My Hobby History

My first introductory post was getting a bit long, so I figured I should make a separate post explaining my activity and absence in the hobby.

I grew up in the Philadelphia area, and was an active show-goer in Pennsylvania and the surrounding states (plus one trip to Breyerfest) from 1995-1999 until I moved to Little Rock, Arkansas in the summer of '99.  After the move, however, it was harder to find shows that were close enough to travel to.  In addition, high school, my job(s) and volunteer job, my new horse, and my social life all kept me pretty busy.  I still managed to make it to a handful of shows between 1999-2002, including a second trip to Breyerfest, but mostly I enjoyed the hobby from afar - still collecting and reading anything model horse-related that I could get my hands on.

My life has had many ups and downs over the years, and thus my activity in the hobby seemed to ebb and flow as I entered "adulthood".  I graduated high school in 2002, was a new mother in 2003, and then a grieving mother in 2004.  For awhile, life was so rough that even my model horses couldn't save me from my depression, and thus they fell to the wayside.  Then I got married in 2006 and life seemed to be ok.  My (now ex-)husband was deployed, and I had a lot of free time on my hands, so I jumped back into the hobby again.  I started live showing again from 2007-2008, but only made it to a few shows nearby.  My marriage turned sour very quickly though, and I packed up and fled in early 2008.  Between the divorce, and then another long-term relationship ending in a break-up in 2010, I moved a few times and my horses were in boxes more often than not.

Finally, 2013 inspired me to open up the boxes that had been tucked away in storage since 2010.  My boyfriend, Rob, and I had taken a vacation in Branson, MO in May, during which, we spent part of one day browsing antique shops.  As luck would have it, a few of them had Breyer horses!  They weren't in great condition, or anything fancy, but I bought several and Rob bought me a couple as well.  As I admired them back in our rental cabin that night, my passion was re-ignited.

The antique-store ponies that Rob bought for me.

When we returned home, I was determined to get back into the hobby full force.  I unpacked horses, bought new horses and tack, returned to the online hobby community, and started showing again by the fall.

I am hoping that 2014 will be my best year yet in the hobby.  I have a lot of plans and goals for the year, including going to even more live shows that ever before.  Wish me luck!

An Introduction of Sorts

Hello!  If you're reading this, congrats, you've stumbled across my blog!  This is my first post, so I figure I should do some sort of an introduction before I jump into "real" posts.

My name is Janna, and I'm a model horse addict.  

Shady Creek Farm is the name of my model horse "stables".  I've been collecting model horses ever since I was a girl.  When I was probably about four years old, my parents bought me my first Breyers, and of course, they were my favorite play toys.  I still have them, but they definitely have some battle scars!  When I was eleven years old, I learned about the model horse hobby through Breyer's Just About Horses magazine.  It was at this point that I started paying more attention to the condition of my models, and more of them became "shelf models" than "play models".  I also discovered my first local model horse show around the same time, and was hooked!  My activity level in the hobby has ebbed and flowed over the years (more on that in a future post), but I have always had a passion for plastic ponies and I don't think that will ever change.  I'm just glad to be active in the hobby again, and I hope it will stay that way for years to come.

My main interests in the hobby are collecting (still some OF Breyers, also Peter Stones, customs, and resins) and live showing (especially Performance).  I dabble in a bit of prop making but would like to do more.  I would also like to participate in photo showing, and maybe even branch out into making tack and trying my hand at customizing models myself.

Besides model horses, I enjoy: spending time with my real animals (seven dogs, one cat, one horse, and lots of reptiles); doing animal rescue work; dog training; photography; video games; reading; and crafts.  I have an amazing boyfriend named Robert (although I usually call him Rob), and I am very lucky that he loves me and supports me in everything I do, including the model horse hobby.