Derby Daze - 2017 Stone Horse Country Fair

Yesterday I went to the Stone Country Fair Show up in Shipshewana. Despite it being held in my home state of Indiana and only two hours away, I'd never gone due to a couple of factors: May is a hectic month for teachers and I don't really collect Stones. But two weeks ago I realized that my school responsibilities were in good shape, and since there was a division for Breyers (which I do collect), I decided to go.

It was a well organized and fun show held in a spacious show hall with great lighting.

Randy, one of the Stone employees, took this photo of me with my long time hobby friend, Pat Reed.

Another view of my show table.

This woman showed exclusively in performance and she had some fabulous entries!

A view from the back of the show hall.

I had to laugh at how Stone had labeled this tub!

Stone had lots of models for sale at the front of the show hall.

One of the reasons I don't have many Stones is because their cost is so high. They are beautiful models, but I just cannot see spending several hundred dollars for a plastic horse, drool worthy though it may be.

My Gigabyte (with the orange card) in the QH Stallions class.

My first win of the day was having the oldest Stone model at the show. This is the drafter from the 1997 Equilocity. I won all those raffle tickets.

The theme of the show was "Derby Daze" and Pat entered the Derby hat contest and won! Her prize was this beautiful decorator model with galloping race horses.

My only halter win was for my Kilobyte. There were three Kilobytes in the Stock Foals class, and mine was the only one that placed. (Ribbons only went to third place - I felt that, at a show of this caliber, they should go to 5th or 6th like other shows do.)

The collectors classes were at the end of the show, and I had thirteen models entered in those.

There were nine pieces in the Breyer woodgrain class.

My no-muscle Clydesdale, 5 Gaiter with tenite sticker, and Shetland Pony were three of those nine entries.

At this point, things became very hectic. In an effort to speed up the show, they set up another table and began calling classes for which I also had entries. I have no more show photos, but I did win some ribbons and NAN cards 

Stay tuned - I'll take photos of those models and put them up in a day or two!

A Girl's Generous Gift

If you've ever been upstairs in my office, you quickly become aware that I like horses (if you didn't already know that.) Three of the four walls are lined with shelving, and I have about ::cough cough:: maybe... ::cough cough:: um... about... somewhere around 1,000 pieces in my collection.

I honestly cannot say why I love to collect, I just do. My collection goes back to 1963, so that's only twenty pieces added per year, right?? (Right...)

One of my students, TM, did a Classics report on the book Misty of Chincoteague. (I have the pony, Misty, depicted in both china and plastic on my shelves.) TM is a fellow horse lover, and used four model horses in her project, a diorama of Misty on the Beebee farm.

I told her that I, too, collected horses and since I had a picture of my collection on my phone, pulled it out and showed it to her.  Her eyes widened, and she broke into a huge smile. "I collect, too!" she crowed.

A week later, TM arrived at school toting a blue gift bag tied shut with orange ribbons. She placed it on my desk and announced, "This is for you."

I was surprised - it wasn't my birthday or a holiday. A random gift?

I understood when I opened it.

"They're from my collection," she told me. "I want you to have them.

Oh, dear. 

If anyone should be giving pieces of their collection away, it's me, not TM. 

Especially TM.

TM comes from a blended family of seven kids. Tragedy struck the family recently in that one of the mothers of those children was murdered. TM's stepfather and mother took in the extra children so that they could all remain together and not be split up or put into foster care. An admirable family, but certainly not one with any money to spend on extras. Extras like pieces for TM's model horse collection.

And here TM is giving me a gift out of her own collection.

I felt a bit teary as I placed her ponies on my shelves among my other pieces. Grabbing my camera, I took a picture and put it in the thank you note that I wrote to her. 

I'd love to reciprocate and give TM a piece or two from my collection (goodness knows I could stand to pass on a few, and who better than a fellow horse lover who can't afford to buy them?), but it isn't appropriate since I am her teacher. Perhaps when she completes her 5th grade year with me I can do it. I always give the outgoing 5th graders a gift - maybe I'll tuck a pony into TM's.

In the meantime, her two horses stand on my shelves, a reminder of a very generous girl.