Dear GGAHA members and Arabian Horse industry friends,
I hope this message finds you well! I wanted to share some updates on our annual horse show as you may have noticed we have not been publicizing our Spring show. By this time every year we are deep in the promotion of the show and finalizing details. Many may have heard that with the closing of Golden Gate Fields in June 2024, the Alameda County Fairgrounds made a decision to take on those race horses at the facility in Pleasanton and close the Equestrian Center – newly built in 2019. With this change, we were told in July 2024 that they would no longer host outside breed shows at the location and would need to find a new location. For those that have yet to be involved with hosting a horse show, the options for safe, well run venues in Northern California with ample amenities are limited outside of the Sacramento area.
It seems that just as we were getting into a groove at the Pleasanton location, the venue decided to close for shows and ripped out the gorgeous arenas that hosted our shows for the past 3 years. The fairgrounds demolished the arenas to make room for more stalls to house racehorses. It has now been announced that the fairgrounds have made a decision to close down the racing due to financial circumstances. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 arenas are now completely gone.
We are currently weighing our options for 2026 which may include moving our show dates to earlier in the year as well as a location outside of the general Bay area that offers covered work and show arenas along with safe and suitable stalls and wash racks. We have heard from many trainers and exhibitors that a pre-Scottsdale show would be welcome. We welcome and value your ideas, thoughts and input as we begin to make decisions for the long run. We will need your support in order to fill up the stalls once we land on our location and dates. We will be sure and share more in the coming months.
Warmest regards,
Julie Scudder Feldman
President, GGAHA
