Mid Kansas Live All Performance - CM/AR Division

Mid Kansas Live All Performance show report, continued from Part 1...

The CM/AR Division started out the day with English Performance, which happens to be my favorite.

All Glory was tacked and ready to go, and I was feeling confident and prepared.  Despite only  having a couple of weeks to get ready for the show, most of my preparation had already been accomplished beforehand for the Mid Ark show, so I only had a handful of classes that I had needed to create or update documentation for, and most of my props and such were also complete and ready as well.

Morgen Kilbourn's "Hazel" resin is a wonderfully versatile model.. however to get her into every class sometimes takes some creativity since she is going at a full gallop.  I managed to plan entries for her in every English and Western class offered regardless, and my thorough research and documentation set her ahead of the competition.

The first class was Jumpers.

Glory won first place!

Next up was Cross Country.  Originally it was supposed to be Hunters, but I convinced the judge to switch the order so I wouldn't have to take off Glory's boots and then put them back on again.  I also opted to gently put on a pinny that was from a Breyer doll rather than the nice Cross Country safety vest and pinny that Anne Field made to go with this doll - that way I could save time by not having to take her off and put her back on again.

Another blue ribbon for Glory.

My set ups were simple, but if I do say so myself, correct and well documented.  I was one of the only exhibitors really using documentation and explanation cards for my entries, and I got many compliments, especially from the judge, on the information I provided (and the format it was in).

The Hunter Over Fences class was next.  This one I had to get creative with because Glory/"Hazel" is not a typical refined hunter...

First place in the Hunter class!

Luckily my documentation did the trick.  I referenced a real beginner hunter over fences division from the local Arkansas Hunter Jumper Association as well as citing their rules, complete with photos from local shows, of the casual turnout of horses and riders.  While "Hazel" is supposed to be going at a gallop, she also looks like a horse who is hopping over a low obstacle.  The judge seemed to agree!

The division continued with Indoor Trail...

This IS actually a trail entry, not a hunter or jumper entry.

and Outdoor Trail...

Documentation was provided for how Glory was competing in an actual competitive event, not just "galloping along on the trail", which I think helped set my entry ahead of the competition.

And Dressage, another event that required a lot of research to find a fit for Glory since she's not a typical Dressage horse either.

The judge actually is a Dressage trainer, so winning first place in this class was especially validating.

Other English and English Pleasure wrapped up the division.  By the end, Glory had galloped away with all of the first place ribbons and was the clear winner of the CM/AR English Performance Championship.

All Glory - CM/AR English Performance Champion

The Other Performance Division was next, and I was able to relax slightly since Glory would only be competing in three of the ten classes, especially since I got to leisurely change tack over lunch.

Glory won first with this parade set up.

My other two entries in the division were not nearly as fantastic as some of the competitions', but Glory managed two second place ribbons and finished the division with the Reserve Champ honors.

All Glory - CM/AR Other Performance Champion

The CM/AR Western Performance division started just as the OF and Mini English Divisions were starting, so suddenly I was competing in three rings and had two tack changes to do on the fly.  That was not fun at all, but I was able to get Glory tacked up and into her first class, although without her rider.

Glory won first place in the Western Trail - Indoor class.

She continued to go riderless in the next class until things had not only calmed down...

Not having a rider didn't stop Glory from winning first place in the Western Trail - Outdoor class either.

but until it because absolutely necessary to have one since someone needed to hold the lariat in my breakaway roping entry.

The rider doll was lent to me by my friend Sheila Bishop.  Thanks again, Sheila!

Although Western is not my strong point, thorough research and documentation once again set me ahead in this division.  While I think I still have some improvements to make on my Western entries, Glory won first and second places again and again.

Glory in the Other Stockwork class.

By the end of the division, Glory had a nice collection of ribbons which earned her the CM/AR Western Performance Championship.

All Glory - CM/AR Western Performance Champion

Glory's end-of-the-day total was very impressive, and she was the clear winner of the CM/AR Overall Performance Grand Championship!  Instead of a rosette, the prize was a NIB Poker Joe model.  This was the first time I'd ever won a model as a prize, and it was pretty cool.  :)

All Glory - CM/AR Overall Performance Grand Champion

Next up, the OF division!

Mid Kansas Live All Performance

Despite originally saying that the Mid Ark Model Horse Expo would be my last show of 2014, I managed to convince my husband to let me attend just one more show before the year's end.  I had been eyeing the Mid Kansas Live All Performance show for a little while, as I was quite impressed with the class list, but I wasn't sure if the 7+ hour drive would be a possibility.  But especially after my successful day at the Mid Ark show, I really wanted one more chance to show All Glory and Arrietty before we go to A Midwinter's Night Ball in January.  Luckily, I talked Robert into letting me go to Kansas about two weeks beforehand, and we started making plans!

Mid Kansas Live is actually part of the Sunflower Model Horse Club.  They have some sort of model horse get together every month, whether it's a NAN qualifying show, a fun show, a playday, or a party.  They are lucky enough to have access to a cozy facility that allows them to have a small but fun group of local (and sometimes not-so-local) showers.  The shows are usually based on a theme or specialty, and this show was All Performance.  It really was a performance junkie's dream, with a full day of English, Western, and Other performance classes separated into three divisions for Original Finish, Customs/Artist Resins, and Minis.

Robert got off work Friday a little after 5pm, and then came home for a quick dinner before we hit the road.  It was yucky and rainy, but I had the car packed and ready, and we trudged through traffic, rain, and fog for the rest of the night, arriving in Rose Hill, Kansas at around 2:30am.  Sleeping that night was more like a nap, as we got up bright and early at 6am to head to the show hall at 7am.

Although the show hall opened at 7am, the show didn't start until 9am, so I had plenty of time to unpack and get set up before the first classes would start.  All three divisions would be running concurrently in separate rings, but the official host, Cassie Black, would be judging them all.  I brought three horses, one for each division - plus Lil Buckaroo for good luck.

All Glory would be competing in the CM/AR Division (all sections), Arrietty in the OF Division (all sections), and Naughty By Nature in the Mini Division (English only).

The CM/AR division started out with English, while both the OF and Mini divisions started with Other Performance.  This meant a pretty laid back morning for me since I didn't have anything going on in the Mini ring and Arrietty was only in four classes in the OF Other division.  That meant I was able to put a lot of focus on Glory's English entries.

Glory tacked up and ready for her first class.
Her saddle is by Cristina Brown of CK Tiny Tack; her bridle, saddle pads, and (not pictured) bell boots are by Jana Skybova of Tack By Jana; the sport boots are by Corinne Ensor of Shoebox Saddlery; and the doll is by Anne Field of Field of Dolls Studio.

And focus I did...

More in tomorrow's post!

Spreading the Performance Love

I may have been quiet on this blog lately, but I've been having a lot of fun over on Instagram.

My Instagram profile as of today.

Part of that fun has been that starting in September (inspired in part because of my July-August challenge of asking others to participate in acts of kindness in memory of my daughter, Kieryn) I started hosting monthly giveaways on my Instagram account.    So far prizes have included an OF Breyer "Frosty" and an unpainted Maggie Bennett "Artan" micro mini resin.  My current giveaway is performance related and a little more complicated than the previous ones because it's not just a random drawing.

The "grand" prize for this giveaway is an English saddle set by Lisa Merrill of Painted Daisy Studio, and the purpose of having a contest like this is for one novice performance shower to win a set that they can use for all the performance showing ideas they've dreamed about.  So I'm asking the entrants to tell and show me why they want to win, what sort of showing experience they have, what performance set up ideas they have, what they would actually use the set for if they won it, etc.

There will of course be a lot of entrants who won't actually win the set, but I hope I will help all of them start thinking more seriously about performance showing and inspire them to come up with ideas for potential set ups they would try in the future.

I realize that performance showing can be an expensive aspect of an already expensive hobby, but if someone is really motivated to participate, I hope they will find a way - be it my giveaway or other means.

Once Upon A Time

Once Upon A Time...
I got engaged right after coming home from a model horse show.
I posted a blog entry shortly after about the engagement and promised that a show report would be posted "soon".

Well, that was back in May, and it's now November.
I have since been to four other model horse shows.
I had Jennifer Buxton stop by for a visit.
I moved my horse, Bunny, to a new stable.
And got married.
Plus I've had other happenings happen that may have been worthy of sharing.
Yet, there hasn't been another blog post here since.

I'm not very good at this blogging thing, apparently.

Luckily, my friend Jennifer is, and you can see some of my show pictures on her blog:
here (Tornado Alley/Hog Wild)
here (Tornado Alley/Hog Wild)
here (Mid Ark Model Horse Expo)
and here (Mid Ark Model Horse Expo)

And you can also read about our visit here.

So, while that may not cover everything that has happened between May and now, it's a start, right?  :)

Maybe one of these days I'll be better about blogging myself!