ARTS

from Scottsdale Progress 09-04-22

by Times Media Group

BUSINESS

Arts & Entertainment Scottsdale.org l @ScottsdaleProgress /ScottsdaleProgress

Arabian breeders show set at WestWorld

Alice Cooper competition seeks hopefuls

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Horse season is set to kick off in Scottsdale Sept. 14, when the threeday Arabian National Breeders Finals return to WestWorld.

A small sampling of the grand Arabian Horse show that comes to Scottsdale every February, the event is one of the few shows in the world where fans can see weanlings – or infant horses – trot around alongside some of the finest horses from around the globe.

“It’s a boutique show that we started and our vision was to host a high-end horse show that attracted the best Arabian horses from around the country to Scottsdale,” said Arabian Horse Association of Arizona Executive Director Taryl O’Shea.

“We wanted it to be a boutique show because we wanted it to be intimate and people to have a good time.”

O’Shea has seen the show grow in quality and prestige since its debut in 2011.

“We’ve also grown in our efforts to make the show elegant and beautiful; through that, we’ve attracted, you know, the topend horses to compete at this show,” O’Shea said.

Not only does the show attract some of the shiniest equines from across the world, but its setup complements the competing horses’ coats and other features.

“We set it up to look like a stage in that we have black curtains along the whole back of the arena. The horses compete in this beautiful venue where there’s a red carpet and lighting,” O’Shea said.

Horses will compete in classes based on their age, from a month to 15 years.

In the mornings, the horses show off how well they can ride in different disciplines.

“So, the people ride the horses in different disciplines like Hunter Pleasure, Western Pleasure and English Pleasure – where they lift their legs really high when they trot,” O’Shea said.

Following the elegant morning fanfare will be a show where horses will be judged once again, but this time on their beauty

The Arabian Breeders Finals is set to return to WestWorld of Scottsdale beginning Wednesday, Sept.

14. (Steve Bagdasarian Photography)

seeBREEDERS page 30

BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer

Applications are open for performers ages 12 to 25 to compete in Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center’s annual music and dance competition.

The winner or winners will receive up to $1,000 cash and the opportunity to open for Alice Cooper and many other celebrity musicians on December 3rd at the annual Christmas Pudding fundraiser concert.

Applications are being accepted until Sept. 16. Not long after that musicians will compete in a series of four gigs spread across four venues and eight nights to determine who is fit to open for the godfather of shock rock at his famous annual concert.

“We’ve been a charity for 26 years and the core fundraiser that our nonprofit does is called Christmas Pudding,” said Randy Spencer, a consultant for Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center and head of community partnerships.

“So, we wanted to have an opportunity for the young people at our teen centers and people in the community to possibly perform that event and create some more community awareness for the Christmas pudding fundraiser,” he explained.

Other than age, Spencer there are no

Applications are being accepted until Sept. 16 to compete for a chance to open for famed shock rocker Alice Cooper at his annual Christmas Pudding show. (Courtesy of Alice Cooper’s Solid

and conformation in comparison to the standard of the Arabian horse.

As the horses trot through the sandy pastures inside of WestWorld, fans can indulge in activities around the stadium. Food and drinks and an array of locally made products and crafts will be available for purchase.

“We have a small selection, but a highend selection of artists, jewelers and clothing that our horse exhibitors buy things from and so we’ve kept it small and allowed handpicked vendors to come that fit the ambiance of the horse show to vend here,” O’Shea said.

O’Shea said her favorite part of the competition is glancing at the future of the Arabian horse scene when the starryeyed weanlings trot through the grounds and listening ton the conversations that emerge from the spectators during the show.

“My favorite part personally, is seeing the babies compete,” she said.

“It is just such a fun thing to see them in the showroom together. This show also has a lot of really good camaraderie and people take time to visit and get to know one another better.”

Whether people come out to shop, sip or enjoy a unique show, O’Shea said there is one thing to be expected from the three days of competition and fanfare.

“Expect a well-put-together horse show that has some of the best horses, a cool ambiance and then just some good camaraderie,” she said. “Expect an Arabian extravaganza with a lot of fun.”

COOPER �� page 29

limits to the number of performers who can apply. Past acts have come from as far as North Carolina.

“We’re not looking for anyone that’s cute and we’re not looking for anyone that’s only hard rock just because it’s Alice Cooper,” Spencer said.

“We’re looking for great entertainers, we’re looking for great musicianship and great positions. That could be in mariachi, it can be in hip hop or it can be in metal, we just want greatness.”

Although there are no limits to the types of music and dance that performers can show off, Spencer admits that some common trends emerge among the performers each year.

“When you have someone like Ed Sheeran is really big and popular, you get a lot of kids doing loops and things like that and then we also got a lot of kids kind of emulating the Billie Eilish type of style,” Spencer said.

“Every year we have R&B, hip hop, EDM, metal and blues, so it’s it is a hybrid of everything, But if Bruno Mars is successful, you’ll see a lot of kids kind of doing the Bruno Mars kind of thing or if Coldplay is successful that year, etc. you see a lot of kids probably emulating that.” The first show is set to take place at Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center in North Phoenix Sept. 27-29. From there, the sound travels to Paradise Valley Community College Oct. 14-15 and with Copper Blues Live at Desert Ridge Marketplace on Oct. 24-25 before concluding at the Mesa Arts Center on Nov. 15.

It is at those shows where Spencer says the performers’ nerves usually kick in.

“It’s pretty nerve-racking for a lot of these kids, but a lot of these kids are so brave when we see them,” Spencer said.

In addition to providing a platform for local youth to show off their musical prowess, Spencer hopes to raise awareness for all of the things that Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Teen Center has to offer.

“People need a safe space and a positive space to play and we also want more people to know about our teen center is what we do every day,” he said.

Because of this, Spencer added, this is more than just a music competition. “There’s an opportunity to engage with kids year-round and all the kids that are part of the visa competition and they are engaged year-round,” he said. “We do workshops with them throughout the year and jam sessions with a lot of popular musicians, so it’s not only a competition, but it’s truly a community.

“We just wanted to create a safe atmosphere that young people who also don’t might get an opportunity to perform at Mesa Art Center at the beginning of your career, or perform at cool venues like Paradise Valley Community College is a beautiful theater and just give them a platform so they can have something positive to do and they can get to know 100 plus other young musicians.”

Information: Alicecoopersolidrock. com

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