Envisioning - Arabian Horse World

North American
Arabian Horse Show
Association
Envisioning
by Wendy Flynn
In 2007, three longtime friends and Arabian horse
trainers, with a combined 90 years of involvement in the
industry, began discussing how to bring back the glory
days of the showring. Tired of battling what they referred
to as “the nonresponsive Arabian Horse Association,” Dan
Bergren, Rob Langlois, and Rory O’Neill decided in 2009 to
create their own show, and association: the North American
Arabian Horse Show Association. The first annual show is
scheduled for August 24-27, 2011, at the Virginia Horse
Center in Lexington, Virginia.
“Rob Langlois and I have been friends for more than
20 years,” says Dan Bergren, “and Rory O’Neill has been
a friend of both of ours for six or seven years. We’ve all
attended AHA conventions and heard the complaints about
the detrimental changes in the horse shows. Whenever we
spoke up and offered solutions, we felt we weren’t being
heard, so we finally said, ‘Hey, let’s do it ourselves. Let’s put
on a show without a ton of classes that showcases the Arabian
and is lots of fun.’”
“For me, it was love at first sight with all aspects
of Arabian horses: breeding, showing, caring for them,
marketing, holding clinics, trail riding,” says Rory O’Neill.
“Their versatility attracts people from every socioeconomic
level. Yet, over the last few years, we feel the backbone
of the industry isn’t being served: the breeders, owners,
trainers, or exhibitors. We’re not trying to reinvent the
a return to the glory days
of the Arabian Showring
Dan Bergren Rob Langlois Rory O’Neill
262 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b DECEMBER 2010
wheel. We picked up ideas from all over the country, found
backers and people who’d come and support our show and
sponsor commercial exhibits and found they expressed the
same interest; no one said we were on the wrong path. The
three of us have an unspoken language and we each bring
a special skill or need to the party. Rob’s bravery in asking
nontraditional and traditional companies to support our
venture is immeasurable. We discovered that a large number
of exhibitors work for or run corporations and wanted to
lend a hand. Rob garnered their support with the fact that
the show would gain them exposure with the general public,
as well as the recurring customers for horse-related products,
and give them a venue with maximum exposure.”
“Dan is the quiet man behind the scenes; he brought
several of the main farms who were our first patrons on
board,” adds Rob Langlois. “Rory is a born promoter. We
all agree that ‘no’ means we just have another door to open.
Corporations love to get in on the ground level. When we
told Ford dealerships about our plans to raffle a car to a
member of the military or their family, they wanted to be in
on it. It’s all about the biggest bang for the buck and putting
out a product that’s worth the investment.”
Rory reflects, “Back in the day, the late 1980s-early
1990s, the golden era before there were all these classes which
are now essential: junior horse, show hack, hunter pleasure
(which debuted in 1990 and is now the biggest class at
Nationals); that was the pinnacle for the breed. Twenty-five

to thirty percent of the entries would achieve a Top Ten; there
were the most people, most money, most registrations, most
sweepstakes nominations, most this, most that, and it was an
event with a professional manager and a packed house. Over
the last four to five years, attendance has hit rock bottom
and 60%-70% of the horses achieved a Top Ten. Too many
Champions and Top Tens and a National Championship
at any of the National shows that AHA provides means
a National win has been cheapened, making it harder to
market horses. As Rob says, it’s become T-ball; there’s a class
for everybody. There’s even a Select Rider class, which was
discussed for two days at this year’s AHA convention, for those
amateurs who aren’t solid enough to show against the other
amateurs in their age group. But should that be a National
class? Maybe it should stay at the class A or Regional level.
And so much is packed into those 10 days, Nationals has
turned into a marathon! Showing from 8 a.m. to 9 or 10 at
night, with a rare dark night at U.S. and none at Canada.
“The show’s size limits you to where and what time
of year you can show. It also perturbs the three of us that
Nationals is no longer the pinnacle show of the year; instead
it’s a fundraiser for everything that AHA does all year.
Whether they make good business decisions or not, or rely
on the outcome of new programs or whatever the convention
delegates or the board or the president decides, AHA bails
itself out with the U.S. Nationals each year. I’ve never seen
so many people sitting on the sidelines, which is sad. I
never knew people would prefer not to show at Canadian
or U.S. Nationals because they didn’t like the direction of
the association or the show commission. Not good! That
North American Arabian Horse Show Association
(NAAHSA)
PRESIDENT: Dan Bergren
VICE PRESIDENT: Rob Langlois
DIRECTORS: Rory O’Neill, Jeff Krusen
TREASURER: Buddy Salisbury
SECRETARY: Kelly Garner
TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Rob Simpson
is the void we’re trying to fill. And those who live in the
Midwest and the East are traveling the farthest to most of
the shows: Scottsdale, Vegas, Albuquerque, Regina. There’s
a need for a world-class show in the Midwest and East area,
especially in late summer before the kids go back to school.
Good business credo: don’t duplicate, find a soft spot in the
schedule and prosper.”
“The three of us agreed it would be easier to build
something new rather than tear half the building down and
restructure it,” says Rob. “We’ve spoken to so many people
who feel the same way, from large farms to small farms, from
halter to western to English to hunter to show hack to native
costume; we have to fix this or it’s going to go away. So we
as breeders, exhibitors, and trainers have to protect our own
interests. Plus, it’s something we love to do.”
“Rob came up with the Lexington, Virginia, site,”
adds Dan. “I’ve visited twice and I love it — and the city
is behind us 100 percent. The only show dates available
were the week before college orientation and the week
before school starts. That’s how we came up with the dates
(Wednesday-Saturday, August 24-27). It was the perfect
storm: any earlier, we’d have been into Youth Nationals or
into Regionals; and there are no foreign show conflicts, so
it’s basically the perfect date from every perspective.”
“Many of the progressive Regional shows and the
National shows end on a Saturday so people can rest up
after the show and drive home on Sunday, which will help
attract the general public within a radius of about 100 miles
who have go to work and school the next morning. And we
tried to shorten the front end to prevent making the show
a marathon. As we’re finalizing the schedule, we’re hoping
North American Arabian World Championships
SHOW MANAGER: Rob Langlois
CONTRIBUTORS: Keith and Maureen Krichke, Mike and
Terri Budd, Rob Bick, Caralyn Schroter, Bruce Bates,
Ricci Desiderio, Paul Kostial, Joe Betten (Preferred
Ford), Jim Hay, Martha Murdock, Tia Zukowski, Ray
Price (Stroud Ford|Lincoln|Mercury), Dan and
Maureen Grossman, Dan and Theresa Dro, Delwood
Trailer Sales, Inc., Adam Trailer, Faulkner’s Saddlery, LLC
263 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b DECEMBER 2010

for a 9:00 a.m. start with a nice afternoon break and a short
evening of judging. Instead of a grueling schedule of back-toback
classes, we’ll only have 115-120 classes and no evening
classes on opening or closing night. On Saturday, we’re hosting
a big BBQ after the last class,” continues Rory.
“Back when Rob and I were first throwing out ideas,” says
Dan, “one was to have fewer classes so you could get around.
Right now the halter guys talk to the halter guys, the western
guys talk to the western guys, etc. We want intermingling
like we used to have. When I first started, my friends were all
performance trainers. I could walk up to an English guy and
say, ‘Hey, I have this horse,’ or say to a western guy, ‘I’ve got
that horse,’ and we’d start talking horses and hang out. Now
we’re showing on different days, working horses on different
schedules, and we’re stabled around different arenas. No
socializing or marketing. Rob has gone to great lengths to
make sure our show will have breaks and activities, like the
mom-and-pop shows provide these days. Give a chance for the
fans to attend barn parties, have playtimes for the kids, time
for professionals to sit by their stalls and enjoy each other’s
company. We’ve really put a lot of thought into that. Our only
guidelines were it has to be fun, short and sweet, pay prize
money, and it’s got to be a big, big-time horse show.”
Rob adds, “A wonderful benefit of the Lexington facility
is that everything is centered around the main ring. You’ll
have seen everyone by the end of the show. It’s conducive to
achieving our goal, and the weather will be beautiful. We’ve
rallied the local businessmen: wineries, high schools, lumber
companies, restaurants, media, whatever it takes to bring locals
into the stands. We’re bringing in Boy Scouts to set up stalls
and unload trailers, which in turn will bring in their families.
A high school band will play, local college students will
present the trophies, and there will be a free car drawing the
last day for those members of the military or family members
who attend. All of this plus a car show Saturday night. People
in the stands equals happy vendors and corporate sponsors.
As for attracting foreign breeders, it’s like the movie: if you
build it, they will come. If we have great classes with exciting
competition, where they can get in here for a day or two, see
the best horses and leave, they’ll do it.”
Dan says, “And if you truly want to experience this
wonderful show, you must come in person. The live feed is
one element that’s hurting our horse shows; people aren’t
getting in airplanes to see the show. People used to go to the
shows, call their friends, and give them updates. Now they’d
264 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b DECEMBER 2010
rather view it from the comfort of their couch. People
patronizing the commercial vendors and corporate sponsors
and creating a great atmosphere in the arena are an essential
part of a successful show.”
“There will be plenty of opportunities to market horses,
enjoy yourself, win prize money — which has been a
rarity — and you’ll be at a world championship show. And
unlike an AHA-sanctioned show, decisions can be made
instantly,” says Rob. “AHA is like a Greyhound bus, hard
to turn. Our organization is lean and can turn on a dime
and make decisions that are beneficial to us. We can also
get the general public what they want without worrying
about offending a small body of AHA. We can move quickly
and benefit our membership. We may end up with USEF,
but if not, we already have a company lined up to run our
bloodwork and urinalysis. Our rules will be the same in
regard to drug testing.”
Adds Rory, “National Champion shows may offer the
best venues, but you pay top dollar and get nothing in
return. Our show, on the other hand, will offer value for
your fees. We think of the horse first. The facility has 12x10
dirt floor stalls, dirt aisleways, 18 work rings, wash racks,
well-ventilated barns, bathrooms, unlimited water drags
in the arena, and the barns are close to each other and the
arena. It’s easy to drive in, unload, pull out. This place is
great, rain or shine. There are large overhang covers on the
exterior stalls and on the front, there’s an H double row
inside the building, the walk into the coliseum is covered,
the outdoor arenas are covered. The surfaces are gravel with
paved parking. The concourse level inside is comparable
to the Las Vegas venue with lots of seating and room for
vendors, and additional vendors will be outside on the grass
on the walk to and from the barns. We offer the most value
of any world championship show, and in turn we’ll provide
prizes (cars, T-shirts, caps, prize money, everything you’re
not getting at shows right now), entertainment, and great
footing because we don’t have the big 800-pound gorilla in
the room that has to feed everything else. This is the only
show we’ll do, so all of the funds we generate will go right
back to the customers. We’re asking you to spend less than
at Nationals and you’ll end up with so many more amenities
and value because we’ll be more efficient with your money.”
Concludes Rob, “We’ll know we’ve been successful if our
visitors are happy and had a good time. When they’re happy,
numbers aren’t a problem because they will spread the word
for next year.”
For more information, visit www.naahsa.com or find them on
Facebook, and look in our January issue for further updates.