Scottsdale Show News - Saturday February 14, 2015
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2015
Welcome to the 2015 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show News and Reviews for Saturday, February 14th. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone! The sponsor for today’s news is Aljassimya Farm, owned by Sheikh Jassim Bin Khalifa Al Thani of Doha Qatar and Santa Ynez, California.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure to sit down and speak to Bart Van Buggenout, Manager of Aljassimya Farms, to discuss the Scottsdale show and Aljassimya’s generous sponsorship of the Scottsdale International Arabian Breeders Classic, Straight Egyptian and Egyptian Heritage classes. I asked Bart about the inspiration for Aljassimya’s expanded participation at the show. Aljassimya has presented horses at the Scottsdale show in previous years, and now they are one of the event’s strongest supporters.
Bart Van Buggenout is a passionate and articulate advocate of the Arabian horse and he explained the motivation and inspiration for Aljassimya’s sponsorship. “It all began with a simple conversation I had with Taryl O’Shea, Arabian Horse Association of Arizona’s Executive Director. We were talking in general about ways to showcase the Arabian horse and the importance of public outreach.
Several days later, Taryl contacted me and asked if Al Jassimya would consider sponsoring the Scottsdale International Arabian Breeders Classes.
“Sheikh Jassim likes to select shows to support and to give an example for others including sponsorships at Koksijde in Belgium, The Mediterranean Championships in Menton and the World Championships at the Salon du Cheval in Paris.
“Scottsdale is important for several reasons. First the show offers good, solid competition. The show is celebrating 60 years, that is a long tradition of competition and we appreciate the fact they added the international classes.
Next, we believe the Scottsdale show is a prime example of successful public out reach. When you come to Scottsdale, you immediately see the efforts of the show – at the airport, signage, magazines, television, radio, internet, social media, etc. – they use every available means to promote the show to the public and the international Arabian horse community. Finally, we believe the Scottsdale provides the best return on our sponsorship investment. The show committee did an excellent job of representing Aljassimya and supported the Aljassimya brand in a tasteful and respectful way.
“This is the first year for the Straight Egyptian and Egyptian Heritage Classes and I see there is some room for improvement in terms of making the criteria for the Heritage classes more clear. However, this is to be expected with any new effort and I believe these classes have promise for the future and that they can evolve into something very positive. The International Classes are a good example; they are growing in size and quality, and as they grow, they will continue to bring even more horses from around the world.
“Scottsdale is a wonderful opportunity to showcase horses – especially stallions – to a large group of breeders. On Saturday, February 21, we will present Al Ayal AA at the Greg Gallun Training Center’s stalls after morning classes. Al Ayal AA is a son of Al Ayad and The Vision HG. He is already a sire of champions. Al Ayal AA is bred and owned by Ariela Arabians. He is leased by Aljassimya Farm for the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons and is standing at Gallun Farms. For information about breedings in the USA and Canada, please contact Greg and Nancy Gallun at 805-693-0083 or email them at info@gallunfarms.com. People can also reach me for information at bart@aljassimyafarm.com”
Now that the weekend is here, we hope to welcome thousands of visitors and spectators to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show and shopping expo. It’s also Valentine’s Day, the day dedicated to love. Who and what do you love most in your life? No doubt the Arabian horse is high on that list or you might not be reading this. So today, let’s celebrate that love – it’s the reason we’re all here together, and let’s share that love of the Arabian horse with those who visit the show today and through out the week – it’s the most positive thing we can do to ensure a bright future for the breed.
For those of you around the world who are not able to attend the Scottsdale show this year, there’s no need to feel left out. You can catch all the action in the Equidome, Wendell Arena, Wells Fargo Reining Arena and the Aljassimya International Arena through the live feed provided by IEquine and Arabhorse.com. visit www.iequine.com
The IEquine live feed provides the most important communications network in the industry. In 2014, there were 420,000 visits to the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show Webcast from viewers in 101 different countries around the world. In addition, advertisers received 6.3 M banner impressions. Log on to the live feed at www.iequine.com . Contact james@iequine.com for the unique advertising opportunities throughout the Scottsdale show.
We hope you enjoy the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show – wherever you are – and visit the website and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scottsdalearabian
