Global Champion Arabians Tour
This is the Arabian horse we all know and love — a beautiful stallion interacting so gently and kindly with some new fans. Vespascian (Shanghai EA x Vesperra) showed DJ Khaled and his family some love when they visited the barn area during the Miami stop of the GCAT Americas tour. One of the goals of the GCAT enterprise is to bring Arabian horses to a wider and more global audience.
Director Taryl O’Shea, spoke with the Swift Runner about the show.
The buzz in the industry around the GCAT tour is massive, especially after the Miami show. The bar has been set high two shows in. How will you maintain the momentum and what can we expect in Sao Paulo, the next stop on the tour?
After the successes in Scottsdale and Miami, our upcoming stop in Sao Paulo will have its own twist in keeping with the GCAT standard of excellence in Arabian horse competition. Sao Paulo is set to be spectacular, highlighting what makes Brazil a truly one-of-a-kind destination. Attendees can expect wonderful food and drink, exciting entertainment, and a pervasive celebratory atmosphere. Brazil's passionate Arabian horse community and its incredibly supportive breeders will bring an energy all its own. This unique blend of world-class competition, authentic Brazilian flair, and an amazing celebratory spirit will ensure the GCAT tour's momentum continues to build.
Royal Atticus (Royal Asad x Sweet Satisfaction) — Winner of Senior Stallions Section B, Silver Champion Senior Stallion.
What feedback have you received to this point about the tour?
The feedback from the GCAT tour's initial stops in Scottsdale and Miami has been overwhelmingly positive, affirming GCAT’s success in elevating Arabian horse competition in the Americas. Attendees praise the standard of horses, as well as the luxurious hospitality and spectacular entertainment. The events have cultivated a glamorous atmosphere, attracting celebrities and VIPs, which generates media buzz and expands the sport's global reach. Both stops also skillfully integrated local cultural elements, ultimately demonstrating that the GCAT Americas tour is achieving its goal of blending elite equestrian sport with an unparalleled luxury experience.
STA High Voltaj (Taj Raheem x Rose CME) — Gold Junior Champion Stallion.
The Arabian horse is definitely getting new admirers as a result of the tour, as evidenced by the video of DJ Khaled and his family interacting with Vespascian in Miami. How do you see the industry capitalizing on this exposure?
The moment that DJ Khaled and his family met Vespascian perfectly shows how the GCAT Americas tour has the opportunity to introduce the Arabian horses to new audiences. These celebrity interactions that go viral allow hundreds of thousands of people to see our beloved Arabian horse. The more people who are exposed to the Arabian horse the better, their beauty versatility, intelligence and gentle nature are unique. It is crucial to tell the story about this amazing horse and its unique human-horse bond, and to turn this buzz into interest and growth for the Arabian horse community.
Exxaltress (Excalibur EA x Vesperra) — Gold Champion Senior Mare.
What do you find most exciting about the GCAT tour? The most gratifying?
What is truly exciting about the GCAT Americas tour is its unprecedented global reach and how it's introducing the world of Arabian horses to new audiences. By bringing these Arabian horses to iconic, high-profile locations and integrating the local culture into luxurious events, we are successfully broadening their exposure and appeal. It's not only creating excitement within the breed but attracting a new audience that might never have had the chance to encounter them before.
What we find most gratifying is witnessing the excitement this tour is generating and the exposure it's bringing to new audiences. Seeing the immediate impact these shows are making to create a growing community for these remarkable animals is truly rewarding— it's something we've been working towards for decades.