What a Kentucky Derby!

Saturday seemed like a very slow day. Kind of like I had felt as a kid and was waiting for Christmas. I was really looking forward to the Kentucky Derby Watch Party.

I passed the time by putting up a few more decorations.

I was thrilled to find these jockey silks banners - I may leave them up until the Preakness!

Although not a racing saddle, I brought my English saddle in from the garage to add to the horsey feeling in the house. (Craig would probably interject that there is already a whole lot of horsey feeling in our house, and he would be right! LOL)

I baked the Derby pies and was very pleased with how easy they were to make and how good they were to eat.

Our dining room table is where we play games for family and friend gatherings so I set out the things I thought our guests would enjoy. The electronic racing was a big hit with the kids.

I had an assortment of ribbons, horses, and toilet paper for the toilet paper derby ready to go.

And the origami book and paper to use - the activity which was chosen first by our guests.

As soon as they started arriving, it felt like my day began speeding up.

Belle and most of her family (two of her boys were out in the living room with the Legos), Lisa, and me. Belle brought me the vase of roses,

and this cake with strawberry roses that her daughter, Indianna, made. Aren't they pretty? (Fun note: Indianna was in Lisa's classroom as a fourth grader. She's in college now and had actually dropped by Lisa's classroom to say hello last week!)

The Lego Kentucky Derby starting gate and field. (The helmets on the jockeys make me smile.)

Tim, his wife Loni, and hobbyist/barn buddy Kelsey also joined us.

As the race approached, I handed out a list of the field so that everyone could see who was running and choose a winner or two. I picked Commandment and Incredibolt - I am one of those who chooses by the horse's name or its color, and once in a while by trainer. (I like Todd Pletcher and his brother Peter.)

And then we settled in around the TV and watched the post parade. Kelsey had chosen Great White to win and we were all disappointed when he reared up at the starting gate, throwing off his rider and going over backward himself. He was the last scratch in a race that had already had multiple scratches.

In the end, not one of us had selected Golden Tempo as a winner. But, we were all watching history being made since the trainer and the owner were women - a first for the Kentucky Derby.

Then it was time for our own derby - the toilet paper derby!

I gave instructions and then we raced, three at a time. That little Scheich Falabella I'd gotten last week proved to be a very sturdy race horse, at least when the track is toilet paper!

Tim won his race and walked around with his blue ribbon hung on his shirt button. (I would not be surprised to see him wearing it to church today, again on a shirt button and hidden under his tie.) That's his wife Loni in the hat. She took second in her race.

As long as the day leading up to the party had seemed, the time during the party flew. It was when Belle said that she needed to get her kids home that we looked at the clock - it was 9:15! The watch party had been going on for nearly four hours and I'd had no idea.

Everyone pitched in to clear the dishes and food. The decorations and games are still out but I'll leave those out a little longer and enjoy the added horsey feeling they give the house. 

I'm not sure I am up to planning a Preakness watch party, but I wouldn't mind getting together again to watch the race. I'll think about it, talk to folks, and we will see what happens.

Stay 'tooned!

A November Hodge Podge

Not a mish mosh post this time; I'm changing things up and doing a hodge hodge post! Which is essentially the same thing, but hey...

Lots of things are happening, here in my life as well as in the hobby world. First, some news that made me really happy. There's a new model horse blog - Mel Grant's  Mel's Model Horse Collection.

The second line in her very first blog post referenced Lewis Carroll (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass) and then and there I knew that this was going to be a blog I wanted to follow.

I met Mel at the first FAMulous Collectibility Show in 2019 and she and I have been friends ever since. Nice woman, excellent writer, and she knows model horses - what a great addition to the hobby's blogging world Mel will be.

There is a link to her blog to the right under "My Blog List." Go check it out; you'll be glad you did. I'm already looking forward to Mel's next post.

Moving on to Breyer news, I'm late in sharing this and no doubt ya'll know already that Breyer has announced the 2026 BreyerFest Celebration model. (Photo by Breyer.)

I think she is lovely - I like the mold and I like her soft color. It's been a while since I actually kept the Celebration Model for my personal collection, but she's a keeper for me. 

Breyer also released Killington, big and small, yesterday. Collector Club members can order the pair until November 6 and then, if any are left, they will open sales up to everyone.

A vintage mold that I conga and its mini me? In silver filigree? I never even read the text in the advertisement - I clicked on the Buy It button and ordered them! (Photo by Breyer.)

ELauer, one of the winners of the September Give Away for the Halloween keychains and wristlets, sent me a photo of what she'd done with the wristlet she'd won. A little Fall decor!

It made a perfect neck wreath for Breyer's Welsh mare. With her permission, I sent the photo on to Cambria and Titan who were thrilled to see their work used that way.

I ordered my second copy of Dr. Seuss' Horse Museum - this one to give to Teacher Daughter Lisa to use in her classroom.

To my dismay, the packer had used white tape of some sort and taped the book to a box insert - with the tape on the dust cover!

I could not get the tape off and was concerned the cover would rip so I contacted Amazon for a replacement.

That is the third problem with Amazon shipping I have had in two months. Just before the Feast and then again this past Monday, I received empty Amazon packages. When I reported them, I was asked if I was sure the package was empty or if perhaps I'd just missed the package on my doorstep because they had a photo of it having been delivered. (Which they then sent me.)

Both times the missing orders were buttons for making sleeve buttons. I'd had four custom orders for Trade Shirts from the Feast and the customers had asked for specific sets of sleeve buttons for the cuffs.

Two of them wanted a pair of the flat brass ones but I only had one set; no problem, order more of those buttons and make them.

Except... the replacement order would not arrive for two weeks and I needed them within a day or two.

Fortunately, the customer was very nice and said another pair would be fine.

I sent them several photos of the metal sleeve buttons I had in stock

and they selected this silver pair. 

The customers were local and I dropped the shirts, sleeve buttons, and a bonus little girl's petticoat off in the afternoon.

The woman who ordered this trade shirt asked me if I could make something out of any leftover fabric from her shirt. It was a bit of a squeak, but I was able to get a petticoat from it. I can't wait to see aunt and niece wearing their matching clothes at the next Feast.

I've been checking the weather frequently as the Happy Trails V/The Dan Patch Show gets closer. We've had accumulating snows as early as October in the past and I was hoping that that would not be the case this year. To my dismay, I saw the first snowflake icon on my weather app yesterday.

Two days after the show - we are good. Looks like we may deal with rain, but that's no problem.

Meanwhile, Montana Mama Sarah (who has had several snows already) discovered that hubby Todd was doing some "holiday decorating" while she was in Idaho playing Gimme to new baby Elise May.

After speaking with Brooke, I am going to set up the show Thursday instead of Friday. (Which works well for me - Tim and Loni are hosting a hay ride out at the barn Friday evening.)

Yesterday I sat down at the sewing machine and made a show apron from the leftover Standardbred fabric.

I already had one made from another racing themed fabric, so I pulled it out,

folded them both up, and added them to the donations tub for the raffle. With that, I am calling it good for donations although I expect some will arrive on the day of the show. I'll add those to the raffle table then.

Belle and I met up at a spaghetti supper last night. We had done the old high school trick, texting beforehand and asking, "What are you wearing? Are we going cowgirl?" 

Finally, we were going to wear the tee shirts we'd bought together!

We had a lot of fun going matchy-match with our boots and tee shirts. (And horseshoe necklaces!) 

Belle is doing so well with Sultanna. She is riding a lot and is really growing in her skills. She's discovered the joys of horses and it's fun to be a part of that journey with her.

Believe it or not, there's more mish mosh hodge podge I could write about, but that's enough for today. Have a good one, and don't forget to go take a look at Mel's blog!

Belle's New Horse

My friend Belle has bought her first horse! And after a lot of looking, it turned out to be one that was very close to home. 

Sultanna.

It made sense when I thought about it. Belle's kids had absolutely fallen in love with Sultanna and the feeling was very much returned. Sultanna was so gentle with them and enjoyed their company.

She is the perfect "first horse" for someone. And so Tim agreed to sell Sultanna to Belle.

He has been helping not only Belle but also the kids learn how to care for a horse and to ride. They have learned to longe her and to tack and untack her safely. The indoor arena is getting heavy daily use right now, something that I know makes Tim happy. (He has always loved it when people come out to the barn.)

Belle and her kids have even gone on some rides through the pastures with Tim on Eazy, Belle on Sultanna, and one of the kids riding Hokey. (Boy, were the kids excited to tell me about THAT!)

It's a win-win situation for everyone, and I am thrilled for Sultanna, for Belle and her family, and for Tim (and me) that Sultanna is still around and not going anywhere.

Was I surprised? I sure was. But in retrospect, it's perfect.

A Day of Shopping

Yesterday Belle and I went shopping to get the things every horse owner needs. Tylenol, bandaids, ice packs  brushes, hoof picks, curry combs, and more.

We shopped for four hours and did we ever have fun! We may even have bought matching cowgirl tee shirts, too. 

My shopping day wasn't over when I got home. The last offering of the 2025 Vintage Club had dropped!

Pioneer is the Western Pony done as a clock to pay homage to the original Western Horse clock.

The annual free Stablemate, Man O'War, will be shipped with Pioneer. Mine is ordered and should be here soon. (Photos by Breyer.)

And, I found another shipping notice when I got home. My maple cakes have shipped and should arrive tomorrow. Part of me is so excited to check that off the Feast prep list, while another part of me is thinking, "How am I gonna stay out of those for the next three weeks??"

Trust me, I'll figure it out. Hah!

Helping Belle Buy a Horse

I'm pretty comfortable now with the idea that Abby was the last horse I'll ever have. It's taken a while to get there, but I feel at peace about it.  

But that doesn't mean I am not involved with horses. Tim has begun telling me that I have three horses and reiterated that at church yesterday yet again. (After he told Craig and Loni that it was me who started the horsey conversation this time, not him. Hah!) 

I appreciate his generosity in sharing Sultanna, Hokey, and Eazy with me and he has also repeatedly told me to consider the barn my other home and to come out any time. And I have been doing just that. It's the new normal, and although I still grieve for my girl, I am at peace.

In August, Belle, a friend at church started asking me about buying a horse. She and her family had gone riding at her family's ranch out west this summer and she'd fallen in love with horses. 

I invited her out to see "my" three horses and we ended up chatting for two hours. The next day it was the same, and the day after that, too. Texts began flying and horsey memes were exchanged as she began discovering how wonderful the horsey life can be.

A "training about horsekeeping" meme that I sent Belle. (And Tim. Couldn't resist.)

Belle spoke to Tim about her desire and asked if he had space to board a horse for her. He was agreeable and he also was willing to help her get her feet under her as she got to know and understand horses, their upkeep and care, temperaments, and handling.

And now, the search for a horse is on. Belle is jumping right in, but she is also being wise and asking for help and suggestions. One question she asked me was what I look for when I am thinking about buying a horse.

Belle has been looking at a lot of horses online and then sending both Tim and me their pictures and information, asking what our thoughts are and if this might be a good possibility for her and for her family. 

Tim and I both liked this mare best of all so far.

She's 16 but very experienced and well trained. Belle and Tim are heading up to see her this week to check her out.

Any guesses on breed? She is a purebred.

There are some other horses Belle is interested in, but I would not be surprised if this mare came home in Tim's trailer.

Stay 'tooned!