Emmalia's BCC entry

I was part of the three-judge panel that selected the winners of the 2022 BreyerFest Best Customs Contest.

Before we chose the winners, we had to choose the finalists, using the photos they had submitted. That was hard. There were so many beautiful entries, and also, so many entries that were probably beautiful but were not photographed well. I can not tell you how many times one of said, "This probably looks better in person, but it's impossible to know with these pictures."

Of course, the Best Customs Contest is not a photo show. But also, you can't judge what you can't see. I can not overstate how importance of clear, well-lit, in-focus photos.

Emmalia Sebusch got that memo.

Take a look at these gorgeous photos of her 2026 Excellence in Performance entry.

This is how you make it on to the table in Kentucky!

Emmalia writes: Skijoring is one of the oldest and most thrilling winter sports. The horse pulls a skier with a tug rope attached to the saddle. Skijoring is a Norwegian word that means “ski driving”, which was originally a mode of transport in Scandinavia, and it later evolved into a competitive winter sport across Western America. Hosts of the events will create the ski jumps out of snow, and also outline the pathway for safety with colored spray paint. A typical course can feature red posts that are called gates, and ski jumps while the horse takes off and the skier attempts to hit every gate, every ski jump, and also stick the landing. The fastest time wins! My diorama depicts a skier taking off of a jump while being pulled along by her teammate.

Emmalia's model started out as a Breyer Nazruddin. Here's a pictorial overview of his creation.

Congratulations, Emmalia. Your horse turned out great and these are perfection. Good luck at BreyerFest!