They’re not horsing around in Brandon

BRANDON — Contestants from across the continent are trotting into Brandon’s Keystone Centre for Canada’s National Arabian Championship.

The championship is reserved for Arabian and Arabian-derived horse breeds and involves more than 300 horses as well as riders and trainers.

While the competition began Thursday and runs until Aug. 15, the event really ramps up on Monday when it expands into the main arena.

Taryn Weiss, a youth rider from Michigan who won a judged exhibition Thursday morning on a horse from Silver Sands Performance Horses, said the annual event tests skills that have implications for her future.

“For me, it’s a sport. I see it as something that could be an opportunity for me further in my education,” Weiss said. “I put a lot of time and effort into it.”

Weiss won in the Arabian Sport Horse In-Hand Geldings 2 and Over Hunter Type Amateur to Handle class. She said she rides five times a week and builds muscle with weight training, and hopes to leverage her riding skills into her college experience.

Many equestrian programs at colleges require riders to use horses that are not their own, so her Thursday win at the national championship plays to her goals, she said.

“Being able to ride a horse I don’t own is a good look for me. I think it’s just another accomplishment that I make as a rider.”

Weiss said she had ridden that particular horse fewer than 10 times.

For the rest of the event, she’s aiming for a mix of fun and performance.

“I’m just going to keep it positive and have a good time. Obviously winning is a good piece of it, but I’m focusing on having a good experience.”

Erin Brown, an Oregon resident who drove two days to get to Brandon, said that while she is competitive and wants to do her best, the Arabian horse competitions are also a form of recreation.

Brown is using horse riding as a way to build back strength after undergoing cancer treatment. Now that the cancer is in remission, she has witnessed steady growth in her ability since the days when she was dealing with her illness and out of breath after a lap or two.

“I couldn’t do anything, so this year has been great for me,” she said. “A few years ago, I was dead last in every class, so I just want to do better than dead last.”

Harmony Pugh, who road-tripped with Brown to the event, said travelling to the competition with horses for long hours can be stressful. As the event kicked off Thursday, she was glad to be settling in.

“That’s always a relief,” she said. “So many things can go wrong on the travel.”

Arabian horses had been her business in years past, but now she competes purely for recreation. She said the competition is a chance to advance her personal best scores and see how far she can take herself and her six-year-old animal.

“This horse was six months old when I got him, so I just want to see what I can do with him.”

The Brandon event offers a field of competition that’s different from what she’s used to seeing close to home.

“You have to go a few states over to see new faces sometimes,” she said. “This is a national show. There’s a lot of really great competition here. You’re always looking for great horses to compete against.”

Sarah Reynolds, who lives in Massachusetts, said the three-day road trip from her trainer’s stables in Rhode Island is worth the effort.

She praised the venue, saying it’s comfortable and brings together friends and family.

“Number one, we love the facility and the show, the way it’s run,” she said. “A lot of it just brings together the community that loves the Arabian breed.”

While she sees the competition mainly as recreational, she’d love to improve her performance.

“You’re competing. You want to do well. You’ve been working months and months with your horse,” she said. “The main thing is that it’s fun.”

Reynolds has been to Brandon for the competition four times and said the show is also a good place to market a horse for sale.

“You have so many different stables from around the country,” she said. “They could be looking for a horse.”

— Brandon Sun