Canadian national Championships
this, so they all came back night after night, and brought their friends. What a thrill it was to show our horses to a full house!” “It sure was,” agrees LuAnn Siemon. “I have to share this story. I was pulling into the local Walmart in brandon several days before the show started, getting supplies. As I pulled into a parking space, an older lady got out of the car next to me. When she saw from my license plate that I was from Ohio, she asked if I was there for the Arabian show. When I said yes, she not only welcomed me to brandon—she went on and on about how much our being there meant to the people of brandon, adding that she was planning to come to the show herself. “How often does that happen anywhere in the United States?” she asks rhetorically. “then, as we sat at our stalls during the week, hundreds of townspeople walked by, talked to us and petted the horses. Some people actually sat down and asked questions. that almost never happens at a show in the United States. It was fun and very rewarding.” “I loved it!” agrees her son, trainer Matt Siemon. “I love the new place and the people were great, as were the stalls and the wash racks. I have been going to Canadian Nationals for at least 20 years, and this was probably the one our clients and we enjoyed most. And the brandon population was happy to see us. the stands were packed every night with local people who came to support the show. the atmosphere was much more relaxed, not the pressure cooker big shows usually are. “We had a very good show,” he continues, “and we were all thrilled when Mr. (Paul) Heiman’s gelding won three national driving and under saddle
championships with Mr. Heiman and with me. (Mr. Heiman is 85 this year.) the class scheduling was spread out, without conflicts or overlaps, and the whole show was run well. We had heard that there were no decent restaurants in brandon, but we ate someplace different every night and always had really good meals. Six of our clients were there, and they all had a blast! they can’t wait to come back next year.” “I really liked brandon,” says tom theisen. “the city was easy to navigate, I could find everything I needed, and there were plenty of good restaurants (like Matt, I had heard otherwise). they even had a drive-through Starbuck’s!” “brandon isn’t a huge city, but it was big enough for our horse show,” Joe reser offers thoughtfully. reser trains at Setting Sun Stables in Wakarusa, Ind. “You didn’t have to drive all over town to find anything. there were plenty of good restaurants.
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