Blast from the Past - BreyerFest Friday, 2012

(In honor of next week's BreyerFest, here is another 2012 blog post from my old family blog.)

BreyerFest opened this morning at 7:00 AM for their open show. People stood in long lines to get in, and sales tents were mobbed. I missed all that. Deliberately. I am perfectly content to stroll in several hours after it opens - there is nothing I want that badly that I'd go camp out in line to get! (Must be gettin' old...)

So, I slept in, got up and worked online and read, and then headed out at noon. Because two major horse shows are being held at Kentucky Horse Park along with BreyerFest, the place was PACKED. I knew this and anticipated parking a long way away and hiking to the entrance. But to my surprise, the park had golf carts ferrying people to and from the parking lot! I ended up on the back bench of one, facing out and with nothing to keep me from slipping off and falling onto the pavement. And the woman who drove it went at a good clip! But hey, it was an adventure and I survived by grabbing onto the sides and holding on for dear life.

I headed straight to the covered arena where the vendors' fair was being held concurrently with demonstrations in the arena. The arena is huge! And, since the theme for BreyerFest this year is British Invasion, naturally the Union Jack is flying.

 The arena is encircled by a concourse. Well, actually it is horseshoe shaped with a stage (where the flag is displayed in this photo) at the end and two entry gates for horses. Seats also line the arena, and then there is a concourse behind the seats for vendors. And it was packed with goodies!

 I go into overload just looking at this photo.

 Stations like this rim the entire arena, and there are thousands of pieces to peruse for sale. (Just for the record, I didn't buy a thing, but if that woodgrain Brahma Bull is still there tomorrow, I will give it a second look!)

Events run all day in the arena. In keeping with the British theme (as well as the Olympics being held in London) there was a fascinator contest. A Breyer horse had to be displayed somehow in the fascinator. 

 I counted 100+ entrants, including at least ten men and boys!

 This gal was spot on in her impression of Princess Beatrice at last year's royal wedding. (Although I doubt there was a Breyer tucked into the real Princess' hat!)

After the fascinator contest we were treated to a medieval jousting demonstration by the men from the TV show, Full Metal Jousting.

What a pretty horse! I could not determine the breed, but it was a very quiet animal. It patiently walked around and around the arena while the host (his rider) spoke to us. He did an excellent job of explaining the sport. I only knew a little about jousting before the demo took place. (Still have a lot to learn.)

 Two men competed against each other and also demonstrated various aspects of the sport. They occasionally handed roses out to audience members, usually choosing a little girl. It was cute to see them ride over to the seats, bend over, and give a rose to a befuddled and suddenly shy child!

After some preliminary activities (ring spearing at a full gallop, spearing a bale of hay painted with a bulls-eye, etc.) the riders prepared to actually joust. I now know why knights had squires - they needed help getting into their full armor! Each knight had two men assist, and because of the big horses, they needed special platforms to stand on. Knights were dressed this way because, once the armor was on, they could barely move - it was stiff and it was heavy.

 Jousting consists of running full tilt at each other with long spears at the ready, and hitting the other knight at full gallop with them. The knights are nearly blind because of their helmets, and have to drop the reins to hold their spears. I cannot imagine riding blind at full tilt and not having any way to control my horse.

The spears used in the demonstration were wooden, and nearly every time they snapped upon impact with a loud CRACK. They made five or six runs at each other, garnering points for each run.

This poor guy ended up with the hilt of a spear embedded between a joint in his armor on his thigh. I think it must've hurt - it sure looked nasty and I'll bet he got a good bruise where it penetrated his armor.

Next up was a drill team from Kentucky; in fact, they are the Kentucky state champions.

 Nine girls galloping about the arena while riding intricate patterns.

All the while holding a flag as they went. One time in high school, I was asked to carry the flag in a pre-horse show parade around the arena while riding Cee, and then stop and hold it during the Pledge of Allegiance. I had a sling to steady the flag, but controlling a horse and keeping that flag in place was tough. My arms hurt when I was done.

These girls had my full admiration for being able to do it at a gallop and for a sustained amount of time!

Gypsy Vanner horses were on display next. They're descendants of horses European gypsies used to pull their wagons.

The lighter horse is a blue sabino two year old filly. She was lovely - her mane, tail, and feathers looked fluffy and soft.

The announcer kept talking about how gentle Gypsy Vanners are, but this one was not an advertisement for his breed. He reared and circled, and his handler kept yanking on the lead rope to control him, causing the horse to throw his head up and back. 

 At one point, I wondered if the horse was going to leap into the stands!

The announcer said we would see eleven Gypsy Vanners, but only eight made it into the ring. This next one kept rearing and causing trouble in the warm-up ring (I could see it from where I was sitting) and actually got loose! It took several minutes to catch him. I think the lady in the dress was supposed to lead him around, but she ended up having a man lead the horse while she trailed behind.

Speaking of trailing behind, just look at that mane and tail! Stunning!

Despite their beautiful looks (and several others in the arena who were behaving well) I am not sure I buy the "gentle giant/friend of children" sort of description of the breed.

A highlight of the trip was reuniting with my friend, Cindy Neuhaus, and catching up a bit. She lives in St. Louis and her husband went to the University of Illinois. About ten years ago, Cindy developed her own line of china horses. They're really nice, and the one I own won its class yesterday at Breakables (qualifying for NAN.)

Cindy has been experimenting with an ancient Chinese method of firing fine china called "Raku." Each piece is one of a kind. I had wanted one, but wanted to pick it out in person. Here it is (and Cindy, too.)

 We took it outside to see the colors in full sunlight - wow! If you've ever seen a swirl of oil on water in the sun, that's sort of what it looked like. I am really happy with this piece.

For BreyerFest, people throw open their room doors and have sales items all over tables and shelves for sale. You see all kinds of pieces for sale, plus horse books, paintings, jewelry, and things for real horses, too. Plus, you get to meet new people or chat with longtime hobby friends.

Terry Richards (from Rockford, Illinois and Antina's mama) and I had a chance to catch up, too. I bought a woodgrain Jolly Cholly for a rock bottom price from her and a dark red Lady Phase that had belonged to Marney Walerius. When Marney died, Terry was asked to sell her collection, and since I knew Marney, I wanted a piece from her collection (it, too, was rock bottom - $15!)

The mini horse was included in the price of the ticket and came in a Breyer-blue pouch. (Kathleen Moody, another good friend, sculpted it.) I ran into old friends Susan and Gene Taylor and bought a bitty bridle (made by Susan Bensema Young - score!!) and a saddle pad from them.

I also exchanged the necklace that I'd bought in June at the gift shop in the park - three of the crystals fell out. So I returned it and took a chance on another. I coated the crystals on this one with a layer of clear nail polish - hopefully it will act as an adhesive and keep the crystals intact.

And, believe it or not, I ran into Linda Walter. Good grief, I still have her address memorized from the 1970s! (And it hasn't changed!) She's a very shy, reticent woman who is dynamite when she writes. She published The Model Horse Journal for years and I eagerly awaited each journal. Every hobbyist subscribed - it was THE connector for all of us, to each other and to the hobby.(No internet back then, and long distance phone calls were costly!) Linda and I used to correspond back and forth, too.

Linda remembered me, but was too shy for a picture. (I wasn't surprised.) We had a good chat and she gave me her phone number. She still lives with her parents, although they are elderly and need her to care for them. She also operates an antique shop - that's her card in the picture.

I wrapped up the day by chatting with Beth Dickinson for over an hour, continuing our conversation from the previous day at Breakables.

Overall, day two in Kentucky went well. I am tired, but it is a happy tired. Old friends coupled with horses, both real and model, make for a good day.

Blast from the Past - Breakables 2012

(In 2012, I showed in Breakables at BreyerFest. I did well, and posted this blog post with a couple of my wins in an old family blog of mine. Thought I would share the post here since Breakables 2019 is fast approaching!)

To my surprise, I did very well at Breakables, the all-china show at BreyerFest in Lexington, Kentucky.  Sponsored by Breyer, it is the largest all-china show in the world. I hoped to win a ribbon or two, and knew I would see some incredible pieces from all over the world.

It was a pleasant surprise to actually be competitive, and I qualified many pieces for the North American Nationals (NAN) as a result. My biggest wins were these two:

 My Performing Misty won her Pony class and then won Americanware Reserve Champion Pony!

But my big winner was my Sherif; the piece I found at an auction and only paid $4 for.

He won the Arabian Foal class, then was Champion of the Foal Division and went on to be named Reserve Grand Champion of the Americanware show! (Kristina Lucas Francis made the red stirrup cup which was awarded for that final win.)

Not bad for a little $4 horse!

Old Shows and Show Bills

There used to be many small horse shows around my county in the 1960s and 1970s. Most were fun shows and advertised with the phrase "$2 and ride all day."

Before I had a horse, my sister and I used to beg our parents to drop us off at these shows where we would wander the show grounds, watch the classes, and breathe in that horsey smell all day long, dreaming of the day we might own horses and be in the ring winning a blue ribbon ourselves.

4-H and Purdue University used to sponsor a bring-your-own-horse camp in southern Indiana complete with an end-of-camp show. No entry fee, not even $2! (That was a lot back then, at least to a girl who earned her spending money through babysitting.)

Advertising for the shows was done via word of mouth, by plastering big posters up in grocery stores, and by leaving fliers in farm stores or tack shops.

The annual Lafayette Horse Show was the biggie, the one we most wanted to attend, both as spectators as well as entrants.

 It was held in town at Columbian Park and right on the baseball diamond!

 There was a slick program for it and two shows - a day and an evening show.

Early entrants had their number, horse's name, their name, and where they were from listed in it. Leslie and I would do our best to write down the names of the winners and those who placed as we watched the show.

Our favorite was the parade horse class. Every year we crossed our fingers and hoped that Mabel Gorham would come.

She had the most gorgeous, high stepping Saddlebreds who would be decked out in mane and tail ribbons, glittered hooves, and polished silver embellished parade tack. As this class would proceed, people would stamp and whistle, clapping loudly as the horses strutted around the ring.

When I first began photo showing model horses in 1970, I was puzzled that no one held classes for National Appaloosa Ponies (NAPis); instead, there were Pony of the Americas (POA) classes. No one I asked had ever heard of NAPis, so I shrugged it off and figured I'd see them sooner or later.

I never did. I think what happened is that the Giltners, a local breeder of NAPis, may have tried to begin a registry for them and it never took off despite strong local support in our area.

In addition to their large breeding operation outside of town, they owned a fun western store in town, complete with square dance clothes.

The old Hoos-Yer Square shop as it is today.

Sadly, The Lafayette Horse Show was discontinued years ago. But I found some old photos from it that Leslie and I took with our old Kodak Instamatic cameras (complete with disposable light bulbs! Hah!) They are not very good, but you can still get a feeling for the show and what it was like. 

I'll post those tomorrow.

4-H | A Place of Learning

As someone who grew up in a non horsey family, I did not have much exposure to horses and am largely self taught. When I was nine I took a couple of riding lessons at The Horse Schuh Farm (a big breeding farm of racing and performance Quarter Horses) and then when I was in sixth grade, a couple of more lessons at Forrest Hill Farm when it was in its early days.

(Photo from Forrest Hill web site.)

My friend, Bobbie Sue, and I were some of Forrest Hill's first students - back then it was operating out of a small, six stall barn with a tiny outdoor arena. As you can see from the photo above, it has really grown since then!

My parents bought me my first horse, Amy, in February, 1971. I was all of twelve years old, and the only person in the family who had any kind of knowledge about horses. As a result, I was in charge of what became a growing herd.

 Me with Amy, my sister Leslie, with Irish Flame, and my youngest sister, Jenny, with St. Nicholas in 1972.

I made a lot of mistakes - like putting a gate down by the flood-prone Wabash River instead of closer to the highway that split our property. The thought was to keep people from stopping and opening the gate to let the horses out as a prank. Needless to say, that backfired! (We had to cut the fence to get the horses out of the pasture that day as the floodwaters came up so fast.)

 Thankfully, there was an excellent 4-H Horse and Pony Club in the county, and I joined it.

 There was a lot of informative literature available to help the kids that enrolled in the program.

 I read and reread those materials.

 We were given manuals in which to record the care we gave our animals.

 Although this was not enforced and I never actually filled mine out. Oops!

There were clinics and camps for us and overall good support from the leaders.

But the culminating event was the 4-H Fair that was held in July. We hauled our horses into town and spent a week at the fairgrounds, participating in the 4-H horse show and having a blast. (Last year I wrote two blog posts about the 4-H fair; go here and then look here to read them. Those exhibitor cards haven't changed much, have they?)

 I still have one of the year-end pins that 4-H members received at the end of the year.

4-H was a big help to me in my quest be be a good horse owner and learn all that I could so that Amy, Nick, Flame, Cee, and Pokey would be well cared for. I still remember my leader, Jerry Synaesal, who passed away a year or two ago and the help he gave me in my early years of horse ownership.

Nearly fifty years later, I am still using what I learned in 4-H to take care of this gal!

My Early Horsey History

Recently my son, Cole, called and asked if I could find an old photo for him that he needed for a project. As I was looking for it, I came across a treasure trove of things from my earliest days of horse ownership.

 I got Amy, my very first horse (and Abby's look alike) on February 28, 1971.

I had been saving my babysitting money (at the rate of fifty cents an hour) for a very long time, keeping it in this envelope. I used the money to buy my first saddle, which I still have out in Tim's tack room. (My parents were kind enough to foot the bill for Amy's purchase.)

I only had a couple of riding lessons prior to getting Amy and for the most part am a self taught horsewoman.

 Freebie books at the local farm store on horse training and care?

 Yes, please! Home with me they came, and I pored over them, trying to learn everything that I could.

 They were advertising materials, but still useful to me in my quest to learn all that I could.

 Then there was the so-called Beery School of Horsemanship.

Somehow I got on their mailing list and I got mail at least once a month, trying to get me to buy their programs and products.

Even though I was twelve, I had a pretty good idea that "Professor Beery" was really just a money making sham and tossed his materials in the trash. (I was actually surprised to find that I had saved one.)

Tucked into my live horse memorabilia was a ribbon from an early photo show that I had won. We used to be pretty creative in making awards back then!

Tomorrow I will show some more things from my early horse owning days.

Tracing That Horsey Love Through the Years

I have loved horses for as far back as I can remember. My mother used to tell me that when I was two, I would stand up in the car while we were driving (those were pre-car seat days), and watch for horses as we drove along.  But WHY I am so attracted to them remains a mystery to me. I simply have a deep, abiding love for horses.

I have been going through some boxes of old schoolwork that my mother saved and it has been an eye opener. You can see that love of horses in almost every assignment that required drawing. Here are a few samples of what I mean.

 2nd Grade, November 10, 1964. (How about those birds in the sky, hm?? The big one must be an eagle.)

2nd grade, 1965. A horse in one paddock and a pig in the next. (At least, I think it's a pig, judging by the curly tail I drew!)

 2nd grade, 1965. I think the brown horse is supposed to be lying down.

Date unknown, but I am guessing 3rd Grade, 1966.

4th Grade, 1967. You can see a sudden shift in realism. I think this is because a new horsey girl, Bobbie Sue,  moved into my school. Her mom was an artist, so Bobbie Sue had had some art training. I learned and improved from looking at how she drew horses. (However, I was still drawing red barns which had doors with Xs on them - in fact, I still do that!)

 Undated, but I think this is 5th grade, 1968. My drawing was continuing to improve.

Undated, but I think 6th grade, 1968. Notice how I slipped a horse into this assignment! It was supposed to be a calendar wheel of seasons and weather in Mediterranean countries.

My all time favorite has to be this picture from 2nd grade, December, 1965. Can you see what makes me smile when I look at it?

I'm holding a model horse!

Santa brought me my first model horse, a Made in Japan china saddle pony in December, 1963. (I don't think he missed a year after that.) I believe that this picture was drawn the following Christmas because the model horse I am holding is the same color, is in the same position, and has tack on it just like that first piece, Brownie.

Brownie made an appearance in Nancy Kelly's recent book, Exploring the Model Horse Hobby. (Photo of page from book used with permission.)

My drawing skills are not much better than these even now, decades later. Still, it was interesting to be able to step back in time and see how I expressed my love of horses way back in early elementary school. 

I have some more boxes to go through; I hope there is a box of kindergarten papers. I'd love to see what the horses that I drew looked like way back then!