Weekend show report

Many thanks to Kellye Bussey for sending these pictures from yesterday's BYO Performance Show in Boliver, Texas. First up is her beautiful Eberl Pure Oro resin painted by Sheryl Leisure. I made the tack and Sheri Wirtz dressed the doll. Kellye mentioned in her note that she wishes the doll wasn't leaning so far back, but this entry was still good enough to get a NAN card.Kellye's OF Breyer Elegance named "Illusionist" was triumphant in a big dressage class. I made the saddle and Corinne Ensor made the bridle and pad.Kellye's brand new customized Cooper resin was fourth in Natural Trail. Kellye received this horse the night before the show and couldn't wait to get her in the ring! She is wearing a saddle by me and a bridle made by an unknown tackmaker. Apparently this resin has a teeny weeny head and will need a custom bridle. Cooper is sculpted by Maggie Bennett and customized and painted by Sheryl Leisure.

I made this Charro saddle set for Tricia Wolford back in 2007. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a finished picture of it for my records. I am so glad to finally have one now!

Thanks again, Kellye and congratulations on another successful show!

Plantation saddle pictures

I didn't have any grand vision for this blog when I started it last October. Mostly I was just trying to create a single place on the web where people could view pictures of my model horse tack. That's it.

It never occurred to me that blogging might awaken long dormant interests in writing and photography, or that a blog called Braymere Custom Saddlery might end up covering such a wide variety of equine topics. The past nine months have been filled all kinds of pleasant surprises, number one of which is this--people are actually interested in what I have to say. I never expected so many people would read this blog, and I am ridiculously happy each and every time someone leaves a comment or sends me an email about a posting.

There were a lot of comments on the Carriage Museum postings. As always, I am impressed by the wealth of collective knowledge in the model horse hobby--no matter how obscure the topic, it seems there is at least one hobbyist who knows something about it. One of these wise women is Desirae Corbett. She is a model horse judge, painter and tackmaker (check out her work here:http://ttebrocwd.home.mindspring.com/RafterC.html ) and also a collector of real tack. She was kind enough to send me pictures and information about two of the real saddles in her collection. One is a sidesaddle similar to (but nicer than) the tapestry seated sidesaddle at the Carriage Museum. The other one is this Plantation saddle.

Des bought this saddle on eBay. It is stamped Buena Vista and 316 just below the near side flap. It's not dated, but is most likely from the early 1900's. The stirrups are old English iron type, but the leathers thread through western-style fenders.The near side stirrup leather is torn. Des has the stirrup but it's not attached.The leather girth attaches to a single billet strap on each side. If you look carefully, you can just make out the stirrup leather which is threaded through the slot near the top of the flap.
Here's a look at the saddle's panels. Tackmakers take the best reference pictures. They know that what's under the flaps and on the bottom is just as important as the seat itself!This close up picture of the cantle clearly shows the rivets that hold the saddle together. Predictably, I now want to make a traditional scale plantation saddle--and then buy a Stone TWH to wear it! Oh, to have more time...

Thank you SO much, Des, for the pictures and information. If anyone else knows a little about plantation saddles or has a unique tack item they'd like to see pictured here, please be sure to leave a comment!

Still more foal pictures

Houston is the fourth and final member of the Ambleside foal class of 2009. I took these pictures of him yesterday as he enjoyed his first ever turnout in the shady confines of the indoor arena.

The rest of the foals have graduated to outdoor turnout. The weather was lovely with wispy clouds and soft even lighting. It was a perfect day to take lots and lots of pictures and that's exactly what I did. Here are some of my favorites.This first chestnut is sweet little Daisy. She has unfolded nicely in the last week and the pink skin on her face has turned grey.
She's still the friendliest foal in the group, but she's begun to develop a little bit of sass.Here she is kicking up her heels and looking just like a Hartland Jade!The other chestnut filly, Iris, is still my favorite.

She is all sass and attitutude.

There is never a quiet moment with Iris.I think she starts running everytime she sees the camera.This is my favorite Iris picture so far.

Last but not least, it's Austin.

He's the oldest of the group and it shows--what a nice, sturdy colt!Don't let the pictures of Austin and his "mama" fool you--this boy is all Arabian. His biological mother is a Muscat granddaughter who is no longer able to carry a pregnancy to term. Austin and Daisy are both the results of an embryo transfer procedure.

A rare quiet moment.

This is probably the best picture of the day.

Bittersweet

Yesterday was the last day of school, so the boys and I are now officially on summer vacation. I asked James if he was happy about that. He said yes, then paused and added, "But it's kind of bittersweet."

James is seven. Both my boys have really good vocabularies, so I shouldn't be surprised when they break out a new word like that. He had used it properly, so I was pretty sure he knew exactly what it meant. Still, I couldn't resist asking him to elaborate. He thought for a moment and explained that although he was looking forward to summer, he would miss his teacher and friends.
I agree with James. The beginning of summer vacation is bittersweet for me as well. There is a lot to look forward to in the next ten weeks. I like long, lazy, hot summer days with the promise of many small adventures. The boys and I have compiled an ambitious list of places to go and things to do. It includes mountains and museums and all sorts of parks. I know we will have a great time working our way down that list.
But I also know this--I won't have a lot of time for myself between now and the end of August. I will have less time for tack making, less time for blogging, less time for reading, less time for... well, just about everything that does not involve children! I'm the sort of person who places a high value on alone time, so summers--although fun--can be hard for me.

So it's a bittersweet mood here today as I sit with my kids after a happy morning together at the barn, thinking about the weeks ahead.

Saddles from the Far East

Most of the items in the Carriage Museum originally were part of a private collection belonging to noted Colorado Springs entrepreneur and philanthropist Spencer Penrose. As such, there are several oddities displayed upstairs that don't really fit in with the rest of the collection. This Tibetan saddle is among that group.

Close up of the seat. Pardon the glare--it's hard to take pictures of things displayed in glass cabinets!Front view.Close up of the stirrups.If you are interested in learning more about this kind of saddle, I would recommend you pick up a copy of Ron Edwards' The Mongolian Saddle and How to Make It. I bought my copy from Melody Snow (http://www.unicornwoman.com/).
The first part of this 44 page booklet describes a variety of Mongolian saddles observed by the author over the course of his many visits to Northern China, Mongolia, Xinjian, Qinghai and Tibet.
There are no photos, but the book is chock full of high quality line drawings such as these.
The second part of the book actually teaches you how to make a full scale Mongolian saddle. It includes both plans and detailed instructions.

Although this book is not aimed specifically at the model horse hobbyist, it is a great reference for anyone interested in far eastern saddlery and is definitely worth the $20 price tag.

Couldn't resist!

I haven't shipped Erin's saddles yet, and today I couldn't resist tacking up one of my own horses and snapping a couple quick pictures.Bull Durham is an original finish Black Horse Ranch hunter resin. I've owned this guy for the years, but I've never had a tack set that fit him. I'm going to have to rectify that situation--he looks great all dressed up!The doll is a joint effort by Sheri Wirtz and Corinne Ensor. Sheri made the clothes and Corinne is responsible for the wonderful field boots. I made the tack and props.

Western saddles at the Carriage Museum

Colorado is a state with a rich Western heritage so it's no surprise that the Carriage Museum in Colorado Springs has several nice old Western saddles in its collection. Perhaps the most impressive of these is Spencer Penrose's parade saddle which is proudly displayed on the main floor of the museum. Here's the signage:And here's the saddle itself! I think this is an absolutely lovely parade saddle. Of course, I'm biased. I like saddles of this era with their stand up cantles (no Cheyenne roll), hard seats and long saddle strings.

The matching bridle hangs over the saddle horn. You can see it here, but you have to use your imagination a bit. It would have been better if it had been displayed on a fiberglass horse head. Oh well, you can't have everything!

Unfortunately there is not a lot of information about the rest of the museum's Western saddles.My memory is a bit hazy, but I am relatively certain that this is the Lancaster. Look closely at this one--at first glance it looks all Western, but closer inspection reveals an English type flap and stirrup leather. It's a very interesting combination of styles.

A closer look at the tooling.This is the saddle made by Frank Carrick.
It is a loop seat style saddle. The stirrup leathers loop through the seat-cover as they pass over the bars.

This saddle is undated, but the loop seat style was most common from the early 1900s to the 1920s.

Here's a good look at the tapaderos. Western saddle makers should pay close attention to the shape of these. I see a lot of parade saddles in the hobby that have simple hooded stirrups rather than true tapaderos.

I am almost to the end of my carriage museum pictures--hope you've enjoyed the photo tour as much as I have!