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!

Give Aways & NaMoPaiMo

It's time to spin to win for the January 2025 Give Away! Good luck to all who entered!

Congratulations! I have your mailing address already, and will send you tracking as soon as it is in the mail. Most likely not until tomorrow due to the extreme cold we have here. (By the way, I said in the video that the wind chill was 12. That's 12 BELOW zero, not above.)

Since we'd had so many entrants and because I have plenty I can give away, I spun again for a second winner. (Those snuffling noises you hear in the background are Pepper and Tammo. They wanted their breakfast. Hah!)

Congrats to you, too! I haven't decided yet what I'll be sending you, but I will figure it out. Please send your mailing address to me at horsiemama8@gmail.com. 

But wait! There's more! Lucky me, I too am a Give Away winner myself this morning thanks to Jennifer Buxton and her blog, Braymere Custom Saddlery.

I won a set of Jennifer-made Notch and Ruffle medallions and I am thrilled! Thanks, Jennifer! (Pictures are screenshots from Jennifer's blog.)

Jennifer mentions NaMoPaiMo (National Model Painting Month) and if you are interested in participating, here is the link for information and to register. 

In exciting news, Stone Horses is an official sponsor this year and they have some special things they, too, are offering as part of NaMoPaiMo.

If you've never done it, I highly recommend you give it a try. NaMoPaiMo takes a lot of the blah out of February and is for all levels of painting. I have done it twice and hope to do it again some day. Do it!

Stay warm everyone!

Ten Stones

Compared to my Breyer and Hagen Renaker collections, my collection of Stone models is very small, smaller even than my sub-collections of Hartlands or Japan chinas! I only have ten of them.

Why? Well, when Peter Stone began marketing them in 1996, I was still a stay at home mama with six kids. Even going out to McDonalds for a meal (a big treat) had to be budgeted for before we could go. Thus the Stones that are in my collection are, for the most part, ones I either really wanted and budgeted for or had an opportunity to buy inexpensively.

In 1997, my hobby buddy Kathy Bateman and I attended BreyerFest together. Peter Stone was holding the first Equilocity that year as a breakfast event. And with that breakfast came a model, my very first Stone.

The Stone Drafter in woodgrain.

Signed, numbered, and dated by Peter, mine was #32 and Kat's was #2. (Feel free to fact-check me, Kat. It's been a while!)

Despite having the Stone factory here in Indiana and relatively close to where I live, I have only been to the Stone Country Fair a couple of times.

I went up to Derby Daze in May, 2017 and that Equilocity drafter was the winner of the oldest Stone model at the show. His age and his connection to fun times with Kat make him a no-sell piece in my collection.

Another Equilocity special run is Charoite, a decorator made for the 2004 Equilocity show.

Only 200 pieces were made. This photo doesn't do the model justice - it is beautiful and not only is it my favorite Stone model in my collection, it is one of my favorite pieces of all. Also a no-sell.

Named for the rural town in Kansas where my great grandparents Robert and Marilla Honeywell homesteaded in the late 1800s, Windsong Leoti is another early woodgrain from the Stone factory. Using the high popularly Ideal Stock Horse mold, 2,500 were produced in 1999 to 2000, and my notes say that there are four variations of this piece. I do not remember what those were.

Another ISH, Matinee Idol was made in 1999 for the West Coast Jamboree.

Variations include black or pink hooves and 800 were produced.

When Stone came out with a model that was named after my alma mater, I had to get it. Illini is the mare version of the ISH and only 2000 were made. She also has a lengthened tail.

Gigabyte was a special run in 2000 to commemorate the millennium change. A special run for Haynet (forerunner of Blab and later social media boards), 625 were made. Mine is the dark version with pupil eyes. (Lizard eyes are found on some of these.)

Two years later in 2002, Kilobyte, a companion piece to Gigabyte, was made. Like the ISH, she was sculpted by Carol Williams.

Early Stones can be found fairly inexpensively on the secondhand market now. I bought FTR Golden Victory, a palomino Morgan, a few years ago but recently put him in with my sales pieces. I just don't care for the mold.

The same with Mesa Believer. I found him for a great price, plus he had his box, but I have decided to pass him on to someone who will appreciate him more than me.

There is one more Stone in my collection, another ISH, named Caroline's Summer Star.

There is a story behind the production of this model that I will share tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Don't forget the June give away! Comment on any blog post posted June 10 - 12 by 11:59 PM. I'll spin to win on Thursday or Friday.

Indiana, a Hotbed of Showing: Fall Stone Shows

Thanks to Shannon Call, we have some information on one of the Stone fall shows. She writes,

That is so weird - everything about Stone's model horse show last fall is gone from the site. It was The Little Horse Show so Stablemates, Pebbles, and Chips. I attended and it was a lot of fun. My husband and I stayed the night and made a weekend of it. I hope they have it again at the same place.

 Pokagon State Park, where the show was held, is in northwestern Indiana close to the border with Michigan and Ohio.

https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/inns/potawatomi-inn-at-pokagon-state-park/

It has a lot to offer, and is well known for its toboggan run. The run has an elevation of 90 feet and takes you down a 1/4 mile track at speeds of up to 42 mph.

It's not for the faint of heart (which would be why I have never been on it. Nor will I ever!)

Here are some pics from Shannon from the show weekend - like the spring shows, the fall ones have activities along with a model horse show.

The inn where attendees stayed and the show was held.

One of Shannon's big winners.

A lake in the park. (That part of Indiana is riddled with lakes.)

Horseback riding was one of the activities.

Hiking.

Shannon and her husband.

Thanks, Shannon, for sharing - I knew there were Stone fall shows but I could not find the info. 

One more Hoosier show is left on the list, so stay 'tooned!

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: More Ideas & a Story

I received a couple more thoughts on why Region 8 has the most NAMHSA members yesterday and wanted to share them with you. Both make very valid points. (I did not give names on anyone, yesterday or today, as all comments but one were emailed to me privately.)

Here is the first one:

Can't forget that Indiana in particular has Stone, which has/had considerable reach. 4-H programs often have model horse shows and seminars, and 4-H is strongest in R8. Trade and industry is also pretty large in the Midwest; there's a reason Indiana is known as "the Crossroads." Perhaps there is just more exposure in local tack shops as it's easier to get models there than California, per say.

Good points! And in retrospect, I'm surprised Stone models was not on yesterday's list. (This is a reason why sharing ideas is important!)

And then this one:

Here's my take on it: Most people don't bother with a NAMHSA membership unless they're holding a show or entering NAN. The only NANs in recent memory were held in Kentucky, which is an easy drive from Region 8. No surprise, Region 8 has a higher membership than far flung areas like California or New York.

That is true. I was a NAMHSA member when Allison Pareis and I held the first FAMulous, and then she was the member for the next. Most likely we will continue alternating moving forward. And I agree about the Kentucky connection and influence.

On a little bit of a different track here is a story that Kathy Bateman shared. With her permission, I share that.

We lived a couple of blocks from a Texaco service station (remember when that was what they were ?) I was maybe 6, 7. The station was holding some type of promo. Giving out red plastic fireman hats and, gasp, they had a gray Shetland pony tied up in the grass that they were going to give away in a drawing ! Dad, Dad, puleeze put your name in !!!! We came home and he told Mom about the pony drawing and that he had entered. She was shocked. What if she wins ? What will we do then ? Of course I would keep it in the backyard and the garage, what's the problem. Anyway, did not win the pony but that small gesture made my Dad the best man in the whole world.

Kathy and me at a show in Indianapolis in the 1990s.

Several years later my buddy and I were digging in the dirt around the garage. I found an odd tooth, large with surface ripples. Mom took me and the tooth to the museum at the U of I where I was told that it was a horse molar. We found out that our garage was where the barn sat on the original farm. The farmhouse sits catty corner across the street having been moved from the corner. So see, I could have kept that pony in the garage.

A pony up for a drawing? Back in the 1960s that happened. And in the years before that, you could buy horses, ponies, and other livestock through catalogs. Hard to imagine now.

I'm going to wait until the end of today for that show information I am hoping to get. (No criticism from me - I know people get busy and life happens.) We will go with what I have received or know about those shows if I don't starting tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

More on Marney's Marker

There is indeed more to the story of Marney Walerious's marker at Kentucky Horse Park - there were two of them! Nancy Kelly did some more research and here is what she discovered:

The original tree and marker; photo taken by Nancy Kelly in 2006.

Before the Atec Arena was constructed and before the restaurant was built there was a road on the edge of the park sort of in the southwest area. The first Breakables Live was held around there someplace, in a tent, and there were trees lining that road with markers, one of which was Marney's. I remember "visiting" it after the show.

The original stone. Photo by Nancy Kelly.

The marker you showed a picture of was that marker. It was larger and thinner and suffered a lot of damage. We had heard it was actually broken.

Then construction the Altec (completed in 2010) and the restaurant caused them to remove the marker, first putting it in storage, even losing it for a time, then at some point a new marker was ordered and placed near the Man O'War memorial.

The second stone marker, heavily damaged by mowers. Photo by Nancy Kelly.

When that area was reworked the current marker was then relocated to the present location. This marker also suffered damage, but not as bad as the original, thinner one.

Thanks, Nancy, for finding and sharing more information about Marney's marker. I hope to visit it next year at BreyerFest.

Marney's Memorial at Kentucky Horse Park

Have you ever been at BreyerFest and heard people talking about "finding Marney's stone?" 

Guest blogger and author Nancy Kelly spent some time last week doing some research while at BreyerFest and got some photos that will answer that question. Here's what she has to say.

Of the four founding pillars of the model horse hobby (Ellen Hitchins, Simone Smiljanic, Linda Walter, and Marney Walerius) Marney was the one closest associated with Breyer. She served as a consultant to the Chicago company, providing valuable feedback to improve their products. 

She also hosted the Model Horse Congress, an epic live show for years, judged at other shows, produced a newsletter, and did so much to advance the hobby. 

Marney judging at her Model Horse Congress.

When she died in 1992 a memorial plaque was purchased and placed under a tree at the Kentucky Horse Park, the site of BreyerFest. 

Unfortunately, over the years the plaque suffered damage due to being hit by mowers, moved to new locations, and weather. 

Full view of the tree that stands above Marney's marker.

Her friend Kathy Wells started a fund-raising campaign to purchase a permanent indoor plaque. After a few years it became a reality. 

The park had built a new barn, the Miller Barn, which housed a board that displayed such memorials.

I wanted to find both plaques while at BreyerFest this year. I remembered the location of the outdoor plaque and was able to take a photograph. It is in even worse condition now, but still readable. 

I then set off to find the Miller Barn but no one on the grounds knew where it was. I finally found an employee who knew that the Miller Barn is way over by the Altec Arena, so I hopped in my car and found it! 

When I finally stood in front of the board to take the photo a feeling of peace came over me for a moment. Kathy Wells said, “That would be Marney communicating.”

Thanks, Nancy for sharing. Now I hope you can answer a question that I have.

Wasn't there another stone for Marney? I have this photo in my files. Do you know its story?

Hopefully Nancy can tell us more.

Stay 'tooned!