Could there be any three shows more different than the Buckeye, Region One and the Event? All are older, respected and classic. The Egyptian Event, 31 this year, is actually the youngest of the three shows. Though each of them represents the purebred Arabian horse in all of its ability and classic quality, they are also representative of just how diverse and different our beautiful breed has become over the last three decades.

The first Ohio Buckeye Show was held in 1964. It lasted two days, featured 49 classes and was rife with horses bred by Al-Marah, Lewisfield and Cedardell Arabians. Al-Marah Laurie was the 1964 Buckeye Champion Halter Gelding, won the English Pleasure Stake with Bob Hart Sr. up and the Western Pleasure JTR with Bob Hart Jr. Bob was 13 at the time. The Arabian horse was billed as the “Horse of Versatility.” It was 48 years ago.

This year there are 225 classes and, as it has for a number of years, the show includes the NSHR District Championships. The show will be held at its traditional location at the Ohio Exposition Center in Columbus, Ohio from May 26th through the 29th. Judges this year include Lori Schroder Ross, Jeremy Harper, Robert Purtee and John Rannenberg. For years the show has been the place to see and be seen with the finest high performance English-type purebred and Half-Arabians in the United States. The Buckeye like the Scottsdale Show is known as a show where exhibitors can size up the winners that will most certainly be back as the ones to beat at the Youth, Canadian and U.S. Nationals. That not only means the English, Country and driving horse divisions, but also includes the Western and Hunter Pleasure classes too. Even with the price of gas right through the roof trainers will come from all over the United States this year to compete. But don’t expect to find the “Versatile Arabian” at this level of competition. That hasn’t been the case for decades. These horses are serious performance specialists.

A few days after the Buckeye presents its final championship ribbons, the Region One Show begins on June 1st at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Southern California. It runs for five days through the 5th of June including its two-day qualifying show on Wednesday and Thursday. California is one of the areas where Arabian horse showing first began in the United States. There were Arabian shows there in the 1940’s, specifically in Pomona and prompted by W.K. Kellogg no doubt. By the early 1950’s both San Diego and San Francisco were holding Arabian horse shows and by the time 1970 rolled around there were shows all over California. This year’s Region 1 Show will feature around 170 Regional classes, including the Sport Horse divisions and their Jackpot classes. Judges for Region 1 are Donnie Bullock, Buck Grass, Judy Kibler, BJ LeMaster, and Vicky Stashuk-Matisi. Though Region 1 calls this year’s competition its 32nd Annual Show, Regional shows in California were already established in the 1970’s, with Regions 2 and 3 holding well-attended shows every year.

From June 7th through the 11th the Egyptian Event will once again feature straight Egyptian Arabian horses at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The first Egyptian Event was a three-day show held in 1981. There were 49 stallions in the Hall of Stallions that year and 91 straight Egyptian and Egyptian-bred horses on grounds prepared to compete. The “Winningest Egyptian Arabian of all Time” *Sakr was on hand with his friend and trainer, Tom McNair.

In 2010 there were over 300 Egyptian and Egyptian-bred Arabians at the Egyptian Event and the prize money available to them was in excess of $200,000.00. The Pyramid Society’s premier Futurity program, the Egyptian Breeder’s Cup, featured 59 Straight Egyptian Stallions and accounted for half of the show’s overall prize money. The comparatively new Kalkata, developed to promote the two-year-old futurities has boosted the popularity of those classes immensely and created a lot of fun for participants. The 2010 payout for the fillies was $3,700.00; $2,175.00 for the colts.

This year’s Egyptian Event will feature 65 classes, seminars and presentations every morning, a stallion showcase and barn parties on Wednesday, the Egyptian Breeder’s Cup reception and auction on Thursday, and a Gala party and fundraiser on Friday evening entitled “Around the World to Venice … a Venetian Carnival Masquerade.” Little wonder that the Egyptian Event has stood as an outstanding example of Arabian horse show excellence for over three decades.

Each of these shows has come into the 21st Century in a different fashion with different approaches to creating a viable future for the Arabian horse in America. These solutions seem embedded in prize money, entertainment, customer service and good judging … provided the shows don’t forget where the heart of the matter really lies ... with the beautiful Arabian horse.