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The Arabian racing landscape in North America has gone through various changes since the turn of the century, and most of it has leaned toward the direction of contraction.
with a group consisting of more than 450 members. The organization has a board of directors and has received advice from bodies including the Arabian Jockey Club as it continues to develop.
Arabians have shown up in exciting new locales for one-off appearances, but the long-term platoons have gradually dried up in recent years, particularly in Colorado and Michigan. Going further back, the racing Arabian breed once had a presence north of the border, but Canada has been without the breed at its ovals for a long while.
I got in touch with Brigola to discuss the organization, its goals, and the process of reviving a dormant platoon. Here is what she had to say.
Please provide the readers a short overview of the Arabian Racing Club of Canada. Why was the club formed? What does the club hope to accomplish? How many members does the club currently have? Platoons making a comeback in that time have been We are a concerned group of preservation breeders scant, if any, but the Arabian Racing Club of Canada is that have a very real passion for performance-testing aiming to reverse that trend. their Arabians and have been discussing Arabian racing for years and how to bring it back into Canada. AndrÊa Brigola is the president and CEO of the Many of us believe in following the historical European Arabian Racing Club of Canada, which cleared a major traditions of performance-testing our Arabians via hurdle in March when it achieved nonprofit status racing and how it's an extremely vital element in prewith Innovation, Science and Economic Development serving bloodlines and helping bring our strongest Canada, a government department fostering eco- horses forward. nomic growth. With this idea in mind, I decided to start with social Brigola, a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan resident, worked media and created a group in fall 2015 called "Arabian as a head groom at Hastings Race Course in Vancouver Racing Canada" with the idea of "build it and they will and has re-trained over 100 off-track Thoroughbreds come." Our group was meant to be a positive place to for sport horse disciplines. discuss, educate, and build buzz again about Arabians racing in Canada. Though she has no prior experience with Arabian racing, Brigola has worked with the breed through her Many of us felt it was a perfect time to push hard now sport horse training, and developed a passion for for Arabian racing to return as HARC was also Arabian bloodlines through her time with the horses announced that year. We felt it was a time to help and the connections she made because of them. build energy back in Canada, as we have a lot of HARC breed preservationists. With a common interest of The movement to bring Arabian racing back to Canada racing, we have a nice following of over 400 social is still in its grassroots stages. The Arabian Racing Club media members currently and growing. of Canada maintains an active presence on Facebook, 7 • Arabian Finish Line • June/July 2017