Some Random Sharing

Because I haven't been feeling well since January, I have let a lot of things go. One of them was cleaning the garage. (Craig likes to do the grocery shopping, I prefer to clean the garage. Really.) While I am still not feeling like myself, I did feel up to tackling the garage.

I needed help and Craig has a bad back, so I asked Cowpoke Ian if he'd like to earn some money. Like any 9 year old, he was all in.

That boy was such a trooper - he never complained once about how big a job it was.

It was a MESS! And our shop-vac broke and so he went with me to Menards to buy a new one so we could finish the job.

It looked so much better when we finished. (That's my outdoor rocker from Christmas still with tags on. I had to take lots of breaks as my back is twitchy again and that chair is so comfy!)

Except for the top shelf, Ian and I are done and it only took us a week! I feel much better that we sorted it out.

There's still plenty of money-earning opportunities around; now Ian is working on cleaning up and weeding the stepping stone garden.

Sultanna is back from being bred and stepped right back into her role of Mama. Barn Buddy Kelsey sent me this picture of Abby and Sultanna's look alike daughter together. Look closely. Notice anything odd?

Kelsey says she gave Abby four or five treats and that that hay never dropped out of her mouth the whole time! She just needs a straw hat to complete the old caricature of an elderly farm horse.

Speaking of odd, look at Pepper's pose!  It was a warm and sunny day and we went out on the patio to enjoy the weather. That's her lounger (I know, I know, but she loves it so we kept it for her when we got new patio furniture.) I'd never seen her do that. Was she not feeling well?

After a minute or two, she trotted off to do her business. Maybe she was mimicking Nash?

Teacher Daughter Lisa is using part of her summer to help me with some things and together we went to Sam's Club to get a rug for the patio. The timing was perfect - we ran into someone very special to us both.

Linda Fields! The principal of Hershey Elementary, the school I taught in for twelve years and an outstanding principal. Lisa worked at Hershey her first year of teaching and she could not have had a better principal to mentor her through that first year.

Finally, completing the randomness of this blog post, how about a five layer unicorn cake?

Horse Buddy Adelaide baked Pony Pal Melissa this cake for her 4th birthday. It weighed 10 pounds and was yummy! I hope Addie comes up from Florida for a visit for my next birthday - I may not care for unicorns, but I would love a cake like that!

BreyerFest Tickets are Here!

My BreyerFest tickets have arrived! I sure like the ticket packets that they have begun doing. They are collectible in and of themselves.

Although those spinny wheels covering any empty space make me a bit dizzy! Hah!

The wrist band that must be worn while you are in the horse park. 

I only bought one ticket but I still got my top two choices of models. I'm not a fan of Nemea's mold but I love the paint job, and since I used to teach Greek, I really wanted this piece.

Students practiced their writing anywhere and everywhere.

The back cover of the ticket packet.

Although I have an in-person ticket, I am not going to go to BreyerFest. Beach Son Kyle had an opportunity to come visit us, and since he rarely gets to Indiana (and on his birthday!) of course I am staying home. I'll still be able to do the virtual component and will ask a friend to get my models for me.

I can't believe how close the event is!

Annie Oakley & Us

 While writing about my sister's first experience at a model horse show, I came across this photo of the two of us and our youngest sister, Jennifer.

Our mom had made the two of us cowgirl Annie Oakley outfits (Jenny wasn't horsey, but she did have Bluey, her stick horse) and snapped this photo of us wearing them.

Little did I know that 50 some years later, I'd still be wearing cowgirl clothing.

Or that Annie Oakley's path would cross mine with a little help from Leslie.

Go here to read Leslie's and my brief connection with Anne Oakley herself.

It's one of the more thrilling parts of my horsey life.

Playing Glass Horses Again

Leslie and I began collecting back in the 1960s. We started with what we called "glass horses," which were actually Japan chinas. They were far more affordable than Breyers, but the down side, of course, was that they broke easily. 

Our dad would pull out the shop glue and repair the broken "glass horse" and we'd go back to playing. (And breaking.)

Cheaper Breyer-sized plastic horses were added after the breakage became too much and then I "graduated" to Breyers when I was 10 and to Hagen Renakers at 15.

After high school, Leslie gave me her collection and I have most of it tucked away in boxes. Those carpet herd pieces are special, beat up and glued through they may be.

Several pieces remain out on display: a glossy palomino Breyer 5 Gaiter, a Hartland ebony woodcut Thoroughbred Mare & Foal set, and Old Maude, a Japan china  named after the Percheron mare that our mother's Aunt Clara used to work the fields on her farm.

I show the Hartland set in Collectibility classes where it does well - it is a hard to find set, and it is in excellent shape. (Felt pads are still on the hooves!) 

I entered the set in the Hartland Collectibility class at Clover Classic

and invited Leslie to put the two out on the show table for me.

She was so happy to see the pair after over 50 years. "Some of my favorites!" she cried when I took them out of their haversacks and handed them to her. I was hoping that, out of the three of her carpet herd pieces I'd brought, one of them would win a ribbon.

2nd and 3rd and a NAN card! (I had to explain that the card meant that one of her old pieces was now eligible for the National Show, another exciting aspect of the day for her.)

And then I pulled out Old Maude who was entered in the Other China class in China Collectibility.

I didn't think she'd place, but you never know, and as Leslie said when she saw her, "She is my all time favorite glass horse." Les was pretty sentimental at that point and I thought she might cry. (I know the feeling; I've been known to give a quick kiss on the nose to an old favorite.)

Leslie put Old Maude out on the show table and we stepped back to wait for the results.

As I'd expected, she didn't win a ribbon but that didn't matter. Clearly Leslie was over the moon to see Old Maude again and I was thrilled to be "playing glass horses" with my sister once more.

I gave Leslie the ribbons her carpet herd had won and offered to give her back her horses, but she wanted them to stay with me. She'd had so much fun, Leslie even posted about it on her Facebook page.

On  the way home, Leslie asked when the next show was and if she could come with me again. 

You sure can, Sis! And maybe we can play Circus Girls sometime soon, too!

Two Horse Lovin' Sisters

Once upon a time, there were two sisters who loved horses.

It seemed as though they were born that way

because all they ever wanted to do was to be with horses.

They even invented a game called "Circus Girls" where they pretended to be bareback riders in the circus, dancing and pirouetting on horseback as the horses cantered under the big top.

Sometimes they pretended they were Annie Oakley and other famous female cowgirls.

Anything that brought them into closer contact with horses made them happy.

That love of horses followed them into adulthood

where it manifested itself in a variety of ways.

Lynn worked with real horses and participated in the model horse hobby,

and Leslie had real horses and especially enjoyed the horsey aspect of the 18th century.

Like Lynn, Leslie also collected model horses when she was a girl but she never participated in photo or model horse showing.

The sisters enjoyed horses in a parallel way rather than together as they had in childhood. And that wasn't to change until the sisters were in late adulthood.

Stay 'tooned!

Clover Classic: The Show

Leslie and I were the first to arrive at the show. The police officer guarding the entrance gate to the fairgrounds was sound asleep behind the wheel of his patrol car and very embarrassed when I tapped on the his window and asked if we could come in.

He was groggy and confused and thought we were there for the real horse show but finally he woke up enough and was able to direct us to where we needed to go.

We had an hour and a half to set up which was plenty of time and let me walk around a bit.

It's always fun to see things I've sewn (in this case, pony pads) in use.

 

Another pony pad that I made!

The show hall was roomy and well lit. There was air conditioning, but it was very warm outside, and at times during the day the show hall was a little uncomfortable. (That's my show table in the foreground.)

I had asked if I could vend if I brought my own table, and I was placed at the front of the hall near the 4Hers' fundraising booth and the silent raffle - a good location for selling and showing. 

The caution tape was there to separate the show rings from the general public for security. Entrants had to wear green wristbands to identify themselves and to allow them entrance to the show area, but the public still came in and walked around despite not having the green wristbands. 

I was showing in OF Plastic Collectibility and OF China Collectibility. 

The judge was very complimentary of the highlighting on my wedgewood Running Foal and she and her mama both received NAN cards.

My Vintage Club In Between Mare won the Vintage Club/Stablemate/Premiere Club Class.

Hot Cotton, one of only five Hoof Pick Hartlands, took the Hartland class,

and Timber, my only model with a gold tenite sticker, won the woodgrain class.

Black Jack won the Breyer resin/china class and my Monrovia Head Down Circus Pony was awarded the blue for the under 5" Hagen Renaker Class.

I risked bringing out one of my Freeman Leidy 1940s Circus Horses who won the Other Chinas class,

and my Cheval Friesian who took 4th.

Due to its delicacy and rarity (only 25 made), I have only taken my Animal Artistry Rearing Circus Horse to a show twice. I may take it to NAN, but I doubt I will show it again - it's too risky.

Barn Buddy Kelsey did really well. (I made that ice cream cone haversack!)

Again and again throughout the day, Leslie and I would hear, "And champion is ---- owned by KEK." We applauded extra hard when we heard that. Congratulations, Kelsey! 

As I mentioned, Leslie was there with me - it was her very first model horse show. Tomorrow I'll share about that!

Stay 'tooned!