THE ARABIAN AS A FUN AND VERSATILE COMPANION

The Arabian horse as a fun and versatile companion was the theme for the Arabian display at this year’s Toowoomba Equine Expo held at the fabulous Toowoomba Showgrounds. The three horses presented did the Arabian breed and their owners proud.
This topic is close to my heart. As much as we all enjoy a horse show there’s far more to owning an Arabian horse than showing.
I’m not for one minute against horse shows. But in a situation like the Expo, where all the other breeds are going out of their way to showcase the wonderful temperaments of their breeds, the last thing we need is an Arabian shown to the curious public led by a handler with a whip. Immediately, the impression sets up a negative mindset.
As breeders we must begin to think and observe how outsiders perceive the Arabian breed for the first time. I feel our wonderful breed is suffering due to interested, new people thinking they haven’t the ability to handle an Arabian horse in or out of the show ring.
But I’m happy to say there were no such thoughts yesterday. The ever patient Mellennium was inundated with people who wanted his attention after the presentation.
Congratulations to Carol Christensen and her wonderful family and Taryn Creighton Turl and her equally wonderful family. It was such a pleasure to be a part of the day. Congratulations also to Total Equine Queensland for providing a unique platform for equine businesses to showcase their products and services.
Below are the words written for the presentation. I hope you enjoy reading them.

Toowoomba Equine Expo 2015 – Arabian Presentation.

It’s lovely to here this afternoon to speak about the Arabian horse. This year we decided to be a little different and instead of focusing on the Arabian as a show horse we’re briefly touching on the Arabian as a family horse.

When you read the history of the Arabian it comes as no surprise to know that this breed makes the perfect family companion.
Arabian legends describe how the Bedouin owners adored their horses.

Their children played around the horse’s feet and on the chilly desert nights the cherished mares were often invited into the warmth of the Bedouins large black tents.

Legends also describe the Arabian’s bravery in battle, their desire to please, their beauty and their intelligence. All of these characteristics are still found in the modern day Arabian.

You know there are thousands of families around Australia who work and play with their purebred and crossbred Arabians. They compete in all disciplines proving their versatility in Western Pleasure, Dressage, Show jumping, Harness, Eventing, and of course Endurance riding to name just a few.

Another feather in the Arabian cap is that since 2011the public are able to see Arabians race on our Thoroughbred racetracks. This is an exciting concept for the Arabian breed into the future.

The horses presented today show how Arabians fit into the lives of an everyday horsey family.

First up we have the 17 year old purebred Arabian gelding Millennium ridden by Jess Chris-ten-sen. I’m told Millennium loves Pony Club and the yearly Millmerran Pony Club gymkhana. He barrel races, takes on the jumping course before competing in his hack and rider classes.
Finally, he musters the cattle on the family property and to top it off he’s also a registered Arabian Racehorse horse.
I’m not sure if you can get any more versatile than that!

Next we have the 6 year old Arabian pony mare Wattles Lilly and her 7 year old owner Shelby Turl. To explain, an Arabian pony is one derived exclusively from horses of Arabian and stud pony blood.
Lilly was purchased for Shelby because of her kind easy going nature and together they’ve started pony club and gymkhanas.
When Shelby was asked what she loves most about her pony she said her big trot and that she loves to cuddle her.
Now tell me … what pony mad little person wouldn’t love having a Lilly in their life?

Our last horse today is the purebred Arabian mare Bar-Sharn-Tay Selena ridden by Lachlan Trimingham.
Selena began her performance life as show horse under saddle and once she established herself as a reliable and safe mount she was used as a youth horse for an 8 year old child.

Selena’s won at state level and as an open Galloway so I guess it was inevitable that she found herself doing pony club, whizzing around pegs and popping over jumps.

I’m reading that last year Selena started her endurance career with Lachlan and in around12 months she’d travelled 400 kms and qualified for the 2014 State Championships in Clifton.

All three of these horses are family Arabians being ridden and enjoyed by children of all ages. To me they represent all the Arabian horse stands for, a desire to please, a quick learning intelligence and a willing companion.
Thank you to Jess and Millenium, Shelby and Wattles Lilly and finally Lachlan and Bar-Sharn-Tay Selena.

I could go on and on talking about the virtues of the Arabian horse all afternoon but I’m sure we’ve used all our time.

But I’d love to leave you with something to think about: –
If you’ve ever thought, that you’d love to understand the goodness and beauty of the Universe –
maybe, just maybe, you should consider owning an Arabian horse.

Thanks so much everyone.