Shows Fill Up: Sign up Early!

I am the queen of procrastination. But when it comes to shows, I try to break my bad habit. I've missed out on great shows before because I didn't send in my entry in soon enough.

Big shows, small shows, medium shows: they all can sell out quickly. Most of the time, you'll be fine if you send in an entry with a couple weeks of the show. However, I recommend sending in an entry at least a month before: the sooner, the better.

Breyerfest is, by far, the most popular show in the US. The show is held in July, but it sells out around mid-March, within a couple weeks of when Breyer starts excepting entries. If you are interested in showing at Breyerfest, you need to be aware of the date entries open. On that date, send in your entry by some sort of express mail. I Fed-Ex mine. For my first Breyerfest, I sent my entry by snail mail. It made it there, but I was shower 99 out of 100.

NAN is a different ballgame. First, if your are nearing the end of the NAN qualifying year (which runs from May through April) shows will fill faster. Many showers will be trying to get last minute qualifications for their models. The closer you are geographically to the upcoming NAN, the more popular the March and April shows will be.

On the other hand, NAN takes (virtually) unlimited entries. Entries are done online during a two week period in May. Entry for NAN is a time intensive process where you must enter info for each of your individual models. I do most of the work on the last possible day and it has been a near disaster every year. Don't do that.

Breyerfest 2009

Workmanship Classlists

I've seen workmanship classlists organized three basic ways: by color, by breed, and by degree of alteration.

By degree of alteration, I mean the style of customizing (etching vs. repainting) and the amount of changes to the original body (simple custom vs. drastic custom). This type of classlist is only seen for custom models. Resculpting is uncommon on custom glazes or artist resins. This classlist, from Red River Live, is typical:

Custom Workmanship
G1 - Repaint Only Trad Scale
G2 - Repaint Only Classic Scale
G3 - Repaint Only SM Scale
G4 - Etched Models Trad Scale
G5 - Etched Models Classic Scale
G6 - Etched Models SM Scale
G7 - Simple Custom Trad Scale
G8 - Simple Custom Other Scale
G9 - Major Custom Trad Scale
G10 - Major Custom Other Scale
G11 - Unrealistic Custom

These classes are also further broken out by scale. Red River Live is an established show held by an experienced show holder, who anticipated that the Etched and Repaint only classes would be the most popular. As a result, she split Etched and Repaint into three scales while Simple and Major custom are split into only two scales.

This kind of classlist is popular in Region 5. It works really well when most showers are familiar with the definitions of each class and know where most of their models go without asking a judge. We experimented with this kind of classlist in Region 1 once...it didn't end well. Because so few showers were unfamiliar with this system, we didn't have enough mentors to teach which models went where and why.

Traditionally, Region 1 uses the same system as NAN. We split by color. Because this is the system NAN has chosen in recent years, this is the most common kind of classlist you will see. This example is from Rose City Live, where I judged a couple weekends ago:

Simple Custom Workmanship

S28 Bay
S29 Black/Brown
S30 Chestnut/Sorrel
S31 All Grey
S32 Palomino/Buckskin
S33 Roan
S34 Dun/Grulla
S35 Other Color
S36 Pinto - Tobiano Pattern
S37 Pinto - Other Pattern
S38 Appaloosa Pattern

Seems much simpler than the previous list, right? Yes and no. Would you put a tobiano roan in tobiano or roan? Does varnish roan go in Appaloosa or roan? What about a minimally expressed pintos that don't have body white?

Rags to Riches first foal. Like her mom, a minimally expressed sabino.

As a general rule, pinto trumps solid colors (including roan) and oddball colors (zebra stripes, brindle) trumps everything else. "Pinto" only includes horse with body white, so the baby above would show in chestnut. All Appaloosa colors (varnish, snowflake, blanket, leopard) show together. Roan only includes dark head roans and rabicanos. If you're still confused about where your horse should show, always ask the judge.

The final split, by breed, is my personal favorite. Horse are called up for their breed classes and are "double-judged," meaning two people judge the class at the same time. One looks at workmanship, while the other evaluates realism and conformation.

Double-judging is quicker because every horse only has to go on the table once. Also, it's an instant second opinion. If one judge doesn't care for your models, the other may have a more positive opinion. The downside is judges are often in too short supply to arrange this kind of classlist.

Model Halter vs. Real Halter: Pt. 2

I’m not going to talk about live Quarter Horses anymore (is that a sigh of relief I hear?) but I am going to start with this year’s NAN Champ OF Quarter Horse.

I’ve judged this specific horse at previous shows, I’ve lost to him at other shows, and I’d steal him off the table if I had a chance (I’m kidding--sort of.)

Even though Breyer markets this model as a Thoroughbred, his owner shows her copy as a racing-bred quarter horse. This is a great choice because the mold is not as bulky as a stock horse mold like Smart Chic Olena, but not as lean and leggy as a Lonesome Glory or classic-scale Man o’ War, which many model horse judges prefer in a Thoroughbred class.

He’s not shown as a halter-type QH (as I discussed yesterday), and he’s not in a halter pose. A horse isn't supposed to gallop in a real halter class. But in the model world, there is no rule against it and I have never seen a judge knock a horse for an “inappropriate” pose.

Even "bad horse" poses are allowed:

And "natural" poses:

In this case, artistry wins out over adherence to our real world counterpart. Speaking as an artist: thank god. Sculpting and customizing would be dreadfully boring if our only options for LSQ (live show quality) models were performance and halter appropriate poses. As is, I find myself constantly biting against the bridle of live showing’s restrictions and limitations.** If I could only sculpt/sell models in polite/boring poses, I’d go batty.

**My constant attempts to bend or circumnavigate live showing rules are probably the reason I’m so familiar with them.

NAN Qualifying Shows

NAN stands for North American Nationals. It is a national show held every year that allow showers to compete against the toughest competition possible.

To get to NAN, each horse a shower enters must earn a NAN card. NAN cards are earned by placing first or second in a class. NAN cards are only available at NAN qualifying shows, which must be approved by NAMHSA (North American Model Horse Showers’ Association,) these shows’ governing body.

When you’re just starting out, NAN cards shouldn’t be a high priority for you. I wouldn’t recommend showing at NAN without at least two years of regular showing under your belt.

The same horse from above winning at NAN: