Criollo halter

Those photos of Kellye's Criollo conga reminded me that I also own a Criollo model.

 And that Criollo...

 wanted a gaucho style halter to call his own.

Since I am still waiting on my dark brown lace, I was able to indulge him. 

While I was at it, I made a second halter. 

This one is for sale on my Facebook page.  As always, it's first come, first serve.

Criollo conga

First there was Kellye's Cobra.  Now there's Kellye's Criollo Conga.

These Maxixe resins were sculpted by Morgen Kilbourn and painted by (left to right) Sheila Bishop, Lauren Hoeffer, Sheryl Leisure and Maggie Bennett.

They are shown in tack by Heather Moreton (Western bridle), Rebecca Dunne (rope polo halter) and myself (Criollo halter, Criollo saddle set).

Congratulations on assembling another beautiful group of models, Kellye.  I absolutely love your Criollo Conga!

Itty bitty show report

My Facebook feed has been filled with live show photos today.  This first group comes from Ashley Gade who attended the Third Annual Jackson County 4-H and Open Model Horse Show in Black Rivers, Wisconsin.

Ashley bought my "short sale" Arabian show halter earlier this month and used it in this winning showmanship entry.  Awesome!

She is also the first person that I know of to create a model scale Arabian Training Tack class entry.

Good enough for third place! 

Woo hoo!  Congratulations, Ashley, and thanks for letting me share your pictures!

Upcoming attractions

A little more than three months ago, my friend Erin gave birth to what is quite possibly the cutest non-Buxton baby ever.

Since then, she's managed to complete three Western saddle sets.  

This is amazing to me.  My tack output in the ninety days following Ryan's birth was precisely zero.

I barely even had the time to shower, let alone make saddles!

Anyway.  I was browsing online and saw this...

Big Dee's Tack and Vet Supplies

and these...

Big Dee's Tack and Vet Supplies

and decided that an over-achiever like Erin needed even more on her plate. 

These may not be as exciting as our last collaboration piece, but I'm really looking forward to creating the next batch of Jennifer/Erin tack!

Heads up!

I'll be listing several small tack items on my Facebook page today.

It's first come, first serve so if you're in the market for a piece by me, be sure to check back often!

Easy rider

Starting with Snickers and Chief and continuing all the way to Rev and Mystyc, I've spent most of my life riding other people's problem horses.

Not anymore!  Or at least not right now.  For the last few weeks, I've been splitting time between Sprite...

and Santana... 

and neither one of them could ever be considered a problem. 

These are two sweet, steady, solid horses...

 with just enough sass to make them interesting!

We've had some wonderful rides together, both solo...

and with friends.

Kristina on Toby and Karen on Bob

Eventually, I'll probably want something a little more challenging...

Settle down, Santana!

but for the time being, I'm really enjoying these two wonderful and easy horses.

Non-horse art

This is a blog about model horse tack, which means I mostly write about horses...

and tack...

and toys...

and art. 

Usually the art is horse related...

but today it's not.  Sorry.  My blog, my rules. 

When I met Seth, he was pursuing a career as a golf course superintendent.  To that end, he spent a couple years working as the turf grass manager at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in Memphis, Tennessee.  

As its name would suggest, the Dixon was a small but impressive art museum and botanic garden.  During his stay, the Dixon hosted an exhibit by the renowned glass artist, Dale Chihuly.

I hadn't heard of him before, and as Seth and I watched the large glass installations take over the Dixon's indoor and outdoor spaces, I can't say I was terribly impressed.

His pieces were too big, too weird and too non-representational.  I just didn't get it.

In the nearly twenty years since then, Dale Chihuly has created a lot of exhibits for different botanic gardens around the country.  This year, it was Denver's turn.  

A couple weekends ago, Seth and I spent an evening at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

We arrived early and stayed late, which allowed us to view the glass in both the sunshine...

and the dark.

I can't say I liked every single piece,

but I liked it a lot more than I did all those years ago in Memphis.

I'm far less rigid in my tastes these days.  Instead of trying to make everything fit into my own preconceived notions, I try to appreciate things for what they are.  So I admired the size...

and the spectacle, 

the color, 

and the interplay of light...

and shadow,

and all those  wonderful reflections.

It's not the kind of art I want to make, but I enjoyed looking at it, and I'm grateful to have had an opportunity for a second look at Mr. Chihuly's work.

And for everyone who wishes I would only blog about horses, here's a little horse art from the Denver Botanic Gardens:

I promise tomorrow's post will be horsey!