Horses N Hangars custom halter, part two

More photos from Custom Halter division at the Horses N Hangars Live show held last month in Broomfield, Colorado.  

The Stock Division opened with a big and tough Appaloosa class.

This Breyer Zippo was customized by Pamala Hutton and is owned by Kim Lovelace.

Paints were next. 

This sweet faced ISH is owned by Christine Holt. 

What's this? A Purdy horse that does not belong to me?!

Two Purdy horses that do not belong to me? The horror! 

Onto Quarter Horses!

Once again there were two Purdy horses on the table. This one's mine... 

and this one belongs to Kim. 

All the first and second place winners came back for the Stock Breed call backs. The ISH on the far right was Champion and the grulla Purdy Paint was Reserve.

The Pony Division opened with the American Pony class. Fresh from a nine month vacation with the cows, the best my custom Flash could do was fourth.

The winner of the American Pony class was Snickers, an absolutely darling Classic Mustang Mare owned and created by Bridgett Murphy. So cute!

Not certain but I'm guessing this pretty boy is a Charlotte Donahue piece... She does the most amazing braids!

And then there's this guy... Isn't he a resin? I swear I've seen him before, but I can't remember his name. 

Onto the Drafters!

Love!

I also loved the Long Ear/Exotic class. 

So... 

many... 

mules!!!

Here's a look at the call back table for the Overall Custom Halter Championships.

And the winner is... I hate to say this, but I'm not really certain. I think it was Kim Lovelace's Prius. 

Congratulations to all the winners. That was definitely the best Custom Halter Division this area has seen in a long time!

Horses N Hangars custom halter, part one

Colorado is not known for its tough Custom Halter classes, but you would have never guessed that if your only point of reference was last month's Horses N Hangars Live Show in Broomfield, Colorado.   

I have no idea where all these nice horses came from! 

Seriously--the tables were loaded with pretty new faces.

Not certain, but I'm guessing this pair was owned by the mother/daughter team of Christine Holt and Tara Oliver.   Those two have quite an enviable vintage custom collection.

Despite all the tough competition, the Championship went to a familiar face.  This is Scrambellina.  She is customized, painted and owned by Sheila Anderson Bishop and was also Reserve Champion Stock Foal at this year's NAN.

Light breeds were next.

The Arabian classes...

 were filled with beautiful newcomers...

but once again it was an old favorite who came away with top honors.  This time it was my own Nejmet es Subh, a Breyer PAM customized by Judy Rene Pope.

The rest of the Light Division was made up of National Show Horses, 

Half Arabians (that's Khompounded Interest winning the blue),

and Morgans.

Here's a look at the Custom Light Breed Championship table.

Hurray!  My girls won both titles.  Khompounded Interest was Champ and Nejmet was Reserve. 

Onto Sport Horses!

This old guy sure is cute!  I think he's a Capwell, but I'm not certain. 

I know this one is a Jennifer Read creation.  His name is Priux and he was Sport Breed Champion.  Kim Lovelace is the lucky owner.

Kim also owns this guy.

He's a custom Breyer Salinero by Sue Kern.  So cool! 

Champion Spanish/Gaited went to this Alborozo painted by Sheila and owned by Teresa Fedak.

Stock horses, ponies and drafts to follow!

Cory's bridles

If you're a fan of my Tack Tips tutorials, here's the best way to encourage me to write more of them.

Today's photos come from Cory Sanford.  She writes: I just wanted to share with you some bridles I made using some of the tips found in your wonderful blog!  You are more than welcome to the pics to share if you like.  I just wanted to show you these as proof of your top notch 'tutelage' through your Tack Tips section for great ideas and to give you a big thank you for those as well! 

There's nothing wrong with that black bridle, but it's the brown bridle that truly blows me away.

Cory describes it thusly: Raised English Bridle(2nd bridle made) - bridle has working buckles and is adjustable to models a bit bigger or smaller than Salinero; features real (tedious ) stitching on brow band, nose band, caveson hanger, reins and even at the buckles; keepers by buckles are glued in place but second keepers are movable; curb chain not on this bridle but can be included with S hooks; bit and reins are removable; the reins are laced with working buckle and have an actual hook to attach them to the bit. I used a jump ring as bit just to take the pic. This bridle will be for sale!

For the record, there has never been a Tack Tip about real stitching on an English bridle.  That attention to detail represents a level of crazy that I have not yet explored.  I have, however, mentioned teeny tiny stitching in this post.

Thank you, Cory, for sharing pictures of your stunning bridles!  I look forward to seeing lots more of your work in the future.

Overheated

For the past seventeen days, temperatures in the Denver metro area have soared above and beyond the ninety degree mark.

My entire house is hot.  We don't have air conditioning, and the combination of unrelenting heat and unusual humidity (for Colorado) has overwhelmed my ancient swamp cooler.  It's not ninety degrees in my studio, but it's much too close for comfort.  Not surprisingly I really, really, really did not feel like working on tack today. 

But...  the deadline for that sidesaddle set is looming so I forced myself to sit down and make the bridle.

It wasn't until after I'd finished that I remembered I'd used gold toned hardware on the saddle.

Crap!  The idea of building a whole new bridle made me ill, so I decided to see if it was possible to swap out the hardware on the existing bridle.

Fortunately, it was! 

Still, this was not one of those days when I think I have the best job in the world!

P.S.  Just in case anyone is wondering, it's ok to have a hunt type bridle with gold buckles and silver bits.  

I have also seen this kind of gold/silver combination on dressage bridles.  Model horse folks are much more obsessed with the whole matchy-matchy thing than real horse people.  

Live Show Documentation, Part Three

Live Show Documentation, Part Three

By Teresa Buzzell

Performance

Performance is an obvious place for the use of documentation. There are so many different things, with different rules, nuances and what not. What’s acceptable at one breed show may be illegal for another breed and what you can do in a junior horse class may not be allowed in a senior horse class. Again, it’s an area where judges can not be expected to know everything about every sort of horse performance. Plus, showers just love finding new things to do!

There are only two classes I do not regularly have documentation for – hunter pleasure and western pleasure. Everything else has some sort of documentation – and the majority of them have some sort of pattern/test that’s required as part of the demands of the class. Pleasure classes are so basic, with no patterns or special requirements that personally, I don’t bother with on a usual basis. (However, if you are showing a uncommon breed or using a snaffle/bosal, I do recommend documenting that.)

When I’m in need of new documentation for a performance set up, I look up the rules for the class. Many registries have their rule books on line and when I see one, I download it and save it for future use. I do try to update my stash of rule books every year. You never know when that obstacle or all important line about judging criteria is changed! Looking over the information, I make notes of what’s allowed and not allowed tack wise, what the class is judged on and anything that explains the class and requirements. This helps me in my set up – I know whether or not boots are allowed, if a particular obstacle is legal and other helpful hints.

With performance, there is generally a much stronger need to have photos and patterns and you can go overboard quickly. Photos can be tricky to find but again, here’s where a Google Image search can come in super handy. Don’t get hung up on finding the exact photo or having a ton of photos. Do pick a photo that resembles your horse’s way of going, same breed (if breed show event) and what you are trying to portray in a clear manner. Feel free to use multiple photos if they are necessary but make sure that they do not contradict the rest of your documentation or your entry.

Do not sabotage your entry by showing a contradiction between the entry and the documentation or using documentation that does not match your horse. I once judged a parade class with a lovely Knightly Cadence. The documentation stated that the gaits performed were a walk and a trot – yet KC is cantering. Had he been real, breaking into a canter would have been a fault as it’s against the class requirements and not safe if in a street parade. I also once judged a lovely Cleveland Bay going over a fence that could not have been more than 2 ft high – when his documentation said the class height requirements was 4 ft.

If there is one thing that people don’t seem to add into their documentation is the pattern or test that the horse is performing. It used to be a lot harder to find that event course or horsemanship pattern but that’s no longer true. Again, this is when I go to a Google Image search. A regular search will find some but I just find the image search faster. Make sure to go through several pages worth of results until you find a good sampling of what you want. I say sampling as you never know when you’ll swap out horses, find a great new obstacle or just simply get tired of poles and want to do something different. You don’t need to use the whole thing but it’s a very good idea to include the area the horse is performing.

My pet peeves as a judge regarding documentation:

1.       Don’t write a book that tells me nothing. This happened in a costume class at NAN. It was a gorgeous historical costume but the documentation told me nothing about the pieces, who would have dressed their horse up this way, etc. Those details enrich the documentation.

2.       Don’t write a book that could be condensed into a few sentences. Information overload is not your friend and I just may find something in it that tells me your entry is incorrect!

3.       If the horse has a prescribed pattern or test, SHOW at least the part the entry is performing. Saying that the horse is doing “second level dressage” tells me nothing. Every movement in a dressage test is judged and almost everything you do in the test is judged and scored individually. You don’t get to make up your reining pattern or dressage test unless it’s a freestyle, and even then, there are rules about what you can and can’t do. It also shows the (obstacle) placement, what the horse is doing before (which might influence how they would get to or do this part) and, if you’re like me and occasionally directionally challenged, show that you have the horse on the wrong lead.

NAMSHA requires from it’s showers at NAN this: “Your explanation card should not “judge the class”. Please define what the horse is required to do, not how well the horse is performing.”

Keep this in mind when creating your documentation as that’s exactly what the judge needs from you to do their job well.

Now, when it comes to the text of the documentation, I go to the rulebooks as often as possible. Yes, you can try to get around things by saying it’s a schooling show or whatever else that fits but generally, you are showing an event that has rules, guidelines, tack requirements, etc. It used to be that I would get a rule book from then AHSA at the time but now, almost every association has their rule book online. When I find them, I save them to my computer for later use.

You may find an event that you have a photo for but just a bare description of. Or perhaps you have pieced together a description but have no photos or rules for it. Certainly, don’t toss it – just keep it, show it and do a search periodically to see if you can learn more about it, find photos, etc. While a rulebook will lend some legitimacy to it, judges are open to many things.

Here’s what I like to make sure to include in my performance documentation:

·         Class title

·         Class description, including class requirements (gaits, jumping efforts, etc), judging criteria, tack/clothing requirements (if notable),  and other items, such as the color scheme for cross country jump numbers, etc.

·         Citation of the source document.

·         Photo/test/pattern of what is being exhibited.

I hope this of some help to those who are trying to figure out the whole documentation question. Do realize that what works for me may not work for you and certainly, you may come up with something better. I really do believe that improving your documentation can give you a great boost in your showing success. So happy Googling!

Live Show Documentation, Part Two

Live Show Documentation, Part Two

by Teresa Buzzell

Halter and Collectibility

At every show, you’ll see documentation presented in a halter class. It could be to explain a mixed breed, a funky color or an unusual purebred, or a horse being shown as something other than “what’s accepted”.  That has been proven to be a smart move more often than not. No judge can even think about knowing everything about every breed, half breed and color genetic quirk out there. If you show long enough, you will realize that people will win and lose based on their documentation, or lack of.

You’ll often see people putting up a breed book as their documentation. Personally, I dislike this. The books take up valuable real estate on the show table, can be incorrect, are heavy to pack around and can be less than ideal in describing what you want it to.  As a judge, I read all documentation presented and occasionally, it tells me that the horse is not a good representative of the breed I’m being told it is. Since it’s not done by you, you can’t customize it to your distinct needs – be it an unusual color, removing unnecessary bits, etc. Redo the documentation and make it work perfectly for you. 

Teresa doesn't like this!

Many people make a big deal of and get hung up on finding a photo that looks *just* like their model - same pose, same markings/color, same everything. To me, that is much less important. The photo may not actually be a good example of that breed (proving your model is not), not “match” the text or the model may have crooked legs or other issues. Or, you may never find the photo.

When I choose photos, I aim to find a good representative of the breed that is of a “typical for the breed” color. I want a nice, clear, uncluttered view of the side of the horse – standing if possible. I steer towards photos that have a non-distracting background that does not clash or interfere with the viewing of the horse. I may also use a head shot and a photo showing movement – depending on what I want to show off and the size of the documentation sheet. Go for a photo that shares the same traits as the breed and particular model. 

Documentation for silver dapple coloring in a half Arabian

Speaking of color – I do recommend documenting odd or unusual patterns and colors when showing in halter. I happen to have a Pebbles Saddlebred in overo who I show as a purebred ASB. Overo is an unusual pattern to say the least in the ASB world – tobianos are more prevalent. It took a lot of searching but I managed to find several shots and show the horse with the photos as documentation. It has paid off – I had one judge say it would not have placed without the documentation. She won the class and the division championship at that particular show.

When creating the actual guts of the documentation, I like to find the website of the governing body or registry to get the official description of the breed ideal. Sometimes, they do go overboard so I do a little judicious snipping here and there. Things I do try to include are:

·         Height

·         Colors allowed

·         Head/Neck

·         Body

·         Legs/Feet

·         Temperment/Uses

·         Breeds creating the breed

·         Movement/other things that may play a part.
This is a great place to point out a difference such as “mares are shown with a shaved mane and tail”.

The breed name or phrase (such as “Overo Patterns in Saddlebreds”) is the header and the source is cited at the bottom.

I rarely include history of the breed unless it is regarding the breeds making up the breed or other insightful information. While it may be interesting to read, it can be irrelevant for the purpose we are needing. One place I do try include it is when documenting a recreated extinct breed, i.e. Tarpan.

Collectibility

Collectibility is the one area where documentation seems to the most important thing but is rarely used by the shower. I often hear how “hard it is” to do or that someone has “forgotten” or “can’t find anything”.  But, even more than in halter, it can propel you to the top, or the bottom depending upon it’s presence. NAMSHA figures it to be so important that it’s required at NAN in this division and many shows I go to also require it.

Stone collectibility class at the 2011 Springamathing Live Show

If you can’t expect a judge to know every detail about every horse breed, you certainly can’t expect them to know everything about every plastic or china horse ever known. With the advent of numerous SRs, with often confusing information out there, it’s almost impossible to keep up with any one manufacturer, let alone the whole gamut of manufacturers! With new-to-showing hobbyists, the potential of bringing something old (or new!) and unusual is great. Even us “old hats” can be caught by something across the show hall and must simply check it out.

Unfortunately for me, my collectiblity documentation is not computerized. It’s all on hand written 3” x 5” cards – and at one time, they were all color coded according to media. That fell by the wayside -  it was a bit much, even for me. The beauty of the photo sleeves is that the COAs from the Connoisseur series fits in without a problem – as well as many other small COAs (or large 8.5” x 11” sheets!).

Now, what I like to do is create a new card for any horse as soon as the deal is done. That way, time can’t steal the details from my brain and all transaction/sales information is still easily within reach. Also, I have a section in my collection database where I make notes of collectiblity information. Since I acquire new horses very infrequently, this certainly is not time consuming past time and once it’s in the binder, the possibility of it being lost is rather low.

Teresa's blue Flick

I do not care for photos on collectiblity documentation, mainly as I’ve never seen an example that photos enhanced the information presented. You can certainly do so if you wish. Also, I do not care for value guides being laid by the horse or simply printed out from a website. Monetary value is rather subjective and the various guides could be in line one month, and out of line the next. Potential price tag usually makes a poor collectiblity judging criteria – hence why it’s not listed in the NAN judging guidelines for collectiblity.

The information search for collectiblility is conducted the same as a search for anything else, with one exception. Many of the best guides do not have an online presence just an actual book. My 100% favorite Breyer reference is the Nancy Young’s 5^th Edition of Breyer Molds & Models: Horses, Riders & Animals. Sadly, it’s out of print and only covers up to 1997 but the information contained within this book is priceless. Nancy Young went into major detail about how the molds and models were created, their official numbers, and those important things such as how to tell which SR buckskin Lady Phase is which.

I do not happen to have any preferences for any other collectible books or sites. The only way to know exactly about any Stones I’ve found is the information you can glean when purchasing from them, directly. Even then, what is said can not be taken as the complete truth. I have heard too many things and have had some odd things happen to myself to be able to truly trust what information is released. Barb Spohr does what she can with the Stone Reference site but she’s dealing with a LOT of different releases and limited time reserves.  And, I must admit that I finally did my documentation on my HRs last year and used a variety of information found online from collectors who are well known and respected for their knowledge. Pour Horses, Horsin’ Around and other boutique artist chinas are easy to do documentation on – a lot of it is given to you on a COA.

Here’s a list of what I try to include on my collectiblity documentation:

• Header with model number, mold name, release name and color (if necessary)
• Years the piece was produced and who (if it was a SR)
• Number of pieces made, if known
• Number of horse if part of a numbered run (or other ID marks – such as a signature, marked tests, etc)
• Distribution information (if necessary)
• Notes on how to tell this from another horse if it’s something that can be confused or unknown. (i.e. “this is from the glossy part of the run” or “this is the mare version”.)
• Citation of where documentation information was found

I can’t state how important this information is. I know of an entrant at NAN one year with a really unusual piece. She knew what she had and so did those of us from her area but the judges, never encountering this piece, did not and it did not place. Had she had documentation on this horse, she would have gotten at least a Top Ten, if not more. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot before judging even begins!

By the way, if you’re wondering if workmanship classes require documentation, the answer is no. I did attend a show some years back that requested it. I was not keen on it as supplying the judge the painter and sculptor‘s name could lead into them into never really judging each entry on its own merits. As NAN rules state that no documentation should include any information that gives away the horse or owner (i.e. no names), this pretty much makes this a moot point. I can see at some point perhaps mentioning the amount work done and the media used but at this time, that’s not happening that I know of.

Performance tomorrow!