Erin's BCC entry

Here's something really different. Instead of using epoxy and paint to transform her BreyerFest Best Customs Contest entry, tack maker, Erin Corbett, used leather and crystals. This is, without a doubt, one of the most unique models in the history of this contest. Thank you, Erin, for sharing his creation story here!

The Story of [Redacted]

by Erin Corbett

First off, his name is actually [Redacted], it’s not something else I can’t say. I bitched and complained the whole time I made this piece, to anybody who would listen, but didn’t want to say specifically what I wasworking on because that’s the nature of this contest! So I started referring to him as [Redacted], and it stuck.

I am a tack maker, through and through. The performance section of the Best Customs contest has, for several years, functioned more as a “drastic custom with tack” section, so not the place for tack makers to shine. Don’t get me wrong – the entries in that category are incredible! It’s just disheartening that 

there’s no place for this particular form of hobby artistry. Until ... I got the idea to make a leather covered model, with all the bells and whistles I’d put on a saddle. It would be fully tooled, with leather painted details, and just the right balance of tooling to Swarovski to both be seen from space and appreciated up close. 

I was really energized by this year’s theme, and thought ‘A Horse of a Different Color’ would be the perfect context to show this new idea. I started by attaching Breyer’s Pegasus wings to Maggie Bennett’s new classic release rearing mustang stallion. They fit perfectly, and with some added dimension to his tail to prevent him from being too tippy, I began covering him with leather. 

This was the worst part. Anybody who has covered a set of swells on a western saddle knows how long ittakes to wet the leather, form it, glue it, rinse and repeat. Covering this model and his wings with leather was basically like doing 50 sets of swells all at once – swells for which I had no pattern and was working as I went. Once the leather dried over a few days, it was time to start tooling. Again, I dramatically underestimated how complex this would be. Tooling flat leather is hard – tooling leather stretched over avery detailed sculpture is Really Hard. I have never tooled feathers before, and now I have tooled Many.

The tooling took several weeks of work, several false starts and re-sets. Ultimately I wound up with a pattern that complemented the sculpture, and left room for sparkles. Then it was time for The Crystals. Making super shiny western pleasure saddles with fun crystals is one of my favorite things to do, and pretty much the only sort of tack I make anymore, so it made sense that this entry would be That, to the Nth degree. 

Matching paint colors to crystals was really fun and invigorating, and he came together much faster when it was time to have fun with color. Then I ran out of crystals partway through and had to overnight more – then I ran out again. Once again I had dramatically underestimated how many crystals and how much TIME it would take to accomplish this piece.

He is by far the most challenging piece I’ve ever made, and I am so proud to have him completed. Should the productivity gods smile upon me, a companion piece western pleasure set will be available for sale during BreyerFest weekend at best offers – keep an eye out! 

Thanks again, Erin. I can not wait to see your sales saddles!