JAG Royal Knight (Hunters) Registered Half Arabian and Half Welsh Pony
Owner and Breeder: Kathy Gilker of JAG Arabians (Alpharetta, GA) Exhibitor: Anna Tootle Trainer: Karen Boysen of Centurion Farm (Holly Springs, GA). Photo by Jessica Gillker
Anything you can do I can do better. In the sand dunes. Without water for six days.
Horse Nation By Lorrain Jackson, February 3, 2015
What originally began as a discussion on Facebook among Arabian sport horse enthusiasts has quickly turned into a full magazine and a burgeoning organization: The Arabian Sport Horse Alliance. While many people might hear “Arabians” and think instantly of the 100 mile endurance horses or the shiny stallions posed like dolls at Scottsdale, there is a growing demand for Arabians and half-Arabians in the sport horse world. ASHA is out to support and promote that diversity at a whole new level.
According to the ASHA committee members (who answered collectively for this story through an online Q&A), “The group’s members represent the full range of sport horse disciplines and venues including dressage, eventing, show jumping, working hunters, combined driving, driven dressage, and endurance at all levels of competition. We have breeders who are breeding purebred Arabians, Shagya Arabians, Anglo-Arabians, as well as breeders who are involved with various Warmblood and sport pony registries.”
Bridging the Gap
The Alliance bridges a rather incredible gap between two very different worlds: The huge variety of sport horse disciplines, and the Arabian breed show folks (also known as the “Main Ring”) which features halter, pleasure classes, show hack, and other traditional rail classes. They support those who are out showing in the open-breed disciplines, and also the growing wing of events within the Arabian community just for sport horses, such as the annual Arabian Sport Horse Nationals.
