Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show

Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show

Main Ring at Westworld
Sanctioning body	Arabian Horse Association
Second sanctioning body	United States Equestrian Federation
Location	Scottsdale, Arizona
Held	Annually each February
Length	10 days
Sponsors	Arabian Horse Association of Arizona
Inaugurated	1955
Breeds shown	Arabian and Part-Arabian horses
Number of entries	≈2,300
Website	http://www.scottsdaleshow.com

The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show is the world's largest Arabian horse show, held annually in Scottsdale, Arizona. Beginning in 1955, the show has grown from 50 horses and a dozen trainers/owners to more than 2200 horses and over 1300 owners. Called the "Super Bowl of the Arabian World", it represents the first leg in the Arabian Triple Crown, the other two major competitions being the Canadian and U.S. National Arabian Championships. In addition to the competition, the show acts as a fundraiser for the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona, which has donated millions of dollars to charity from the proceeds of the show.

The first show was held in 1955 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, and was composed of approximately 50 horses from twelve farms. Anne McCormick, one of the founders, donated 150 acres of her ranch in Scottsdale so that the show could have a permanent home, naming it Paradise Park, and it remained there for many years before moving to its present location, Westworld. The Arabian Horse Association of Arizona, with Ed Tweed as their president, sponsored the first show, which was then called the "All-Arabian Horse Show".

It is the largest Arabian horse show in the world, and one of the largest breed shows in the world. The show is sanctioned by the United States Equestrian Federation and the Arabian Horse Association. Called the "Super Bowl of the Arabian world", 2015 version marked the 60th anniversary of the show. The Diamond Jubilee of the event featured more than 2250 horses, and over $1 million in prize money, with over 1300 farms represented. It is the first of three legs of the "Arabian Triple Crown", the other two being the Canadian National Arabian Championship and the U.S. Nationals.

As of 2015, the show consisted of competition in multiple divisions: Mounted Native Costume; Breeding/Halter; Dressage; Driving; working western (Reining, cutting, Working cow horse), English Pleasure (including show hack, park horse, and country English pleasure); Hunter/Jumper and hunter under saddle; and Western Pleasure as well as a youth division for most classes. The top prize of the show is "Scottsdale Supreme Halter Champion". This prize is given both to a mare and a stallion champion. Crowds at the event have exceeded 200,000. In 2015, over 320,000 visitors attended the 11 days of the event, with an additional 450,000 viewers around the world over a live television feed. A unique feature of the show is the user-friendly instructions which allow spectators to better understand the scoring system of the judges.