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BF Recount, Part Four: Famous Faces

7/21/2017

Apparently along with good loot & great memories I also brought home the BF bug. Not enough to take me out but enough that I haven't felt like editing pictures & composing a blog. I'm back at it now though! So here we go!

One of the best things about any BF is meeting folks! That has been the driving force of every one of my trips to Lexington! This year was no exception on famous folk!
Of course the highlight was being able to meet Francesca Kelly & Bonnie Singh!

As well as their rider from Dundlod, Dalip Kilaniya!

Other folks I was lucky enough to meet were:
Maggie Bennett, who is always a joy to chat with! She was the one who encouraged me to try sculpting in epoxy which is the medium I use to this day! As we talked on Friday she got a text that her house had sold (she is just recently married & moved to a new place). So she was over the moon about that! Congrats Maggie!
Christina Riley, who was manning Maggie's booth while she was teaching her sculpting class. Christina was a doll! We were competitors in the CM Contest, which was fun. She said that she dropped off her entry, saw the competitors & went 'drat!' I said that I stopped in the AG, saw the competitors & went 'drat!'. We both wished each other the best of luck!!
I also got to finally meet Jennifer Buxton! She was in the crowed gathered for the CM Contest announcement. I got to root through her remaining tack, but most of it was specialty stuff (Shannondell halter, saddle seat bridle, W halters, etc.). She said that she made a bunch of small, inexpensive stuff for all the folks who always say that they just want to own a piece of her tack, but everyone wanted the saddles! She said that next time (next time? Are you already planning for next year?? :) ) she'll make saddles & everyone will want smaller, less expensive stuff! ...You can't win Jennifer!
Others folk I met were: Karen Zorn who is a sweetie! Erin Corbett, Candace Liddy, Jessica Fry (couldn't find a link) (I own a CMG sleepy drafter w/kitty by her), Jennifer Scot (who is going to get info on magnetic bases for me!), Becky Benfield, Lauren Hoffer, Kathy Bogucki ... I'm sure I'm missing people!
I did not actually meet them, but I also saw Morgan Kilbourn, Sommer Prosser, Tiffany Purdy, & Bill Duncan as well!
Two people I had wanted to meet were Sue Sudekum (also a founding mother of MEPSA), & my fellow MEPSA board member Elena Lemm, but, alas, it was not meant to be.

Still more BF posts to come! So keep checking back!!

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BF Recount, Part Three: LOOT!

7/18/2017

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What's a trip to BF without coming back home with some treasures?

My first gem of BF was a Spark AR by & from Maggie Bennett. Spark is a LB QH filly, & is a second, missing the wire in one front leg & not coming with a base (thus explaining her being stuck in an epoxy tub for her photo!). She was $85, a little less than a first casting, & I can fix her anyway! I've been waiting a while for this little girl & her mama, Zap, to be cast. As soon as Zap is out I plan to get her too. :)

Every year Maggie gives out goodies to anyone every time she spots them wearing a name tag. This year they were tiny busts. I managed to collect the set of them over the weekend. :)

Of course I got a Nazaruddin. Who is unfortunately the ugliest non-showable OF in my possession.

But he is signed by Francesca Kelly, Bonnie Singh, & their head rider Dalip Kilaniya, so he is priceless to me!

I also got a couple single day tickets in hopes of snagging the new SM Gypsy mold. Of course I did not get even one, but at least I didn't get that nasty Para Dressage pintaloosa! If anyone would like these guys though, drop me a note. They come with their original packages. $35 each ppd in the US or $60 for both also ppd in the US. MO or check only.

At the CHIN on Friday, I wandered into a room in the 500s & found me some U/P ARs. Got pretty excited when I saw a Fritz for $25! Lol, that didn't last long! It was a tag to a medallion! Fritz was $400! I did get him though as the gal in the room (Corinne, I believe she said her name was?) liked my finished Sundara "SWF Tunukamizaja" & we did a trade! Later this year she is moving to India, where her husband is from, & she said that she needed a Marwari. So there will be a Sundara in India!!!
Corinne, if you read this, I hope you keep in touch! I will show you what I do with Fritz!

Wait 'til you see this next AR though! In the AG, Candace Liddy had a couple boxes of seconds, which I rooted through & found a Credit who is more like a fifth or sixth!! But his price was right: free! I will make him beautiful!

CF came to the CHIN again & I bought another Cob canvas from their room for $20...

& one chance on this OOAK test Cob for a buck. ...I don't think I won him! Not unusual! ;)

But the real treasure, even though I hardly do OFs much anymore, is Masala!!

Just look at this pretty boy!!

He happens to be one of the nicest OFs I have seen in a long time! Definitely LSQ!

I've already had an inquiry to buy him, but I'm afraid he isn't going anywhere!! As I told Christina Riley, I plan on being buried with this horse! (Ok, not really, but you get the idea!)
On the subject of his price though, I found out today that the Masala with a runner up Tikka in the silent auction went for $4000! Wow!!

This trip to BF was such a blessing, & so many things were just too perfect, that all I can do is thank God for giving me such an awesome adventure! So in honor of Him, I have named my Masala 'SWF Devine Design'.

Loot not pictured is a book about the Indigenous Horse Society of India & postcards given to me by Francesca Kelly & Bonnie Signh, & a book on conformation given to me by Candace Liddy. Thank you all!
Also, not as exciting, two hand held fans for $4 each; I had a couple fans like this for some time, but they were freebees & broke. I liked those fans, so when I saw these at the CHIN I decided to get them.

There were some other horses too that I picked up for friends.
Like this Bennett MM Sierra for my friend & fellow model horse artist Kim Prosek. There's going to be an extra surprise in her box for you too Kim! ;)

& SRs Bollywood Surprise...

& Indu for my friend Liz in exchange for my BF tickets (I didn't want my SR ticket so this worked). Of course the one color of the Surprise that she didn't want was the buckskin! (I think he's pretty!) I'm hoping the fact that her Indu is glossy might ease the pain!

& the last of the loot to mention will be a fitting end to this post:

A tee shirt by Sue Sudekum! A horrible color but well earned & only $15! Bringing my total spent at BF up to $129, which I am pretty proud of!
I came VERY close to buying an U/P Sheza Carnival, & U/P Pipsqueak, as well as the new dapple grey HR Spanish China, but I resisted. *sigh* :/

Stay tuned to my blog as there is still more to come!!

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BF Recount, Part Two: A Privileged Encounter, Times Two!

7/17/2017

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Aside for wanting to go to BF to witness the CM Contest, something else made this BF a particular draw for me. If you know me, you can probably already guess why! I am a Marwari lover & have been for eight years. Longer than most people have even known what a Marwari is & several years before Breyer released their Marwari mold.
If you do any amount of research on these awesome horses, & trust me, I have spent many hours researching them, you are going to encounter two names connected with bringing the breed count back from just 600, & working tirelessly to promote their future: Ms. Francesca Kelly & Kr. Raghuvendra Singh Dundlod (aka Bonnie). They have been instrumental in saving these beautiful horses ever since Ms. Kelly went on a horseback safari in India in 1995 & met Bonnie Singh whose Marwari were the mounts of the safari at Dundlod Fort.
I have followed the endeavors of these two incredible people for many years & was quite excited when Gateway To India was announced last year! That could only mean one thing for the Celebration horse! A Marwari! & the only Marwari in the U.S. belong to Ms. Kelly, which meant that surly she would be there! & by George, that was indeed the case!
With that in mind, as soon as I knew I would be able to attend BF I decided to create a gift for her, since I appreciate all that she has done for this breed. I painted one of my AR releases, 'Sundara' my Marwari stallion, as a portrait of the stallion Gajraj; a handsome black with four white feet & an off kilter white face. He was an incredibly well known stallion & if you pick up any publication including these horses, he is most likely pictured in it.
See pictures of the elegant Gajraj here & here. Both photos are taken by Slawik Equine Photography.

Now, since my going to BF was a certainty only six days before BF, this was a very fast paintjob! If Gajraj had been anything more than a straight, non-dappled black with a little chrome, it wouldn't have happened! It was doable though, & finished he still sports a paintjob that I am pleased with. BUT, I literally finished him in the wee hours of the morn on Friday, the day I was to head for KY. So, these are unfortunately not my best pictures. I had to get out of the house & on the road. He is actually a lovely rich brown-base black which I could not get to pick up on my camera. He is especially pretty in the sunlight when you can see his shading & highlighting.

He has my hair-by-hair mapping on his white, deep multi toned eyes, & the details of his natural hooves were the last thing to be done, & I wasn't willing to shirk them.
We arrived at BF in the early afternoon on Fri, I picked up SRs for a friend in exchange for our tickets (I just don't do OFs, so I didn't want the SR ticket anyway), & went over to Maggie Bennett's booth. That was the majority of BF for Fri since we had to leave for the cabin we had reserved before going to the CHIN that evening. But Saturday! Saturday I was DEFINITELY seeing Ms. Kelly's seminar on the Marwari horses at noon!!
Saturday morning Dad & I headed to the KHP a bit earlier than needed since I wanted to be absolutely SURE of finding where she would be talking. If you have ever been to BF, than you know that no one knows where anything is at BF, not even the BF information booth!
Turns out that it wasn't a problem, it really was in the Visitor's Center of the KHP & we found the room, a small theatre of sorts, right off the bat. We had about an hour give or take to kill before noon, so we looked at the dioramas, & then set on a comfy couch in the Visitor's Center & people watched.
About ten minutes before the set time, we went in & got good seats; I wanted to video her talk. As we were sitting there, a few people bustled in & out from the stage, & then the lady of the hour came in with granddaughter in tow. Along the other side of the seats another person I had not expected to see also came in: Bonnie Singh had come from Rajasthan for BF!!!! Not only that, but their top rider from Dundlod Fort, Dalip Kilaniya, had come as well!
Ms. Kelly started her talk, & I did indeed record it, with all my pathetic video camera skill! Evidentially my camera has a time limit set on it at the moment which I did not know of. Right then was not the time to hunt around for a way to change it, so I just recorded it in four parts, starting it up again as soon as it stopped. Not much was missed!
Here is her talk:

After she was finished & as soon as I could get though the people, I waited to catch her & Bonnie's attention. When she notice me standing there we shook hands & I said how long I have studied Marwari & have followed her & Bonnie's endeavors to save the breed. That I appreciate how much they both have done for these horses, & that I wanted to present them with a gift if they had the time (there was another talk coming in soon). As I unwrapped the Sundara she continued talking with the little crowd gathered around them. I freed the Sundara from his bag & old tee shirt (my typical travel packing) & Bonnie got Ms. Kelly's attention. I handed him to her & she seemed flattered to receive him. As she turned him over she realized who he was & said "It's Gajraj!!", that he had passed away a few years ago, & that my portrait of him is spot on. The gift brought a tear to her eye & she gave me a hug! As Bonnie recorded this, she turned to the remaining crowd & said that "this lady has just given me a portrait of my late stallion!" :)
We had to get out of the way for the next speaker, so we went out into the Visitor's Center. She wanted a picture so she found a more picturesque area & as Bonnie took some pictures, I had Dad take a couple on for me too.

It was certainly a special moment in my life!
I asked all three of them to sign my Nazruddin (pronounce naz-roo-DEEN), & we all exchanged business cards. Ms. Kelly is interested in some Sundaras & CM painted Kalahkaaris to benefit the Indigenous Horse Society of India! & Bonnie invited me to Dundlod Fort for a horse safari! (Someone please beam me there!!!)

I don't think anyone can imagine how much this moment meant to me! It was an honor to meet both Ms. Kelly & Bonnie Singh in person!

...Saturday was a really, REALLY, GOOD day!!!

More to come! So check back!!

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BF Recount, Part One: The BF Best CM Contest!

7/16/2017

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Hi ho all! I'm sure it will be obvious just by the look & length of this post, but I am home from BF! I have tons to share, so I am going to break this up into several posts over the next week or so. Of course I am going to start with the biggest news of all of it: the Best CM Contest!
If you've read the previous post, you already know that I won my divisiom with my CM G2 Shetland to palomino Shet mare named "SWF 101 Lbs. Of Fun" aka Honey!
Honey rode down to Lexington with nearby friends since I was not going to make it down until Friday & she needed to be at the Artisan's Gallery on Thursday. She was safely set up by my friend Kati, with help from my friend Chunk as I understand it (I'm sure Chesna was in on it too), thank you guys!
We, my Dad & I, were able to leave for KY earlier than I thought on Fri, so we spent several hours at the KHP before going to the CHIN (the hotel where the contest was held for those who do not know). I room saled for a few hours until the AG opened when of course we went over there to see the contestants & me wiwdle poneh!
Here they are:

The Theme division, "Good Things In Small Packages", PP to MM scales (mini scales). Obviously, I was the winner. :)

Drastic CM Division. 'Toady' the huge 8lb Wixom Shetland by Studio Thornrose took top honors here & I am so happy about that!!!

Repaint division. Mel Miller's Clyde won this div!

Fantasy Division. OMGosh! SO cool! In the words of his creator Gretchen Glover: "It's a Chinese Qilin. Close to a Kirin, but with the option of having more than one horn." He won the fantasy division & I was rooting for him! He was AMAZINGLY detailed!

Performance division. The Pony Express swept up the prize for perf! Lauren Hoffer is his creator! I was standing right next to her when she won & had been chit-chatting with her before that!

Here is a ridiculously blurry video of the entrants. ...I really need to learn how to use the video on my camera better. :/

Saturday was the fateful day! Judging was to be in the evening sometime with awards presented at 9:30 pm. I got to the CHIN at about 6 & popped my head into the AG room (which was not open yet) to ask if I may remove the cube from my entry for the judging, so I was let in when no one was in there!!! That is when I took the above vid, when no one was around! After that... I room saled!
I came back at some point a couple times to see what was doing; I REALLY did not want to miss the judging & awards!!! I wound up coming back at 9, & shortly after witnessed Sommer Prosser, Morgan Kilbourn, & one other lady who I did not recognize, judge the entries! Not too long after the participation ribbons were laid out & the atmosphere was tense with anticipation!! The announcement was near & the crowed was waiting!!
& waiting.
...& waiting.
...& WAITING.

It turns out that they, Breyer, had misplaced the prize models & one of the rosettes!!! OMGosh! It was so awful that it was funny! The poor gentleman behind the table made the announcement regarding the delay starting with "Please don't kill me"! Thankfully the crowd was a genial lot & we were all ok with this latest screw up of Breyer's!
At long last, at nearly 11pm, they arrived with the prize models & Stephanie Macejko made the big announcements!
I had wanted to video the whole thing, but my battery was flashing at me, so I only took a vid of the Theme class, below:

I had a few friends in the crowed, could you tell?? :)
Chunk took this great pic of me with Honey & her wins:

& of course I had to take victory shots!!!

I'm kind of disappointed that my pics weren't better. I was so out of it by that time at night! Having been up since six, hiking around the KHP all day & the CHIN all evening, standing for two hours waiting for them to announce the winners, which they did at just short of 11! I suppose it was good that I could still work my camera at all at that point! :P

But! It was a good night!
I have teased a few folks, asking if they could figure out the song that Honey is named after. No one has guessed yet! It is this old show tune, & I thought it fit her quite well!
Welp, I will leave you here! I will get some pics of Masala at some point, & of course there is still loads to tell you! More posts to come!!

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I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7/16/2017

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Wish You Were Here

7/15/2017

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I'm having a great time, getting some good loot, meeting some cool folk, and saying hi to Honey!
I got to see her competition and the other competitors as well. Pics below!

Ok, this is taking forever from the fire so I'm leaving it at that. I will post all of them when I get home and can do it from my laptop! Wish her luck! She is judged tonight!

Hi Mom!

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Testing...

7/13/2017

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Testing to see if I can take and post pics from my Fire. If I can I will try to post a few things while I'm in KY.

Well, it LOOKS like it should work... As long as I can get into my site (I have complicated passwords) and can get wi-fi, I think you will get some updates! They may be full of typos because it's a misery typing on this thing (and it has frazzling spell check!), but it's better than nothing right? There will be no post alert emails sent though, so just keep checking!
Honey's big weekend starts tonight!! She is already all "safe and sound and set up" at the AG at the CHIN!!
Post soon! ...Hopefully!!

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Bon Voyage!

7/11/2017

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Exciting doings here! All revolving around BF!
On Friday I ventured out to craft stores in search of a clear display cube for Honey during the Best CM Contest. I got the green light from Breyer to use one if I provided it, which I certainly will to at least slow down any unscrupulous visitors to the AG from palming her & walking off. I finally found the perfect one at Hobby Lobby (my all time favorite craft store!). It is for displaying a signed soft ball, but works perfectly for displaying a small pony too! Add a little mirror to the base & it winds up looking quite professional I think!

I also picked up a craft wood trinket box for her to travel in style. I stained it & lined it with foam; wrap her in some fleece & she now literally can withstand being dropped. ...No really, thanks to a friend we have proven that! :P

On Sunday Honey & her accessories were packed into a cardboard box & handed off to my friends Chesna & Chunk to ride down to Lexington on Wednesday. So her journey has technically begun! Once down in Lex, she will be handed off to my friend Kati who will be the one to put her on the table.
I'm so wired about this! I have never picked at or fretted over any entry of any kind as much as this little pony!
& now for some really exciting news: as it turns out, I WILL be able to go down to BF! Not for the whole weekend, but just in time to watch the awards! My Dad actually offered to go down with me, so we are heading for KY on Friday, spending Saturday, & heading home sometime Sunday. I am so excited to be there to watch Honey compete & to meet Francesca Kelly, ambassador of the Marwari breed!
If you see a nutcase wandering around in a well decorated floppy hat &, at the CHIN, most likely carrying around a handful of horses & a for sale sign, that will probably be me! Feel free to stop me & say hey! :)

I will sign off here & leave you with a baby Wood Frog. These little guys have popped up within the past few days & they are adorable! The young'uns are so tiny!

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BF Best CMs Contest Or Bust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7/5/2017

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I have anxiously been hoping to see an email from Breyer land in my inbox. Hoping, but not really holding my breath: surly there are going to be some great entries after all?
BUT just a couple hours ago, it happened!

"RE: BreyerFest Best Custom Contest Submission - Finalist"
"Dear Carissa,
Congratulations! You have been chosen as 1 of the 3 finalists in the Theme Class."
"I look forward to hearing from you.
June"

JUMP FOR JOY!!!!! 'Honey' is going to BF!!

I can't believe it! 'Honey' did it!!!
I am not lucky enough to go to BF this year (now I REALLY want to go!), so she is going to be relayed down with friends who will make sure she gets where she's supposed to be & has a safe trip.
If you go to the Artisan's Gallery at the CHIN, please stop by & say hey to SWF 101 Lbs. Of Fun! Take a pic & show me! Maybe I'll put it on my site! :)

...Good things must happen when I buy tickets to the Ohio Light Opera's production of "The Music Man"; I just bought tickets to go see it for a third time. ;)

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BF Recount, Part Four: Famous Faces

BF Recount, Part Three: LOOT!

BF Recount, Part Two: A Privileged Encounter, Times Two!

BF Recount, Part One: The BF Best CM Contest!

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wish You Were Here

Testing...

Bon Voyage!

BF Best CMs Contest Or Bust!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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