Awesome Arabians!

Today our neighbor, Valerie and her Mom, visiting from Angel Fire, NM, invited me to go with them to the US National Arabian Horse show held at the State Fair grounds all week.
John spent the day with the kids and later took Jax and Jem to their end-of-the-year Baseball party held at their Coach's house in Rio Rancho.

So, I was free to relax and focus on the excitement and intensity of the beautiful, high-stepping, high-energy Arabian horses all afternoon. The competitions were full of excited 'whooping' and calling out by the energetic Arabian fans.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself and learned so much from Valerie who herself owns 3 Arabians/Half-Arabians and has been around horses all of life.
We watched the competitions, chose our favorites and tried to guess who'd be the winners, and then we strolled around the exhibit halls drooling over fancy tack, horse trailers and specialized clothing.

My camera is almsot on it's last leg, but I did manage to take a few fuzzy photos. Click on each of them to have a larger/clearer view.

The Champion of the English Riding competition.
The Arabians showing of their beauty and abilities.
English riders/horses lined up for the judges.
Western Arabian riders/horses lined up for the judges.
Horses and riders dressed in authentic Arabian costume.
So much energy and excitement when these beautiful horses high-step with manes and tails flowing while wearing these gorgeous costumes.
Very impressive to see up close, too.