to learn more about the Arabian breed and see the beauty, gentleness, and variety of this treasured breed up close. Creating the “hands-on” experience with the breed was critical. If a community has the chance to interact with this amazing breed they will be drawn in. It was such a beautiful venue and club opportunity to blend the breed with the town, people and spectacular setting of Estes Park. Many folks that visited the free community events during the day came back to watch the show later throughout the weekend. Saturday evening was slated to feature another free community movie night presenting the film Path to Glory: the Rise of the Polish Arabian Horse. A final public event Sunday was the “Painted Horse” competition. Five teams of youth created living canvases on Arabian horses producing both creative and some beautiful paintings. In addition to involving the community of Estes Park and visitors from all over during the July 4th weekend, CAHC wanted to dare to try a few new and different ideas in the show program. The show featured two full days of traditional competitive classes in both amateur and open divisions in English, Western and Dressage, but 2011 also gave birth to the Arabian “Extreme Versatility Challenge,” for both English and Western. Participants in the Versatility Challenges had to enter classes from five different categories: Halter, Pleasure, Sport, Advanced and Specialty. Awards were given to 5th place, with some of the prizes being bridles, gift certificates, music boxes and other assorted tack items. Other unique offerings included: Arabian Barrel Racing, special Dressage classes for both horse and riders new to the sport, and English and Western Trail courses. This year’s trail course at Estes Park was designed by 2011 US Nationals Trail Designer, Robert Dehn. Having some new and fresh ideas brought back a lot of fun for participants and there were new faces and entries as well as old faces all embracing the spirit of having fun at the show and trying something new along with everyone else. Results of the “The painted horse” competition included prizes for most creative, most original, etc. …everyone came out a winner and team of painters all received a different award. Winners of the versatility challenges were (English) Ann Judge Wegener, and (Western) Kara Wintersteen. Kara Wintersteen also won the Sportsmanship award and the barrel racing. Ann Judge Wegener won the Larum trophy as well. Championship results can be viewed online at the CAHC website under “Estes Park.” Certainly paramount to the success of the 2011 CAHC Estes Park show was the enthusiasm of both new and old volunteers. The old adage “where there is a will, there is a way,” rang true to the passion and pursuit of volunteers to make the show come alive again for everyone involved. It proved that team spirit and hard work exist more now than ever within the Colorado Arabian Horse Club, and the spirit we love within the Arabian exists within us as well. First time show manager, Tamara Boose, took on management of the 2011 Estes Park show and she hopes to eventually get “Heritage” recognition for the show through USEF and AHA – a designation worthy of this show, home of the first Arabian US Nationals. She is an active in the CAHC Northern Division and has been working to increase membership and participation through event coordination for new and current members. She is also a 2011 nominee for the CAHC board of directors this year. Boose’s experience as a competitor and, most recently show manager, gives her a unique understanding of the needs of both sides of the show world especially the needs of the competitive adult amateur – juggling the demands of a full-time corporate job with a full-time hobby of riding horses. She has over 18 years of consulting experience in the IT industry along with a degree and background in engineering and is comfortable thinking “outside the box” to develop solutions to complex problems and leading teams of individuals through conflicts in order to reach a common goal. Boose says, “Although my experience with Arabians may be limited in years, I feel I am a good representation of a substantial portion of the current market for Arabian horse enthusiasts – the‘re-rider.’ Along with my skills earned through work experience, I bring an understanding of a portion of the open show world to the table and will be a valuable asset to the CAHC Board while we strive to promote our breed and to expand membership and participation in our organization.” Long term CAHC volunteer Trisha Swift, has ties to Estes that run deep and wide. Trisha Swift’s grandmother, Marie Welch, got her first Arabian in 1949, so it is no surprise that Trisha has been active with Arabian horses from the beginning. Once a passionate amateur rider, she became a professional to enable children and adults to experience the wondrous world of horses and showing. Now an FEI dressage rider, Trisha is still passionate about the Arabian breed and in helping people achieve their dreams with horses. She and her husband Chase co-own Mountain View Arabians with Trisha’s parents, Norm and Donna Brown. Trisha devotes much of her free time to volunteering for different horse organizations, as well as organizing fundraisers for various non-profits. Norm, Donna and Russ Brown were all present as well filling in roles announcing, helping with prizes and ribbons, and community outreach. Another exciting exhibitor event for the Brown family was Norm Brown performing his Century Club ride for the United States Dressage Foundation on Amie Phoenix+. For this ride, the ages of the exhibitor and horse must add up to be at least 100. Norm had never ridden in a show before, and had never shown dressage, but he and “Phoenix” showed before a passionate crowd on Saturday morning to earn his membership into the elite Century Club. Norm and Phoenix are the 88th pair to achieve such a distinctive honor. Yet another new volunteer to the CAHC this year is Ashleigh Hamill. After relocating from the Bay Area a short time ago, Ashleigh became the sponsorship coordinator for this year’s 2011 Estes Park show, and secured sponsorships for the 2011 show totaling over $3500.00 from local merchants and individuals. Hamill was inspired by the beautiful setting and venue of Estes Park and promised her young daughter, Harper (9), a chance to show her horse in a setting that paralleled her own beauty and that of her beloved Arabian mare, Lovebird. Hamill’s determination to keep the Estes Park show afloat was by a driven life-long love affair with Arabian horses which began in childhood, growing up in part, in Scottsdale’s Equestrian Manor. Since arriving in Colorado, Hamill has begun a private boutique lesson program where she trains youth and amateur riders out of Ft. Collins, CO. She is currently Secretary of the Board for the Northern Division of the Colorado Arabian Horse Club and serves as a Director for the Colorado Horse Council, and also serves on two sub-committees, for the COHCO, the COCHCO’s Horseman’s Convention 2011, and the education committee for Horse Expo held at National Western each year. Ashleigh is host to the CHA Regional conference at her ranch this year 2011, as well as a nominee for “Instructor of the Year 2011,” through the Certified Horsemanship Association. Hamill is also a 2011 nominee for the CAHC board of directors this year. Ashleigh Hamill is a CHA (Certified Horsemanship Association) Western and English Instructor. She also completed the training course for a “Certified Site Accreditor” with the CHA’s National Office, and was part of the team that certified the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington Kentucky 3 years ago. She is a member of The Arabian Horse Association, and a former member of The Diablo Arabian Horse Association (DAHA), The United States Equestrian Federation, and The Certified Horsemanship Association. “The best part of the show for me,” Hamill says, “…was on Monday, when all the activities had ceased, the show was over, my daughter and I got up and rode together in the main grandstand arena, just the two of us on our family horses. My daughter looked at me and said, “Mom this is amazing isn’t it? …to be here riding our horses in a place so beautiful with you…..I’ll never forget this moment.” Priceless and a journey complete for us all involved with this year’s show. The Estes Park show offered unique opportunities for everyone, from being a first-time showing experience for some to a return to the lively, fun shows of old for others. Memories of this show abound: the Century Club ride, a 28-year-old horse barrel racing, eight horses attempting to perform figure-8s in the arena at the same time, competitors cheering for each other from the grandstands, and the Versatility Challenge winners doing their victory “roll in the dirt. “What wonderful memories will be created next year?” Web Design by Ron Copyright Colorado Arabian Horse Club, Inc All Rights Reserved