sigh! For nearly 30 years now I have watched as the attitude of breeders/owners/ competitors has changed from actually wanting to show/breed/own a quality Arabian to simply wanting to make money and win. Since the HUGE percentage of award dollars in AHA is dedicated to halter and to EP and CEP, there is precious little left to entice the ignorant but enthusiastic buyers to head for the quality performance horses of antiquity and proven blood. Sorry, but a "proven" halter champ (Lord help us - now they want halter re-classidied as a performance class! By who, the handlers?) means nothing to me because we want to RIDE our horses - over fences over trails in endurance, working cattle - not mincing around a ring, shaved to the skin and slimy with grease. These kinds of things make me ashamed of the pinnacle of our breeders - to produce the slinkiest, slimiest, typiest, trottiest animal around - at the expense of substance, character, temperament, continuity of type, and above all, predictability in reproduction. It makes NO sense to go pay bucks to the breeders of this year's halter stallion who has only "proven" that he can stand up and snort - when in the end, a 12 year old halter horse is useless as tits on a boar, and the rank and file people wish to ride and partner with their horses.
It IS the money - in breedings, sales, and award money from our registry. Until and unless some semblance of sanity returns to the bredeing end of this "industry", the breeder of the quality Arabian of two or three decades ago will fight tooth and nail to break even - and will continue to do it not for money but for the love of the breed and the horse.
We are proud of our well-rounded, and most competent show/endurance/pleasure/breeding arabians - and not a National Halter horse among them!
