Indoor arenas, part two

I asked my readers to show me their indoor arenas.

On Tuesday, we peeked into several full sized places to ride.

Today, we're looking at their small scale counterparts.

photo by Anita Poole

Lara Heidkamp writes: Mine is basic, but was so easy to create and so fun to play with! Based on guidance from Aislinn Paskos, who is a genius.

Fabian Rodriguez' arena is similarly basic but effective. He explains: Only the beams are made of wood. The rest is printed paper.

Jackie Radwanski's arena is a little more involved. She says: I made one a couple of years ago, using foamboard, cardboard, printed paper, craft wood and working lights.

I did a lot of research beforehand and even went as far as finding full size plans to scale down.

I was going for more of an UK style arena but wanted it to be suitable for all breeds and definitely big enough for performance.

Here's the whole thing.

Last but certainly not least, here is Sofie Banister's homey space. She notes: This is the typical ‘shed’ style one sees across the UK, rather than the more fancy offerings.

Want to learn more about making model sized indoor arenas? Check out these older posts for tips from Danielle Dunn...

and Christine Sutcliffe.

And of course, the post that started it all - at least for me - Backdrop Building by Nichelle Jones.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing your words and photos. I think I am almost ready to start building this arena!

The great indoors, part three

While I was working on my pictures for my barn photo's scavenger hunt, I couldn't help but think, "How would I approach this if I was using a model horse?"

The ideas came fast and fierce, and I knew I needed to act on them. A couple days ago, I gathered up a an armful of horses and headed downstairs to the photo table.

I built this indoor arena backdrop way back in 2016.

At the time, I took most of my pictures on the dining room table. I loved the arena, but set-up and teardown was a lot. After a month or two, the arena went into storage.

It might have stayed there forever, but along came the pandemic. 

Suddenly, photo showing was a thing. I decided I needed a dedicated photo table, so I cleared some space, bought some lights and unpacked the indoor arena.

It's seen a lot of use in the years since then.

It even survived a flood! 

The fence sustained minor water damage, which I find aesthetically pleasing.

Still, this is an old backdrop. As I was setting up my photos, I couldn't help but notice how everything looked a little worse for the wear. I decided some repair work was in order, and eventually, that turned into a total teardown.

I am going to take those pictures, but it's going to be a bit. After all, I have a new and improved arena to build!

Scavenger hunt

Back in 2015, my friend, Lauren Mauldin, hosted a photo scavenger hunt on her now-defunct She Moved to Texas blog. I participated - of course I did! - but instead of finding photos on the internet, I took my own. 

Also, all my pictures were of model horses.

Afterwards, I was inspired to hold my own challenge.

The results were spectacular.

entry by Nichelle Jones

Although some of the links are no longer viable, you can see most of the entries here. 

entry by Ruru Cold

In the decade since then, I've participated in a lot of model horse photo challenges.

So many.

I've also entered a lot of themed performance photos shows.

That's basically the same thing, but with better prizes.

You would think I'd be photo challenged out, but no, I love these.

So imagine my delight when I opened the most recent barn newsletter and read this:

A scavenger hunt/photo challenge/themed performance photo show with real horses, not models? Talk about the most Jennifer competition ever! Count me in!

Happy Horsing Around Champ Show results

One of my only hobby goals for 2023 was to participate in the monthly Happy Horsing Around Show series hosted by Terry Boaz on Facebook. 

I didn't enter every show, but I participated just enough to qualify a healthy number of horses for the year end Championship Show, which was held earlier this month.

In the Advanced Performance class, my naughty, rolling horse, Beethoven, placed second with his Bad Showmanship picture.

Old, reliable Dun Up Purdy was seventh.

Performance is usually my strong suit, but not at this show. Lady Liberty was the big winner in the Advanced Halter division.

Beep was second, 

Rune was fifth,

Tuscalero was fourth...

and BFF was seventh.

For everyone keeping track, that five Braymere horses in the top eight. Good job, crew!

Lady Liberty's prize was a $25 gift certificate to C. Sloan Originals.

Thank you to the Championship Show Judge, Jamie Parris, for all the good placings and to show holder, Terry Boaz, for keeping this series going. The new season starts in March. I can not wait!

Happy Horsing Around results

Although I didn't finish my entry for the Hot Summer: Anything Goes class, I still had some good placings in the August Happy Horsing Around photo show.

As usual, the show had three halter classes, one for Original Finish models, 

one for customs and resins,

and one for the featured breed of the month. In this case, that was Arabian.

There were also two performance classes specifically for Arabians. The first was Arabian Performance: Western or English.

My grey girls placed first and third.

Khemonehar Ali - who is actually a half Arabian - won the Arabian Costume class.

Schutzengel placed second in the Western/English Performance: Any Breed class...

and old, reliable Dun Up Purdy won Speed Games.

My favorite class - and result - was Vacations: Anything Goes. I entered a picture of Mr Toad taken at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. First place!

Thank you to judge, Donna Allen for all the good placings. I may not be participating as much as I'd like to, but I really enjoy and appreciate this show series.