The annual tack party

Every year, legendary tackmaker, Susan Bensema Young and her husband, George, spend part of May and June visiting family in Boulder, Colorado. This also means that every year, Sue and I get to spend at least one day together. Today was that day.

As usual, I brought a few things... 

 and she brought a few things.

Well...

It's always more than a few things!

 Once all the things are on the table, it's time to dress up some ponies.

Our tack models this year were our 2018 NaMoPaiMo horses, Brasenose... 

and Maeve. 

Maeve has a pretty big noggin, so little Brasenose did most of the heavy lifting. He's shown here in a bridle by Jacquee Gillespie.

I absolutely adore her work. Look at the quality of those knots! 

 Of course there was also a lot of Sue's own work on display. Some pieces were very old...

Others were brand new. 

My favorite this year was probably this lovely bridle...

 which comes with two sets of reins and a matching breastcollar. 

Originally sold in the NAN auction, this set is temporarily back with Sue before being offered up for sale. If wishes were tack, it would be staying here with me!

This was a really fun and inspiring visit. Thanks for coming, Sue. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Whipped

It's always fun to get packages from faraway lands...

Especially when they contain treasures like these! 

These driving whips were made by Ekaterina Polygalina.

They are absolutely exquisite. 

I tried, but my photos don't do them justice at all. 

Thank you so much, Ekaterina. I am thrilled to own these!

Tooled English saddles, part two

Four years ago, Erin Corbett and I teamed up to make a tooled huntseat saddle.

The plan was to make three more in rapid succession, but life got in the way.

Erin didn't deliver the next batch of saddle pieces until last year's BreyerFest. They've been sitting untouched in an plastic bag in my studio ever since, but today I needed a project. I dug them out and cut them up.

Five and a half hours later the pieces are prepped and Edge Koted, and the knee pads have been installed. 

I have another project lined up for tomorrow, so the pieces are back in their baggie. I don't know how long it will be before I pull them out again, but I'm feeling reasonably confident they'll be finished before the end of summer. It's been a long wait, but hopefully these saddles will be worth it.

Fun with tack

Navah Joe is a customized Renate Van Der Graaff RB Romke resin.

He came to me in trade way back in 2006 or 2007. I gelded him, customized his mane and tail and painted him as a semi-portrait of one of my favorite camp horses, Navajo.

I've always meant to dress him up in a set of "camp tack" because that's what portrait models are all about. However, like so many personal projects, I've never quite gotten around to it, at least not until today.

Navah's camp bridle is a very basic Western curb bridle with the browband and throatlatch removed. We always used the bridles over halters, and this just made things easier. His name is written on a piece of colored tape which is wrapped around the offside cheekpiece. 

I added a bareback pad and now Navah Joe is ready for a camper...

or two... 

or....

Well, you get the idea! 

This was really a fun, easy project. I can't believe I didn't do it sooner!

A/O Workmanship at RMSF

Like the London Model Horse Club Show, Rocky Mountain Spring Fling also included an Amateur Owner Workmanship Division sponsored by NaMoPaiMo. Jennifer Scott did the judging honors, and the classes were surprisingly full.

I showed a handful of horses, including Agatha, 

Proof, 

Wonderscope...

 and Navah Joe. 

I brought Maeve, but since she was sculpted by Jenn, I didn't show her.

Here's a picture of the callback table. There were several NaMoPaiMo horses!

And the winner is... Navah Joe!

Like Emma, I chose not to keep my Van Gogh medallion. Instead, I passed it down to the third place winner. The same can not be said for the championship rosette.

I don't usually keep ribbons, but this one is gorgeous. It's currently on display in my studio.

Thank you, Heather, for supporting Amateur Owner artists. I really enjoyed this division and hope to see it flourish in the future!

A/O Workmanship at the London Model Horse Club Show

NaMoPaiMo's mission is to encourage model horses artists of all levels, not just in February but throughout the entire year. To that end, NaMoPaiMo has donated Van Gogh medallions to several live shows to use as prizes for their Amateur Owner Workmanship divisions. One of those shows was the London Model Horse Club show which was held last weekend in London, England. Emma Witney-Smith sent this report.

Hi Jennifer! I just wanted to update you on Amateur Owner Workmanship division at the London Model Horse Club show. We had a HUGE turnout for these classes. Thank you again for donating the medallions!

I won Amateur Owner Workmanship champion with my NaMoPaiMo model.

Budding artist Theresa Johnson won reserve 

Since I already had a Van Gogh, I let the Curtis, whose pony came in  third, have it instead!

Here's Theresa and I with our prize-winning models. Thank you to Curtis Sayers for letting me share his photos!

Congratulations, Emma, and to everyone else who showed in this division. You are all winners!

Friday favorites

My sisters and I are avid readers, so a lot of our childhood was spent at the library. I loved going to the library. I love the hushed quiet, the coolness of the air conditioning and especially, the stacks of books. All those stories just waiting to be read, there was almost no better place to be!

Plus, one time, there were model horses.

It's been forty years, but I can still picture the display inside the glass case near the entrance of the Altadena Public Library. Each model was paired with a book. There was Misty of Chincoteague, Stormy, Misty's Foal, Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Man O' War (the only non-Marguerite Henry title)... It was a thing of beauty. I could barely even choose books that day. All I wanted to do was stand there and stare at the models.

My friend, Corina Roberts posted these pictures on Facebook today.

These models are currently on exhibit at the La Canada Flintridge Public Library.

They are promoting Corina's upcoming Models in the Mountains weekend and Sue Sifton sculpting clinic.

It's a beautiful display... 

and I am delighted that it includes some of my photos.

Thank you, Corina, for sharing your horses with the people of La Canada. I just know that there will be at least one little girl who stands there with her nose to the glass as she gazes in awe at all the pretty ponies.