Collections Within My Collection: My China Carpet Herd

Glass horses - that's what Leslie and I called our china horses. I don't know why; they certainly weren't made of glass. I think it was because we were so young and didn't have a clue what china was. Glass equaled breakable, and these pieces certainly were that. Hence, glass horses.

My collection began with a glass horse, Brownie. Brownie is absolutely my most treasured piece in my entire collection. He is also a mess.

Santa brought him for me when I was six; no wonder he is a mess. All those breaks were lovingly fixed by my father using the yellow drippy glue from his workbench. Each of those gloppy lines is a reminder to me of how patient and loving my dad was as he fixed Brownie again and again.

A picture I drew when I was little of me getting Brownie for Christmas. That's my dad in the chair.

Hobbyist Heather McCurdy knew how much I loved Brownie and actually came across another one a few years ago. She purchased it and gave it to me at a Great Lakes Congress show. It stands next to Brownie in my china cabinet, a reminder of a very thoughtful friend.

Santa had no idea what he was starting and the glass horses began accumulating on shelves that my mother purchased using her S & H Green Stamps from the grocery store. 

Leslie and I used to be in charge of gluing them into their books. It was so exciting to go redeem them and get a new shelf for our ponies!

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a good place to find Hagen Renakers and other makes of china horses was in a gift or flower shop. Here in Lafayette, we had Bowers Gift Shop. Bowers only carried those chinas that were made in Japan; I was unaware of Hagen Renakers until I read an article in Horse and Rider magazine and saw photos of Zara and Zilla.

Leslie and I used to stand and look at Bowers' beautiful glass horses (hands behind our backs so we didn't break anything!) and wish and dream that they could all come home with us. Some of them did, and I still have almost all of my earliest pieces. 

Diamond Dindy, a Lefton, was my favorite foal. He has two leg breaks and a chip on the side of his head, but I only have to pull him out of my china cabinet to feel my heart soften and my eyes get a little misty. I loved Diamond Dindy (and I still do; I teared up just writing that.)

Of course, Diamond Dindy had parents. His father was Black Diamond, a Lefton Saddlebred. Black Diamond was the very regal and dignified leader of my glass horse herd. 

The beautiful Trimontware Falda (a misspelling by me of the name of the horse Falada in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, The Goose Girl) was Black Diamond's wife and the mother of Diamond Dindy. She was the boss mare in my 1960s herd. 

Like the Freeman Leidy circus horses, Falda has beautiful eyelashes.

Despite being the size of a Breyer Traditional, Mollasus was a gentle giant. And, when I got Needles, a woodgrain Running Foal and my very first Breyer, she became his mom. 

I kept Needles and Mollasus together until about five years ago when I decided that she would be safer in the china cabinet rather than out on the open shelves with my Breyers. Doggone it if I didn't feel a pang separating the two!

Using scraps of wood from my dad's workbench, I built Mollasus and her "husband," Desert Wind (long broken and gone) a barn.

Leslie, Jenny, and I would play with that barn and Mollasus and Desert Wind out under our crab apple trees.

Counterpoint was a sweet, Little Bit sized Saddlebred/ Tennessee Walker. His name came from one of my favorite books at the time, Scarlet Royal, by Anne Emery. 

The only pony in the glass horse herd was Bobol. A gift from my friends, Bobbie Sue and Carol, I combined their names to get his. He is one of the only members of my glass horse herd that doesn't have any breaks!

Old Maude wasn't actually mine; she belonged to Leslie and was Leslie's favorite glass horse. Like Brownie, the original Old Maude is not in good shape but she is lovingly packed safely away. I bought this one from Karen Beeson because I, too, had loved Old Maude. 

I'd always wondered where the name "Old Maude" came from - it's not a name a little girl would come up with. It was on Thanksgiving Day, 2020 that I discovered the story behind the name. I cherish the china Old Maude even more now that I know why she was named that.

An old Lefton mare and foal set (that is missing the standing foal that was part of it.) This mare was added in the 1990s; I don't know what happened to the original mare and the other foal. 

And while they aren't copies of the Hagen Renaker mini sets, I would not be surprised if they were inspired by them. 

There is a box of carpet herd chinas tucked away in the closet. I always open it and unwrap each piece when I am reorganizing or cleaning. The trip back through beloved memories is always worth it. 

Those models may be chipped, broken, or even missing pieces, but I remember them as they were and the joy they brought me. And you know what? They still do.

She's Got Favorites

Pony Pal Mila spent the morning with us yesterday, and as usual, I got asked, "Grammy, could I see the horses?" We've got this down now - she knows how to be careful (it's kind of fun to see her so cautiously hold them) and I have a pretty good idea as to which ones she will want to see. She's got some favorites now.

Mila climbs up into the love seat and I open the china cabinet behind it and start taking requests.

My Hagen Renaker Designer Workshop Head Down Pony is almost always the one she asks to look at first. She really likes that piece.

The Black Horse Ranch Companion resin is another. She calls it "the heavy one." (Is it ever!)

 The Beswick Kick Start is "the funny one." (I agree with Mila's assessment - that piece is chock full of character.)

Always my RubberNed Tagus Circus Pony comes out and she even remembers to be extra gentle with the plumes. (She also loves the orange crystals that Donna embedded in the tack when she made him.)

 I have a very old Japanese Samuri Boys' Day War Horse made out of paper mâché that I got in the mid 1970s. It was old at that time, and when I took it out of the cabinet today

 I was saddened (but not surprised) to see some deterioration on a hoof had begun. 

There was also a crack in the hind leg. They're so fragile and this piece is probably 70 years old or so. 

 A new one for Mila to see was my Apple-oosa, a very early piece from Trail of the Painted Ponies. She thought the apples were pumpkins at first.

Naturally we had to drink out of the stirrup cup from the 2012 Breakables show (Cowpoke Ian was thirsty, too) and then I closed the cabinet and redirected the kids to other things.

Pony Pal Mila lived up to her nickname - first she played with the stable and horses I keep tucked under the coffee table in the front room.

and then she colored in the Breyer sticker book.

My laptop had a few more decorations added to it, too. 

This was the first time that my heart didn't race a bit when Mila asked to see some of my chinas. And now I am getting a good idea of which pieces she likes so that I can earmark them for her to have when she is older. Like I said, clearly she has favorites.

Taking a Deep Breath and Creating Memories

Pony Pal Mila dropped by yesterday - what a breath of fresh air! I had not seen her in weeks due to the pandemic, and while technically I should still keep my distance from her, I just couldn't say no when she called and asked if she could come see me.

As she walked through the door, I complimented her on her horsey dress. Mila replied, "You're just too far away to see the horns. These are UNICORNS!" and she came over and pointed out one of the horns for me.

I do believe that Mila has the horsey gene. Right away she climbed up beside me on the couch and asked if she could see the horses in the china hutch behind it - the Designer Workshop Hagen Renakers, the Animal Artistry pieces, the Breyer porcelains, Mortens Studios, North Lights, Beswicks, and so on.

Taking a deep breath (a VERY deep breath), I said yes.

I pulled out a Joseph Original that I really liked but that I'd only paid fifty cents for at a flea market. He's super cute so I knew he would appeal to her, and if he got broken, well, I would be sad but it would not be a big deal.

She asked if he had a name, and when I said he reminded me of a candy bar and had called him Snickers, she asked if we could rename him to Rainbow Wing. Alrighty, then, Rainbow Wing it is!

Pony Pal Mila really liked that little foal. She liked it so much so that when Pepper began trying to entice her to play, she chose to stay on the couch and hold the foal! (As you can see, Pepper used her best puppy eyes on Mila.)

Then my Pony Pal asked if she could see the "pink horse." Again I held my breath - that piece has such spindly legs, and it's my favorite of all the colors it came in, but Mila was very gentle and nothing happened to it.

After telling me about her horse from her other grandma that has hair (it must be a My Little Pony), Mila asked if I had any horses with hair.

One Rubbernedz coming up! That was an easy one to let her see, and she really liked it. (So do I.)

 She looked at my Designer Workshop Hagen Renaker Fez...

 ... and my Animal Artistry Circus Horse, and then I pulled out something that I thought she would find interesting. I asked her if she knew what a stirrup cup was and took out the one I'd won at Breakables in 2012.

Sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis, it has been sitting in my china cabinet alongside the Hagen Renakers. It's pretty cool - if you flip it over, the ears and the forelock of the mane serve as three legs and balance the cup on the table.

I filled it with some water and handed it to her. She took a very cautious sip,

and a big smile broke out on her face. It was a hit! 

I know some people would think it crazy to let a four year old hold expensive models. Believe me, I considered that when I first began letting Pony Pal Mila hold some of my collection. And there are some that I tell her we will look at "some other time." But I do let her look at them for two reasons:

First, I was a Mila. Any opportunity to do something pertaining to horses, even when I was little, was a huge deal for me. Those opportunities nurtured and helped me grow into the horsey gal I am now. They made my day at the time and many have remained as fond memories. I want her to have that same experience, and I can easily provide it by throwing open the cabinet door.

Second, and even more importantly, is that Mila and I are connecting through a common love. I won't always be here on earth, and I like to imagine an adult Mila smiling fondly as she holds Rainbow Wing and remembers the times we spent together looking at the pieces in my collection, the thrill she felt at holding the glossy pink horse, and how fun it was to drink from her Grammy's stirrup cup.

We are building bonds between us along with our mutual love of horses, and we are making memories. Mila may even be the one who asks to have my collection when I am gone, and cherishes it for what it represents to her.

And that is why Pony Pal Mila gets to hold my chinas.

Photo Showing Again

I haven't photo shown for years, probably not since the early 1990s. But the pandemic has caused the hobby to circle back to its roots - live shows have been canceled or postponed across the world, and online photo shows have popped up all over the internet in their place. 

Chris Wallbruch volunteered to set up and host a monthly show series for Great Lakes Congress. If you're a member, then you can enter for free. I entered the May show and did pretty well despite my rustiness.

Creamsicle won the Custom British Ponies class and went on to be Custom Other Breed Reserve Champion.

 Windsong Sherif, my favorite piece in my china collection, won the China Light Foals class

and Harry Potter took first in the China Non Light Foal class.

 Jaarko placed first in China European Pony

and Marcelline won the China Non-Realistic/Fantasy class.

Windsong Adelaide took first in the China Longears/Exotics class, was Other Breeds Halter Champion, and Reserve Grand Champion of China.

What was so much fun for me about the online showing was that I could enter pieces that I rarely (if ever) bring to shows because I do not want to damage or break them. Just taking them out of the china cabinets to photograph them made me nervous.

Misty Dawn, my Animal Artistry Rearing Arabian is rarely out of the cabinet. It was nice to get to show her.

Barnum's Moonlight, a very rare Metlox Poppytrail Medium Circus Horse was a piece I searched for for decades. 

Poppet, my Head Up Pink/Blue Freeman Leidy Circus Horse got to be shown. These are difficult to find, expensive when you do, and very, very fragile. 

 Tinker Toy, a Cheval Gypsy Vanner came out of the china cabinet for a class. 

as did Black Diamond, a Made in Japan piece that survived being a part of my carpet herd.

While photo shows have been happening since the late 1960s, certainly interest has waned over time. But we are seeing a resurgence in them now, and I think photo showing will not be as overshadowed by live showing as it has been in the past.

Photo showing is definitely here to stay and will continue connecting hobbyists as an important, even beloved, aspect of our hobby.

Friends Helping Friends - Transporting Chinas to Shows

I broke two Hagen Renakers on the way home from the last show I attended. They were packed well, so I have no clue what happened. Frustrated, I began wondering if perhaps I ought to stop showing chinas, or if I should be rethinking my packing and coming up with a better way to protect them.

As I thought about different ways to carry my chinas back and forth, L. LaRose came to mind. She has an outstanding china collection and collects blue ribbons and championships by the handful. I knew she used flat, underbed-style tubs to transport her collection, and wondered if she might take a picture of one to give me some ideas. So I messaged her on Facebook and asked.

Well, not only was she agreeable to that, she sent me extensive directions and tips on how to make my own tubs that would better protect my chinas!

My other hobby is sewing, so I had the tools on hand needed for the job - scissors, a rotary cutter, and a quilting ruler.

Instead of foam, L. told me that she preferred a type of soft poly-cotton batting that is used to make crib bumpers for babies to line the tubs. I found that online and had it sent for same-day pickup at my local JoAnn's.

The first tubs that I bought proved to be too unwieldy at 60" long, so I returned them and bought these much smaller ones. They will hold less, but will be much more maneuverable for transporting to and from the car and into show halls.

Using the rotary cutter, I cut the batting so that it would line the bottoms of the tubs but also line the sides as well.

 Since I have two upcoming shows next month, I pulled out my tub of pony pouches and placed them in my new china carriers to give me an idea as to whether or not I had enough tubs to take what I wanted to show. I was right, the second set of tubs only holds a few pieces, but I am okay with that. The most important part is getting my chinas there and back without breakage.

When I had finished, I sent L. a message thanking her for her help. She responded quickly.

That last line in her response is one of the reasons I love this hobby. My experience is that it is a friendly hobby, even when we are competing against one another at shows. L. LaRose didn't mind helping someone who might be competition at future shows. Instead, she reached out to help. That, to me, is our hobby at its finest.

Thanks, L.!