2015 AZ. Sun Circuit Off to a Blazing Start

EC Blog by: Kristin Spinning

The Arizona Sun Circuit blazed to an impressive start Friday, January 23rd at Scottsdale’s WestWorld Equestrian Center. The day was devoted to cutting, with two cuts on the same day. Over 170 entries meant the day stretched long into the night, but the cattle were great and the exhibitors were happy with the large turnout.

That evening, Al Dunning and Bob Avila presented a free cow horse clinic to about 250 people. When those two legendary horsemen get together, there is certainly a lot of humor and good-natured jibing being volleyed. Along with it came a wealth of insight and solid horsemanship advice that can benefit any rider, no matter the discipline. Farnam sponsored the clinic, and at its conclusion, two lucky attendees walked away with bucket loads of free Farnam products chosen by Bob and Al. More free clinics were offered on Saturday and Sunday. This coming Wednesday, which is the off day for showing, there will be four clinics offered, as well as some on the following Saturday.

Trailers arrived all day Friday, and folks got settled in for a week of high caliber competition. There had been some concern that Super Bowl activities and subsequent higher hotel prices would impact Sun Circuit this year. However, both the number of stalls and entries for the first weekend are showing an increase over last year. Stalls are up by 50, and entries have increased by 130.

Show producer, Doug Huls comments, “[Over] the past couple weeks, I kept getting calls from people saying, ‘reserve us some stalls; we’re on our way.’”

The first weekend enjoyed great turn out in Horsemanship, Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Ranch Pleasure and Cow Horse. Amateur numbers were noticeably higher across the board. With so many Trail entries, two courses ran simultaneously to keep the day running smoothly, with one side set up for amateurs and the other for Junior and Senior horses.

The entries are showing that leveling is definitely catching on, with the larger classes seeing about 50% participation in Level 2 and 3. One of the nice features of WestWorld is that there is plenty of space. Even though there are multiple arenas seeing action every day, there are even more that are available for warm up, work out, and lunging. Also, there is no shortage of room to simply walk your horse around and get him acclimated to the surroundings.

Continuing their long standing tradition, the Johns, Tobin and Searles families hosted a welcome party Saturday night. Exhibitors were treated to a delicious meal, along with some time to relax and catch up with friends amidst the backdrop of cow horse competition in the Equidome. Before and after the party, attendees ambled through the plethora of vendors offering everything from tack to artwork right in the Equidome concourse, which created a general festive atmosphere.

Sun Circuit is well known for the huge number of points to be earned and great awards, but it has also been gaining a reputation for its awesome giveaways. This year is no exception. Sponsors and vendors generously donate cash and merchandise for the giveaways. Close to $40,000 worth of goods, saddles, electronics, and gift certificates will be randomly given through a variety of fun games, trivia contests, drawings, and lucky exhibitor awards.

Sun Circuit is not only a hit with exhibitors. The judges, announcers, staff, and volunteers look forward to the event as well. During lunch and breaks, judge after judge comment on how much they enjoy coming to Scottsdale for the show. Between the weather, the hospitality, and the organization of the show, it remains one of their favorites.

There is plenty more to come from Sun Circuit. If you can’t be at the show, there is live streaming from four arenas provided by HorseShowGlobal.com. Also, SunCircuit.com has photos, results, and judges score sheets posted. For announcements and more photos, you can always check out Sun Circuit’s Facebook page.