There is no better place to cowgirl up than in the American Southwest. With the beautiful deserts, warm weather, and quarter horses, it’s the perfect time to embrace your inner cowgirl and attend the Arizona Quarter Horse Association Sun Circuit. This was the 46th year this show has been happening, and is the largest American Quarter Horse Association in the West. This massive show was held at the beautiful equestrian facilities of West World in Scottsdale, Arizona. With three indoor, climate controlled arenas, this place is certainly world class!

First, hats off to the coordinators of this massive show. With this massive amount of horses, competitors, volunteers and vendors, organization is no easy feat. The army of golf carts to help shuttle spectators and competitors alike was especially efficient, and I loved the rides I received while visiting our sponsored riders. I just wanted to thank the Show Director, Doug Huls for helping organize such an impressively smooth show and the Vendor Coordinator, Emily Frazier, for making sure all the vendors were well taken care of!

I love the community support that is clearly event, even though this is such a large event. Speaking with spectators about the community and the support giving to each other was heartwarming. For example, the proceeds from the sale of the Pattern Book supported the Arizona Quarter Horse Youth Association, continuing the love of the American Quarter Horse to future generations. In addition, the presence of free clinics was a fantastic addition. I love that not only was it a horse show, there were also options for competitors and spectators to learn.

One of my personal highlights of the show was meeting with the February 2019 SmartPerks Member, Kathy Tobin and her horse, Suddenly a Good Bar, or affectionately known as “Roanie.” As a member of the Customer Care Team, I mostly assist our customers over the phone and cherish the moments I get to interact with customers in person. Kathy was very kind and allowed me to fawn over Roanie, who’s beautiful picture I have had at my desk for all of February. Roanie is one of the sweetest horses I have ever met, and one of the most well behaved. He was relax and content, and mainly just wondering if I had brought any goodies for him! As a huge fan of peppermints, I made sure to leave Kathy and Roanie with a few encourage-mints as they tackled their show experience together.

I was lucky enough to have a booth right in front of an arena used for the reining competition. I got to see so many great patterns, and even got to watch Matt Mills win a few blue ribbons! I did adventure away from the booth to meet with our Team SmartPak Riders at their stalls. In addition to congratulating Matt Mills, I stopped by the Searles’ and High Point Performance Horses, both of whom had equally impressive performances. Jim and Deanna Searles were very welcoming, and it enjoyed seeing how two very successful barns operate at a massive horse show.

Supporting the health of these hard working, high performing horses is vital. Combo supplements are always popular for this reason – it’s wonderful to know with just one supplement, your horse can be supported in multiple areas. Horse shows can be stressful for the horse’s hindgut, and having a nice shiny coat for the judge is always a plus. The saying no hoof, no horse is definitely true and supporting joint health is vital for all horses. SmartCombo™ Senior Ultra Pellets is a great all-around supplement for those older, still competitive horses or any adorable senior horse you’d like to provide wonderful support. With our SmartFlex Senior Herb-Free joint support included plus the option to enroll in our ColiCare program, this program offers peace of mind. Since you may be eligible for up to $15,000 of colic surgery reimbursement though ColiCare, you’ll know SmartPak will be there supporting you and your horse if the worst happens.

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Now, no adventure to the wild west is complete without a rodeo! From Thursday, March 7th to Sunday, March 10th, every night there was a rodeo hosted at West World. This was the 66th annual Parada del Sol Rodeo, and let me tell you, I was definitely not in New England any more! There was so much excitement in the air, and I loved being back in my western roots. The next time I get the chance to go to Arizona, I’m going to make sure I explore the beautiful desert on the back of a trusty quarter horse!