Sweet Onion Live: Halter

(This post is basically just a place I've dumped the halter pics I snapped throughout the day. No organization was attempted. At all.)

In halter, I mostly show OF Breyers. There's a few reasons for this, some better than others.

I started showing/hobbying at a young age, when Breyers are all you know and you worship them. I built a pretty decent collection, and took good care of them, and went to my first live show at the ripe old age of twelve.

From then on, I was hooked.

I continued to build my OF collection, mostly because that's what I'd always done, but also because I had my little eye on the big leagues: Breyerfest.

Breyerfest to a twelve-year-old model horse-crazy girl is just about as good as life gets. I researched the Children/Youth show, and was convinced that one day, I'd go.

I was fourteen when I first made it out to Lexington, and fifteen when I returned, fully hooked and committed to my OF show string.

It's not that customs and resins never interested me (they did/do, very much so), but as a kid I realized that the CM and AR divisions are something of a money game. Maybe this is pessimistic, and I know there are exceptions, but for the most part to succeed in those divisions you either have to work to hone your skills and create your own horses, or have the money to pay for winners.

I didn't have that kind of money, that level of skill, or an interest in working to obtain that level of skill- so OF's it was.

At this point, I'm focusing on my tack and performance. My halter horses are really just to pad my day and get the most out of the show; they aren't my top priority or interest.

Showing OF's is easy, and there's a pretty reliable standard. I've always liked the fact that you could go out and buy a $4 Stablemate and it could win a rosette- this isn't a high cash game.

I'm at a point now where I want, and could possibly afford, nice customs or resins, but I don't know. I think it could be easy for me to have high expectations tacked onto an expensive horse, consciously or unconsciously, and a rags-to-riches story is always better than riches-to-rags.

Of course, how well a horse shows is only one factor in wanting it. I am a firm believer in "collect what you love, show what you collect."

And I love me a shiny new Breyer.

So I think for now I'm content with drooling over other people's CM's and AR's at shows...

...and maintaining my own little collection on the side.

You may now enjoy the rest of the pony pics uninterrupted.

!!!!!

 My Sweet Onion halter crew did really well; we came home with two division Reserve Champions and a total of seven breed cards.

All in all, Sweet Onion Live is a fabulous show that I've thoroughly enjoyed both times I've been. Awesome people, awesome judges, awesome day. Thank you to everyone who made this show happen, and I'm sure I'll be back next year!

Some unrelated update-y stuff:

• Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll; it looks like you guys want to see more western sales pieces! Your wish is my command; the roping set I started for Seabiscuit will be up for sale once I finish it up. Because that really only needs final touches (and boots), I'm also going to whip up a basic hunter, "cover all your classes" English sale set at some point this month. I'm sure you'll see it here extensively before it's listed for sale.
• There is a new poll up for people who show minis in performance (or would like to), about how frequently you tack and untack your horses. I've been noodling on offering more permanently attached sets, like the cavalry one, in the future... I realize that tacking up at this scale can be extremely frustrating and challenging, and it could be easier to just have a pre-tacked horse designated for performance, no fiddling required. Is there an interest in that kind of thing?