Happy Trails V - The Dan Patch Show is Almost Here

The Dan Patch Show is only one week away! And I have been very busy with final preparations for it.

So have Brooke and Tom - the Prairie Victorian/Dan Messner building (left) is really starting to sparkle! (Photo by Brooke.)

The swag bags have been filled. I wish I could show you what's in them, but some folks who are coming also read Horsiemama and I want them to be surprised. (I did take a photo; maybe I'll show it after the show is over.)

This is a fun show so the classlist is not your usual live show set of classes. I'm judging and I told folks that for the most part, I would look for the piece that best describes the title of the class. The judging will probably be tricky as a result.

I have a big bag of rosettes that someone gave me a while back and I was delighted to find four complete sets of champ and reserves for the show.

Between leftover ribbons from past shows, donations, and adding in ribbons I've won myself in live shows, I have plenty to cover the classes.

I purchased these Collecta by Breyer pieces as prizes for the two divisions of the show,

but then I ended up creating four divisions. At this point, I am undecided as to how I will use them.

There are lots of donations for the raffle.

All proceeds from the raffle will be given to Brooke and Tom to use as they continue their work on restoring the historic building.

The show also features a swap meet, a brief talk by Brooke about the building's history and connection to Dan Patch, and a Toilet Paper Derby!

Craig, Mila, Emily, and Lukie in our family Toilet Paper Derby last summer. I learned a lot by watching the one we did at home - roll the paper, don't pull it, no lifting the paper off the table, and have a well balanced Stablemate!

I am so excited about this show and can hardly wait for next Saturday!

FAMulous Prep

Live shows are a lot of work. I have been working most of the day on FAMulous and this is the state of my office right now.

I have been going through tubs looking for things that Allison and I will need for the show,

working on welcome gifts and letters,

and packing the things that are ready to go into tubs and boxes.

The ribbons that we packed away from the last show were pulled out of storage

put into piles,

and grouped so that the judges can grab a set and hand them out. There are more ribbons on order; they were shipped today and are scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

There are some really generous folks in our hobby.

Elise Partanen sent the Christmas items and the mystery box (which I am dying to open!!)

and these

and these! All beautifully wrapped so that all we have to do is put them out on the table! (Thanks so much, Elise!)

Liz Cory donated a $25 gift card to Breyer (thanks, Liz!), and other donations are on the way. 

It would be an understatement to say I am tired, but it is a happy-tired. I love the hobby and while a live show is a ton of work, it will be worth it to spend a day with others who love vintage models like I do.

Now, off to figure out how to make a racing blanket for the lunchtime FAS races. More on that activity to come. Stay 'tooned!

Happy Trails IV: Fast Approaching

October is going to be a BUSY month for me horse-wise. I have been focusing on sewing the riding habits for the Feast, but I have several other activities happening that month that I need to start planning for.

Happy Trails IV, the pony party/model show that I host for friends here in my home, is another biggie scheduled for October. Normally held in June, I pushed it back this year to give folks time to be vaccinated. (You absolutely must be vaccinated to come!)

Early this morning I pulled out the Happy Trails tub and began sorting through it to see what I had on hand and what I might need to make or buy.

Thanks to donations from friends and a big find on eBay, I have a huge assortment of really nice rosettes. Their streamers need ironing, but that's easy peasy prep work.

I like to give swag bags to all who come, and found these cute bags on Oriental Traders. (That's a blaze, not a unicorn horn!)

Last year's show ended up being cancelled due to the pandemic (I held a photo show instead) and so I will use the swag I'd prepared last year for this year - a real help as I work on those riding habits.

Honestly, I am not too stressed over this show; in fact, now that I have seen how little I need to do to get ready (er, cleaning the house not included - I'm having the carpets cleaned next week!) I am feeling relaxed and have begun to really look forward to my pony party.

Happy Trails is aptly named - it does make me feel happy!

Circus Time: Freeman Leidy Frou-Frou, Frippery, and Variations

The Freeman Leidy ponies are charming and colorful. And one thing that is really fun about them is the individual differences that they have. 

In this photo of my two pink head up ponies, look at the difference in the height of the plumes. The horse on the right (my first piece) has a much shorter "stalk." It hasn't been broken off and repaired, it's just shorter. 

My purple head up horse arrived with a broken plume. (Freeman Leidys are big, but they can be very fragile.) That gave me the opportunity to look inside and see how the piece was made.

It looks to me like the plume itself is part of the mold and not something that was added to the horse later. (Like the ribbons. More on that in a moment.) If that's the case, then why is the plume on the first pink horse so much shorter?

I was able to fix that plume but I had to be very careful. The porcelain was crumbly and breaking into even smaller pieces as I put the plume back into place.

The eyes are different (those eyelashes!!) and look at the ears. The way they are painted makes the ears look like they are cocked in different directions. The ribbon placement varies, too. I'm not sure if the pink at the fetlocks is supposed to be more circus frippery and frou-frou, or if it's socks on the horses.

Despite having been broken, the purple head up horses' plume is taller than the first pink piece's plume. You can see eye, ear, plume color, and ribbon variations, too. 

Three of the four have mane ribbons on their necks. The blue one (third from left) does not. You can see nostril variations among them, too.

The absolute best part of the Freeman Leidy circus ponies is the ribbons. They are what put these pieces well over the top from other circus horses and ponies. All that beribboned goodness could have backfired (I'm thinking of recent multicolored unicorns with glitter and billowing manes and tails that are out there) but in the case of the Freeman Leidys, it was absolutely perfect.

The ribbons were all hand rolled, hand cut, and hand applied by workers at the pottery. When looking at the ones in my collection, it is clear that some of them had fun with the placement of those decorations.

The two pink ponies - can you see the differences?

 All four together - green, pink 2, pink 1, purple. 

What about my lone head down pony? I don't have another to compare it to - yet. But, I just bought another and will do a comparison of the two when it arrives.

Prepare to be amazed!

Planning

Like most hobbyists, I try to get my model horse activities on the calendar at the beginning of the year. While that doesn't mean the list won't change, it does give me a framework to plan other activities around. Already I have twelve hobby events listed that I'd like to attend, and trips to Colorado, Utah, Tennessee, and Florida to visit our kids and grands. 2020 is going to be busy!

I also like to do some early work on any live shows that I might be holding. For 2020, that will be Happy Trails III on June 6 and The FAMulous Collectibility Show August 8.

This weekend I updated the Happy Trails Facebook page and was pleased to see that people were already excited about coming.

I worked on the entry packet and the class list and included an explanation as to why this year is a special year for me.

Then, I pulled out the tubs that held my show supplies and checked my stock of flats and rosettes. (Happy Trails uses recycled ribbons.)

 Pepper helped me by inspecting the rosettes.

 I sorted all the loose flats into places and then assembled ribbon packets for the classes. 

I was pleased to see that I had enough ribbons to cover the Happy Trails class list and that I would not have to buy more in order to hold the show.

I have enough rosettes to cover the champions and reserves, too. (I will iron the streamers the day before the show.)

I have plenty of items for the gift bags and prizes, so Happy Trails is in good shape and won't require too much work as the show approaches.

As for FAMulous, I need to talk to my co-host, Allison, and figure out what our classes will be. (We already have judges.) She is in the process of updating our web site and posting photos from last year's show.  Allison is also hosting a NaMoPaiMo painting party on February 15 and I am thinking of going to that. (I may do NaMoPaiMo this year and have ordered a couple of Stablemates and paint, just in case.)

My fingers are crossed that 2020 is as good of a year as it looks like on paper.

Prepping for the FAMulous Collectibility Show

The FAMulous Collectibility Show is just one week from this Saturday! What I thought would be a huge source of post-op stress has actually become a wonderful thing to look forward to and has served to make me feel more like myself.

 These are our Division Champion ribbons. Allison and I loved the unusually shaped rosettes.

 The Division Reserve Champion ribbons.

 For Section Champion and Reserve, we got oversized flats with pointed tops, pinked under ribbons, and fish-tailed over ribbons. I really like how these turned out. Blue and yellow are our show's colors.

I felt strong enough yesterday to go to Dollar Tree and buy some show supplies. I found tablecloths and baskets in blue, and then got pens for the judges and show crew and envelopes for our welcome packets.

 At only a dollar each, I got five judges' clipboards

 And these cool "jewels" that we will use for a special class for all entrants. I can't share what the class is as we haven't announced it yet, but we will soon.

Donations continue to arrive - I love these pony tail holders! There are two sets in the package.

Show prep is fun!

Prepping the Awards

Today was spent working on swag bags for the Happy Trails entrants (which is why this blog entry is going up late - I have been busy!) I can't post what's in them yet because some of the people coming to the show also read my blog and I'd like it to be a surprise, but I will show you what's in them later this weekend.

After I finished with the swag bags, I pulled out the awards. It's a free show, but I still like to have real ribbons for each class. Most are recycled, but they work just fine.

 I spent some time ironing the rosettes for the champion and reserve winners.

 The hard part now will be keeping them nice and unwrinkled until the show.

 These rosettes are from real horse shows and date back to the 1990s. They looked so much better after I ironed them.

Most of the trophies are from the 1990s, too, and I got them from someone who was selling a big box of rosettes, ribbons, and trophies for an affordable price. I am hoping that this assortment will last across several shows. You don't come across a windfall like that very often!

I'm in pretty good shape for the show - I am really looking forward to Saturday!