Yes, Indiana is Cool!

Yesterday my friend Jennifer wrote a blog post about Stone Horses having made it to the quarterfinals in Indiana's Chamber of Commerce's 5th annual The Coolest Thing Made in Indiana Tournament. 

And that is really cool! Both that Stone Horses are made here in Indiana as well as that they have made it so far in the competition. A win would be very well deserved. (To vote, click the link above.)

As Jennifer noted, there is a lot of corn in Indiana. We are one of the biggest producers of corn in the world. 

The soil is excellent for crop production and the corn grows tall. That's Leslie in her maturing corn crop.

A field of corn planted by the tenant farmer on our farm two years ago.

Lesser known is Indiana's soybean production.

To protect one crop from depleting necessary nutrients from the soil, corn and soybeans are alternated every couple of years to allow the soil to rest and recover.

Besides Indiana's farm side, there are other notable things here in the state. For example, Hoosiers are very sports oriented.

I never miss watching the Indianapolis 500!  Four time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves is my all time favorite driver.

I haven't been to the race in years, but I always catch it online.

Indiana is known as a basketball loving state, so much so that if you drive around and look at wooden barns, you are likely to see a basketball hoop hanging from it.

The old barn is no exception!

Purdue's basketball team is currently 5th in the NCAA rankings.

Players Fletcher Loyer, Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Braden Smith. (Anyone else think that Fletcher Loyer looks like Hermie from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer? I sure do!)

Other notable universities in the state are Indiana University, Notre Dame, Butler, and Ball State.

Professional sports teams include the Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Indiana Fever, the Indy Fuel, and the Indy Eleven.

The Feast of the Hunters' Moon

I write a lot about the Feast here on the blog so I won't go into any more detail except to say that it is a very big part of Indiana's culture. Couple that with the Battle of Tippecanoe, also fought here in my home county, and there is a lot of significant state history right in my back yard.

That's just the tip of the iceberg as to what Indiana offers beyond the corn and beans that most people think of. I haven't even mentioned the state and national parks, the museums, or the historical sites beyond Fort Ouiatenon. The "Hoosier hospitality" that is so well known. And more.

I love my home state. Is it any wonder I named a horse after it?

Don't forget to go and vote for my state's coolest business - Stone Horses!

Indiana & Iowa Tornado Notes

Second post of the day. Photos from various news outlets (The Indianapolis Star, Lafayette Journal and Courier) for the Indiana damage and then from Sarah Coleman for the damage in Iowa.

Indiana Damage

The National Weather Service is still studying and making observations of the damage, but at this point they have confirmed that at least seven tornados tore through central Indiana Friday night. We were lucky - two went north of us and one went south so our town had minimal damage.

However one of the two wind farms just north of the barn sustained significant damage.

This turbine lost two of its three propellers. (The idea of those massive things flying through the air is terrifying!)

Another turbine was sheared in half. It looks to me like its propellers came off, too.

The tiny town of Sullivan took a hard hit and was nearly wiped off the map.

A funnel touching down.

Another funnel coming down. I think this is the one that went south of us.

Cars are considered unsafe as tornado refuges. You can see why with this photo. They can also roll and be lifted into the air. (Multiple semis were blown over on I-65.)

An entire house was wiped off its foundation by a tornado. (I hope and pray that the people are okay.)

A shredded business. Again, hoping and praying all the folks are okay.

Another car that took a board through the windshield. 

Iowa Damage

Hawkeye Sarah and family are fine, but Iowa City's twin city, Coralville, took a very hard hit. Sarah and Todd, plus Mountain Mama Jessica, all have lived in various homes in Coralville. Sadly, the first neighborhood Sarah and Todd lived in sustained lots of damage.

The road we used to drive down to get to Sarah and Todd's home.

 

This home is on the corner by their former home.

Another shot of the corner by where they lived.

I don't have any photos of Jessica's homes and if they took any damage (she and Andrew now live in Utah), but if Sarah takes any, I'll share them.

We have predictions of a similar storm system coming through Tuesday evening. I hope those predictions are wrong.

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: Stone Shows

The Stone Horse Country Fair, sponsored by Stone Horses, has been going on for years. In some ways it is like a mini BreyerFest for Stone collectors as it spans several days. Each year has a theme and attendees not only have a show to attend, but opportunities to go inside the factory, a swap meet, dinners, costumes, and more.

This year's event is Thursday, May 4 - Saturday May 6 and the theme is Yellowstone.

Thursday's Activities:

- Paint & Snack activity in the factory.

- Swap meet

Friday's activities:

- Dinner and activities (dress as your favorite Yellowstone character)

- Stone sales

- a Dinner Model for attendees only

Monster Magnet

Saturday's activities:

- Live show 7 AM - 4 PM

- Special guest Monster Magnet

- NAMHSA approved

- a Limited Run model

- Stone sales

Divisions are OF Stone, OF Breyer, Custom, Artist Resin, Stone Mini, Breyer Mini, Stone Dec/Collectibility, Breyer Deco/Collectibility, and Performance.

I attended the Stone Country Fair in 2018, but I only ran up to Shipshewana for the show and didn't participate in any of the activities. (I was still teaching and May is a very busy time for teachers.)

I hung out with Liz and her husband, Sam, and had a lot of fun.

Peter was there and he came over to talk to Liz. (He hired Liz to be the first editor of Breyer's JAH. They go way back.) Too shy to go say hello, I snapped this photo, little realizing that in 2021 I would be working with both Peter and Liz on The Misty of Chincoteague Foundation. I'm not too shy to talk to him any more!

There has been an event in the Fall in past years, but I cannot find any information about one for 2023.  If you are interested in the Stone events, keep an eye on their web site.

One more show to go and then I will wrap up the series. Stay 'tooned!

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: In Home Youth Shows

While the two shows I am featuring today took place in Illinois, not Indiana, they are youth shows from the 1990s. And since I would love to see more youth shows for kids, I thought I would show these as examples of what you can do to introduce kids to model horse shows at low cost to yourself and to them.

Location is one of the biggest expenses for a show. Opening your home up and using your family room, living room, basement, garage, or back yard is free.

Winning a ribbon is a BIG DEAL for a child, and recycled ribbons are pretty and free. There are people willing to donate their old show ribbons rather than store them; a quick note on social media is a good way to find them.

There are horse lovin' kids who don't know about model horses and you may need to provide the ponies. In the two shows featured today, I pulled out models from my own collection and let the kids without models use them.

With the Collectas and other inexpensive models available now, I'd use those instead of the extras and duplicates that were mine.

Tack and props are needed if you are having performance classes, and kids prefer those over halter. (Understanding the subtleties of halter can get tedious for children and the classes can drag for them.)

Real performance classes such as trail as well as anything goes, pairs, mares and foals, etc. are fun, keep the participants engaged, and let them be creative.

I loaned my tack and props to the kids  for the realistic performance classes

and we pulled out the Barbie things and other small toys for the fun classes.

Don't want to use your own things? You can find beginner level tack and props just as you can find ribbons, you can make them yourself, or you can even have the kids make things as part of the show day.

Have some cookies or a snack available for when you break (one girl made a horse head cake with a four leaf clover and "Good Luck" on it; sadly, I don't have a picture), clear off a table or two for a show ring, and be prepared for some fun.

I'm still waiting on a few things to come in on some other Indiana live shows. Hopefully that will come in today.

Stay 'tooned!

Indiana - a Hotbed of Showing?

Yesterday I was checking out the NAMHSA Region 8 news on Facebook and a new show listing in Indiana caught my eye. Another new show? How wonderful!

Indiana used to have a lot of shows throughout the year. Back in the 1990s there was a very active group of hobbyists around the Indianapolis area who held shows frequently, but as time went by, life situations changed, people moved away, expenses went up, and live show options in Indiana dwindled.

That's understandable. Putting on a live show is a lot of work. I have put on at least ten myself in Indiana and Illinois (FAMulous, Happy Trails, Lincoln Land Live, Central Illinois All Halter Live, and some youth shows), and I still plan to put on a few more. But it is time consuming and risky - sometimes you do not break even and lose money.

Julie Poremba Propes judging Central Illinois All Halter Live in 1993. (Urbana, Illinois)

Karen Beeson also judged there.

Normally by February I have a schedule of shows I plan to attend for the year in my calendar, but not this year. What with James' death and then these pesky health issues, I am only now beginning to look at show lists.

Kathy Bateman, co-hostess of Lincoln Land Live, with the awards for the show. Urbana, Illinois. 1995)

Unfortunately, many of the shows I'd like to attend are already closed for entries, but I can always go to watch and socialize with friends.

Tiffany Purdy found one of those Lincoln Land Live Rosettes last year at a GLC show.

and thoughtfully gave it to me. 

For today's blog post, I thought that I would write a little bit about each of the upcoming shows here in Indiana, but as I started to dig in, I realized that this was not a one-day blog post sort of project. It's going to take some time to research and write.

The header for the first Happy Trails. Originally it was planned to be a one-time pony party to celebrate my retirement from teaching but it has become an annual thing.

Happy Trails IV, loading a class on my kitchen island. From left: Jamie Rott, Allison Pareis, Kelsey Kramer (barn buddy!!), Liz Cory, and Yvonne Rott.

I see two blog series running concurrently, depending on how my research is going - one about the new and not so new shows held here in Indiana, 

Veteran hobbyist Michele Evans at FAMulous - she's from the earliest days of the hobby and one who could always be found at the 1990s Indianapolis shows. 

and the other a historical one about those shows that I have held.

The Lincoln Land Live All Youth Show held in my kitchen in March, 1994. (Urbana, Illinois.) That's me in the red, white, and blue cowgirl shirt and Music City Son Cole (aged six) next to me. Teacher Daughter Lisa took the photo. 

(LOL I just noticed something! Scroll up to the Happy Trails show photo, taken 27 years later and that is the same kitchen table!)

This may take a good portion of February as there are about 15 - 18 shows I'd like to write about. I'm kind of excited!

Stay 'tooned!

Antiquing in Indiana

Indiana is a great place to live, and one of the things about it that I really enjoy is the abundance of antique shops. Nearly every small town or wide place in the road has one, and I love to poke through them when I have time.

Today I drove an hour north to visit one that I check out once or twice a year.

 It has aisles to wander down and is clean and well lighted.

 It's very easy to see the merchandise.

I spied a very yellowed Breyer Old Timer. It has no breaks and was in excellent shape aside from the yellowing, plus it had its hat.

But, the vendor wanted $32 for it - far more than the $10-$15 I was willing to pay. I considered asking if they would accept less than the asking price, but generally shops will only take 10% off and that still would have been more than I was willing to pay.

This unusual horse was $12. I thought it might be a European ware, but it had no label or stamp. I didn't like it well enough to risk the money and so it, too, stayed behind.

 I've already got a pair of Fostoria bookends just like this one. I see these often when I am antiquing, and they can range from $15 to $60. Mine were a gift from a friend, Martha Jones, when I graduated from high school.

I used to collect old horsey tins, and this one was really cool.  I was tempted, but ultimately left it behind.

This large art print was unusual. From the color palette, I would guess it is from the 1940s or 1950s. But I left it behind (and didn't even look at the price.)

So, I came home empty handed. But that's okay - I'll be back another time. And in the meantime, there are tons of other places to go search for treasures!