IAHA, founded in 1950, organized to "meet the breeding, competitive and recreational interests of all Arabian horse owners", and also maintained a Half-Arabian and Anglo-Arabian registry.
The Canadian Nationals are no longer held in August as the Board of Directors have permanently suspended this show.
The Sport Horse Nationals are held in alternating locations in the eastern and western United States, including North Carolina in 2017, Idaho in 2018, and Illinois in 2019.
They also offer two Trail Ride Vacations each year, one at Fort Robinson State Park, in Crawford, Nebraska, and another at the V6 Ranch in Parkfield, California.
For a time, the AHRA had been embroiled in a controversy that had resulted in the creation an independent registry for the purpose of exporting American-bred Arabians to other countries.
Brown attempted to crack down on members of the association for rule violations, and was particularly noted for the prosecution of one prominent trainer, who was also a licensed judge, for having "plastic surgery" and other artificial enhancements performed on the horses in his care, including tattooing and liposuction.
[6] IAHA successfully defended the lawsuit brought by the trainer, though accumulated crippling legal fees in doing so.
[7] Brown volunteered to resign after controversy about his fundraising methods for defending against the lawsuits and his creation of a personal legal defense fund.
[7][8] After leaving IAHA, Brown became the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), during the presidency of George W. Bush, and was once again a target of controversy in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.