In the Arabian horse show world, halter horses hold a unique place of reverence. Presented to show off the breed’s spirit and beauty and judged on type, conformation, and quality, halter horses are more than just living works of art. They must be able to stand still but alert for conformation judging, then move freely and expressively on the line to show off their movement. The top level of the Arabian halter division is a specialized sport of its own within the breed’s show circuit.

Arabians and Half-Arabians are also known for their athleticism and versatility under saddle and in harness. Breed shows feature classes ranging from ranch riding to saddle seat, and fans of the breed tout its natural ability to partner with its people as a sport and show horse.

At the highest levels, the halter ring may seem out of reach for exhibitors who compete in the ridden classes, even if their horse has the conformation and poise to succeed in-hand. The performance halter division exists to give those horses and handlers the opportunity to compete in halter without committing to the specialization and intensity that the traditional halter classes often entail.

Bitsy Jenkner has been showing Arabian and Half-Arabian horses for decades, and she’s built a diverse resume across many of the breed circuit’s wide range of classes.

“I’ve shown western, hunter, side saddle English and western, English [saddle seat] as well as regular halter, and now performance halter,” she said. “I started in performance halter in 2022 with my mom’s horse, Divergent WA.”

Divergent’s primary show career was in the western pleasure arena, as is the case with Jenkner’s partner at the 2025 Arabian U.S. Nationals, Rave On J (Masai PVF x Agnetha J), her own 2020 purebred mare.

“My mare actually did show quite a bit of halter with Jeff Schall, so she is actually professionally halter trained,” she said. “What drew me to the performance halter with her was just that she’s a baby, she’s a bosal horse. So instead of showing her in halter and getting her maybe a little more keyed up, I thought it would be a good avenue. She’s got all the parts for halter, but performance halter is a little more low-key.”

Rave On J, known as Miley in the barn, has plenty of personality, but knows when it’s time to work.

“She’s an absolute delight,” said Jenkner. “If you see her in the crossties, 98% of the time she’s stargazing. If she’s back in her stall, 98% of the time, she’s got her tongue out, licking the bars. You can tack her up, get on her and just go ride. She’s wonderful and sweet and perfect in my eyes. She’ll jazz up if you want to take her and show halter, but the minute you put leather on her, she knows her two separate jobs, and she’s quite content with it.”

Lifelong Arabian exhibitor Ashley Reimer Carpio added performance halter to her repertoire a few years ago, and at this year’s U.S. Nationals earned the reserve championship in the Arabian Mares Performance Halter with her 2020 mare Aria Vixxen (Delacroixx x BH Bejings Velvet) and a top ten finish in the Half-Arabian Performance Halter Mares with her 2019 mare, Platinum Perfection (PA Phoenix Kid x Ubar 1204).

“I’ve shown riding horses since I was a kid, so I’ve been doing this for a long time,” she said. “I’m really drawn to pretty horses that can perform, so putting them together just kind of makes sense.”

At competitions, riding comes first for Reimer Carpio, who shows Aria Vixxen in hunter pleasure and Platinum Perfection in western pleasure.

“Aria Vixxen is a horse we’ve had since she was three, and she’s five now,” said Reimer Carpio. “She has just been an incredible horse. She’s won eight national championships, including last year in the performance halter. She’s just a mare that tries super hard and is always happy to do her job. Platinum Perfection is a Half-Arabian palomino. She has the same kind of personality; she’s always happy to do her job. This is her first year in the bridle, so we’re still learning. She tries extremely hard and is very sweet. They’re both phenomenal mares.”

While riding is her first love, performance halter provides an excellent secondary showcase for Reimer Carpio’s talented young horses.

“For me, the reason I like it is because a little bit more emphasis is placed on athleticism, which I think is a really important piece,” she said. “We want them to be beautiful and look like Arabians, but we want them to be useful as well. I think performance halter does a really good job of bringing the two together.”

While performance halter horses are still judged on their conformation and breed type, the class routine is designed to be friendly to amateur handlers and pleasure class horses. You won’t see attention-getting devices or noises in the warm-up ring for performance halter. In fact, the class specifications proscribe a steward-supervised “controlled paddock” that all exhibitors must pass through. The atmosphere in the paddock is relaxed, and whips and other schooling devices are prohibited.

“In regular halter you can kind of air them up; in performance halter, you can’t,” said Jenkner. “You can’t, for example, pick up a plant and shake it to get them jazzed up. So I think it makes it more inviting for people who are a little apprehensive about the electricity of a standard halter class. It’s a little bit more relaxed.”

Performance halter also provides amateur exhibitors a chance to show their horses at different points in their development. Jenkner pointed to the example of an older exhibitor with a young western pleasure horse early in its career and still being shown under saddle by her trainer.

“She might not want to do regular halter, but since performance halter is a much lower key class, now she has that opportunity to show her own horse.”

Though the division is designed to be welcoming to a wider range of horses and handlers, the classes are still serious competition, especially at the national level.

“Our horses get schooled for the halter portion just like they do for riding,” said Reimer Carpio. “We have lessons, just like we do for riding. It’s taken just as seriously, and especially because here at Nationals, there is significant prize money in it. It is a class to take seriously.”