Off to School!

I'm going to school this morning - Teacher Daughter Lisa's school to be specific. I'm not going as a substitute teacher or a volunteer, I'm going as a guest speaker. I bet you can guess what I will be speaking about - the rich history that happened right here in Tippecanoe County on the Wabash River!

I'll be going in period clothing so yesterday I dug out my 18th century riding habit and tried it on to check fit. (I've been maintaining a nearly 100 pound weight loss for four years, but I always worry that clothes might not fit.)

I also tried on my caraco jacket to be sure it, too, was good to go. Since I found a small area needing repair in the riding habit's jacket, I will be wearing the caraco this morning.

I'll be teaching two sessions of 4th graders, each with about 65 kids. I taught 4th grade for years so I'm comfortable with that grade level, and the subject matter is familiar (18th century clothing, traditions and social mores, fan language, and so on) so I'm not nervous.

Lisa is also teaching a seminar simultaneously with me - she's presenting artifacts that were used by the Miami, Wea, and other Indigenous peoples that lived here in Indiana along with the French and English. (King's rope, round stone balls for games, arrowheads, fifes, and so on.) We will teach 45 minutes and then switch groups of kids and teach those students for 45 minutes.

Not only is this preparation for a field trip to The Feast next week, but it's also a broader part of the curriculum for 4th grade Social Studies in Indiana. (In most states, 4th grade is the year state history is taught.) 

Should be a fun morning!

Moving on to horsey things, Breyer continues to churn out the news. BreyerWest 2024 was announced this week and will be held March 15-17 at the Rocky Mountain Horse Expo in Denver, Colorado.

Registration will open in mid November and updates will be posted on the BreyerWest Blog. (If Hawkeye Daughter Sarah was still Denver Daughter, I might go out for this event.)

And a Smile...

This is the topic of an upcoming blog post. Can you guess what I am going to do with it?

Stay 'tooned!

BreyerFest and Barn Buddies

Model or real, a lot of horsey things are happening. For those in the model horse world, you are probably getting dizzy as Breyer announces model after model for July's BreyerFest. 

The Celebration Horse (formerly known as the dinner model in BreyerFest's earliest days) is the German Riding Pony, Nikolas. (Photo by Breyer.)

Also revealed are the Event Stablemates, and Breyer has shown collectors a few of the Special Runs

and Limited Edition pieces for the event. (Photos of Stablemates and Montanara by Breyer.)

BreyerFest isn't the only upcoming event that Breyer is sponsoring and talking about. 

BeryerWest is scheduled for February 25 - 27 in Denver, Colorado. Lionel, the 2020 Flagship Store model has had a coat of gloss added and 250 pieces are available. (Photo by Breyer.)

If the model horse news wasn't enough to keep me hopping, there is news at the barn.

I'm going to be seeing a lot more of my across-the-Wabash model horse friend, Kelsey Kramer.

Why? Well, when she came to Happy Trails in October, we went out to the barn to meet the herd. Kelsey fell in love with the place and asked if Tim was accepting new boarders. (Yvonne Rott, Kelsey Kramer, and Jamie Rott.)

He sure was! And Kelsey's mare, Dolly, arrived this weekend. So, now my model horse friend across the river is also my barn buddy! (Photo of Abby and Dolly by Kelsey.)

More to come - stay 'tooned!