Stablemate painting with Lesli and Sarah, part two

Lesli and Sarah's first BreyerWest stablemate collaboration was so well received, they decided to make another one.

This one was a leopard Appaloosa pony. Lesli painted one side, and Sarah painted the other. 

Another masterpiece! 

They presented it to Erin, in recognition of the outstanding job she'd done managing BreyerWest 2016.

She was thrilled. 

Three awesome women. 

Erin named her pony "Mrs. Frizzle," and we were all just a little bit jealous!

Of course, Lesli and Sarah weren't the only hobbyists who painted stablemates at BreyerWest. By the end of the weekend, most of us had given it a try. My next post will be a gallery of our champions.

Stablemate painting with Lesli and Sarah

Throughout the BreyerWest weekend, people were painting stablemates. At first it was mostly kids.

Then these two sat down at the painting table.

In case you aren't familiar with their faces, these are hobby icons, Lesli Kathman and Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig.

They talked...

and painted...

and talked some more.

When they were done...

they signed the model's belly...

and gave it the young collector who'd been sitting next to them.

photo by Erin Corbett

What a lucky girl!

This was one of my very favorite BreyerWest moments. Thank you, Lesli and Sarah, for being as awesome as you are talented!

BreyerWest Saturday

BreyerWest Saturday was a busy day with many events, including the Youth Novice Show,

and Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig's vintage show.

There was stablemate painting...

photo by Sandra Gibson

and an all day sculpting demonstration by Karen Gerhardt.

Cheryl Wood answered questions about the model horse hobby,

photo by Erin Corbett

Jackie Hasser taught everyone how to make pony pouches...

photo by Heather Malone

and Zana Goulding gave a seminar on How to Show Halter.

My only responsibility for the day was to present a short talk on performance showing for the Youth Novice show entrants.

photo by Erin Corbett

I didn't get to all my talking points, but I think it went pretty well.

photo by Erin Corbett

Most of my day was spent in the BreyerWest area, but I did take some breaks to walk around the stable area...

and the trade show.

I even made a couple...

tiny purchases.

This was such a fun day. I took a ton of photos, many of which I'll share in the next few posts!

The packaging class

There were four Original Finish Halter divisions at the BreyerWest Open Show: OF Regular Run Halter,

OF Mini Halter, 

OF Special Run Halter (sorry, no  picture) and Collectability/Limited Run Halter. 

My favorite of these is Collectability, and my favorite Collectability class is Vintage Models In/With Packaging.

These are the models--and boxes--of my childhood. Looking at them is like taking a trip down memory lane.

I remember sorting through pegs of Stablemates just like this, looking for exactly the right one.

And oh, how I wanted one of these! 

This gift set was on my Christmas list for many, many years. Eventually, I did get the horse, but the halter and box eluded me.

Here's something I did own, although mine came with a Quarter Horse stallion rather than a Seabiscuit. I probably still have the models somewhere, but sadly, the barn was thrown away decades ago.

What a fun class! I'm so glad there are collectors who keep their boxes and not just the models that came inside them! 

This...

is what happens when a minis collector wins a bunch of high dollar traditionals at BreyerWest.

photo by Sandra Gibson

Ha ha and congrats again, Leah!

BreyerWest English performance

I will always be a hunter girl at heart, and English is my favorite performance division, both as a shower and a judge. Happily, the English showers at last weekend's BreyerWest Open Show gave me a lot to smile about, both in quantity and quality.

The division opened with a combined Jumper/Cross Country/Eventing class that was won by Leah's little palomino.

The hunter class was dominated by the Newsworthys, with Jackie's Skipper Dan claiming the blue... 

and Heather Visser's pony picking up the red.

Other English/English Games was a particularly strong class,

especially for the minis.

Second place went to Shana Bobbitt's mule. I can't imagine a better way to show this particular model in performance than this endurance entry.

The winner was Leah's reliable Puns and Roses.

I loved every part of this Bridleless Dressage set-up. 

So many little details! 

Skipper Dan...

and PHF Richard Squared finished the division with a bang, taking the top prizes in the Dressage class.

They went on to win the English Champion and Reserve Champion titles...

then Richard Squared was named the Overall Performance Reserve Champion.

The 2016 BreyerWest Open Show Overall Performance Championship was won by Leah's other horse, Puns and Roses.

Leah with her two champions.

Well planned, well executed performance entries like these don't happen by accident. Leah worked very hard preparing for this show, and it really showed. Congratulations, Leah, and good luck at BreyerFest!