Q & A with Doug Huls AzQHA CEO / Sun Circuit

Q - During COVID you steered Sun Circuit clear of the hazards and had two great years in 2020 and 2021. The event and related experiences for the exhibitor has steadily grown. What is driving the growth of Sun Circuit.

A - The Sun Circuit has grown because it is a fun show. It is very, very competitive, but at the same time there is not the feeling of that tension that “I’ve gotta win” like at the World Show, or the NRHA Futurity has. Many people come just to enjoy horse-showing and there is not another really big event with that energy out there. Exhibitors want to have fun, and they can, and they can be super competitive if they want to at the same time, and at the same event. You can work hard to win at the Sun Circuit, but still have fun. Our show is one of the very few shows in the Country where you can have all of the top folks from; CowHorse, Reining , All-Around, Roping and Pleasure horse all on the Showgrounds at the same time.

The camaraderie is what we offer, packaged in a snapshot event that features every aspect of the industry all showing at the same place and time. You get to see a lot of old friends that you would not see at other horse shows like at the AQHA World. Where they come in for the Reining and then leave, they are not there (for the most part) for the entire event. I remember when I was still showing, I would go all year without seeing Benny Guitron or Bob Avila (when he lived in California) until Sun Circuit. You may not see Corey Cushing, even if you live in the same state, until Sun Circuit. All of them are on the Showgrounds at the same time here at Westworld, so you get to see all the top riders and old friends. That is a big piece of why it is fun and what grows that camaraderie that we have. The Sun Circuit has a good energy. We have to pay attention to that energy, and then you also have to work hard to create that energy.

Q - You’ve built a strong team to produce the event yet suffered a big loss this year with the passing of Dorn Parkinson. How are you moving forward without him?

A - Dorn had been preparing us for his departure a long time. He very much had been preparing me and had often said to me that, “I will not be doing this all the time”. We of course did not expect him to pass away, but he always had been planning an exit strategy, because he knew he was not going to be there forever. - So he built that into the program right from the start.

Q - What were the key things Dorn brought to the table that were the most valuable for you?

Doug Huls and Brian Dygert WestWorld of Scottsdale GM

A - Dorn was a numbers guy. He mentored me on understanding the budgets and that to be successful you have to run it as a business. That was the ONE thing he ingrained into my head, and to have a budget. That in order for the business to be successful you have increase stall counts, you have to increase entries, etc. You have to increase your revenue sources and at the same time manage your expenses. Those are all pieces that go together. Him making me understand this, that if you run this like a business and your marketing is to increase the revenue streams you will be successful, and then you can sustain and continue on. When you look at other Associations that do not run it as a business, they are looking at how they are going to make it. Especially between COVID and no qualifying from AQHA. The one thing that Dorn made sure that I knew, was that this will be successful if you run it like a business.

Q - How important has WestWorld of Scottsdale become for your event?

A - Westworld and Scottsdale are huge in that, other than the New Ocala location, there is no facility that is located in such a nice area. North Scottsdale is primo! Other than Ocala there is no place located in that quality of a geographical area. Then, with the expansion of Westworld, having the North Hall and the climate controlled arenas was a drastic change. Our numbers have been going up since 2011, but between changing the event dates to March and the addition of the North Hall area, the numbers have continued to grow. We have had unprecedented growth every year.

Q - The North Hall arenas addition and the moving the event dates to March, was a real leap of faith for you and AzQHA to pull the trigger on implementing.

A - Absolutely! In a group with a board, there is a lot of going back and forth. Westworld wanted to move the dates and I presented that to the board a few years earlier and it got shot down. After 2 or 3 years of poor weather, when I presented it the second time, a couple of trainers said “this is the time, we think we need to do this”. I said to the board, “I think we can capitalize on this” and they agreed. When we voted on it, it sure was a scary time, but they supported the recommendation and it has worked out very well. Every year we have a Bond payment to the City of Scottsdale whether we have an event or not. It was a huge leap of faith to make that commitment financially, but AzQHA wanted to grow alongside Westworld and the City of Scottsdale.

Q - You pioneered placing arenas in the North Hall for the benefit of the exhibitor, at significant expense.

A - The building has a great feel. I have always said that. When you ride in there, the ceiling, the design, I don’t know if it was done intentionally because it was built as a multi use building. Some buildings just do not have that feel, but this building really has a good feel, and that has been a big, big plus. Being able to put the sand down in the East Courtyard, and having an arena there too with the extra warm-up area has really helped our event. Because that is one of our biggest problems now, believe it or not, there is just no enough warm-up space, as big as it is. We have played around with different arena arrangements, we have learned as we go, we have made some mistakes. Now with the new layout that is 3 arenas inside the North Hall and the East Coutyard as a 4th arena (all contained within the North Hall area) plus the warm-up that was added to the Equidome area on the East side when the improvements were done, has been tremendous for us! All of those things together are what really makes this work.

Q - You moved Cutting to Sun Circuit in the warm-up area on the East side of the EquiDome cover and the New Horse Sale. Both of these New added events kick off the show-

A - The Cutting guys love it in that area, it has worked out so well. The only thing is there is really no good viewing area for spectators right there, but the horsemen love it!

Q - Scottsdale reports that Sun Circuit is the largest Equestrian contributor of revenue and benefit to WestWorld in 2020 & 2021. Is there still room for growth?

A - The Sun Circuit can grow more, but we have been selling out of RV spots, we can make room for more stalls, but we are little land locked on arenas. There can be some growth, but it will be limited until we can tackle some of the areas where we are locked in due to restraints that are based on simply what Westworld has to offer. Each year, we have already been bringing in temporary infrastructure to get more stalls, more RV’s and to accommodate as many people as possible. There may be a couple of things we can do for more arena space as we continue to grow. It becomes more challenging each year, that is for sure. It is a GOOD challenge for us!

The Quarter Horse industry has seen significant growth here under the production efforts of AzQHA over the past 5 years.

The top twenty event list is most impressive when you see that 40% of that list is between May and Sept, otherwise known as off-season for us.

Brian Dygert GM, WestWorld

The 49th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Sun Circuit will be held March 5 - 13th, 2022

FOR SUN CIRCUIT SPONSORSHIP & VENDOR INFORMATION CALL Doug Huls 480-390-6867(cell)

SUN CIRCUIT GUIDE SCHEDULE & MORE! Published by Bridle & Bit CALL Tracy 602-390-3555(cell)