Skip to main content

Back to Live Showing!

 

This weekend I attended my first live show since the shutdown in March 2020. Melissa Hart hosted a Michigan Show Series show in Hastings, MI. This was the fifth Halloween Show. Showers and guests wore masks so it was tricky to blow dust off the models.

The Holiday Inn Express was very annoying and canceled my reservation due to an IT problem on their end. (They "updated" my credit card expiration date, address and phone number to old ones. Therefore the credit card declined and they called me on an old landline in Idaho. When I didn't answer, they sold my room to someone else.) I ended up staying in Grand Rapids, where the hotel kindly held a room for me without a credit card.

But never fear! I made it back to Hastings in time for the ponies to get unpacked.

The judges had six rings going at one time, so the showers were busy. Some were new, others had come back to the hobby after many years, and everyone else was out of practice.

Draft and pony breeds were a delight:

A sweet little mini-scale Italian Draft resin

Yummy dapples on a mini-scale Lithuanian Heavy Draft resin

A beautiful face on this Stablemate custom

A tiny braided tail on this French Riding Pony

What a looker this Walera Mare is

Check out the ears on this Tom Bainbridge mini-scale resin owned by Rebecca Callens.   

Horses of all scales showed together in the custom ring

In another ring, Levi Kroll had the nearly impossible task of judging the micro minis:

A tiny Knapstrupper

A little bridle Criollo micro

A reverse dapple gaited horse in micro mini scale



The Stock breeds were a colorful bunch:

A palomino pinto on one of my favorite molds

A paint mare custom Stablemate

Another paint with beautiful details

A chunky little custom mare by Karen Zorn

The show also had classes for amateur artists. If I recall, this little Cheesecake was one of the entries.


The custom foals were as cute as they were sassy:

A lot of 'tude in a small package

The perfect entry for a fall show

This little one is a classic scale drastic custom Sheltland pony


A few of my light breed horses: Arabian, part Arab, Walkaloosa and ASB

I enjoyed seeing Karen Zorn's Savannah Spark! A traditional "Epona" sculpted by Holly Conner in person. She is lovely.



 

A big shout out to Melissa Hart for hosting, and to Julia for lending a hand. A huge thanks to all of the judges: Tiffany Purdy, Marilou Mol, Tess Carson, Brenda Metcalf, Levi Kroll, Meghan Namaste and Karen Zorn.

Showers and artists, if you would like me to add credits to the models I've pictured, please let me know. I honestly don't know who owned which models, so your names were not included--but can be added. If you would like a photo of your model removed let me know.





Comments

Popular Posts

New Pan Pastels - An Update

A little while back I posted a photo of my new Pan Pastel colors. I've gotten a chance to use them, and have found them quite handy.      First, these colors are all useful—which is not something I say about many of the Pan Pastel colors because they are not all well suited for horses. The orange shade looks a little odd at first, but once it's part of the coat it softens to a nice, bright addition to chestnuts, palominos, buckskins and bays. I think of is as more of a golden tone than orange when the model is finished.      Second, they are easy to use—no sandpaper palette needed, no huge-jar-o-dust waiting to spill. The pans work with both paintbrushes and Microbrush applicators for small details like leg bars and dorsal stripes.     Third, the colors work well together and blend well. For example, on this model I used the Burnt Sienna Extra Dark to deepen a few areas I had dusted with the Burnt Sienna Shade. So... these new Pan Pastel colors definitely have a plac

A Golden bay in Pan Pastels

I thought I'd share a bit of my process. I'm working in Pan Pastels. The model in question is a simple custom Morgan Stallion from the new standing Stablemate Warmblood mold. He has had some work done on his barrel and hindquarters. His mane and tail have been changed as well.  I prepped him with Rustoleum 2X primer in white and taped off some white markings with blue painters tape. Feel free to follow along and paint your own golden bay or liver chestnut.  A Pan Pastel Project Art Supplies Shopping list: A model with sanded seams and logo removed 400 Grit Sandpaper Masking or painters tape (optional) Rustolem 2X Primer Pan Pastels: 280.3 Orange Shade, 820.2 Neutral Grey Extra Dark (or other neutral grey), Layer 3: 740.3 Burnt Sienna Shade, 740.1 Burnt Sienna Extra Dark, 800.5 Black. Pan Pastel optional colors for shading mane, tail, and white markings: Optional fleshy pink pastel or paint for a pink nose or shading white markings. Krylon Matte, Testor's Dullcote, or other

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday Percheron and Clydesdale Comparison

I've been thinking about customizing some draft horses... so I went out to the pasture to do a little research. Please pardon the dirt. Pete, on the left, is a Percheron gelding. Titan, his best buddy, is a bay roan Clydesdale gelding. Pete has more width and bulk, while Titan is leggier and more narrow. Here I even noticed the difference in their faces—see the how the distance between their eyes are different, as well as from eye to nostril. Titan's tail is naturally long, whereas Pete's has been docked. Notice the different shaped hindquarters. A custom mini model horse inspired by Pete