Virtual Brush Box

Travel, of a sort

 
Awareness of the outside world. Upside of a weekend away: virtual vacation. Downside of a weekend away: the alarming psychic thud of returning to the wider world.
~~~

Woo-Hoo! I’ve done BF! Spent the weekend (virtually) roaming Kentucky Horse Park. Plastic Ponies! People! Seminars! Shopping! Much fun was had!

Upside
All the joys of home.

Did they do a good job? Depends on your starting point. They could’ve canceled and said see ya next year. Instead, they completely retooled the event. In three months. During a pandemic. Bravo.

Videos. Awesome. The Tempel Lipizzan video went from foal zoomies to airs above the ground demos. Police horse and Breyer star Oliver took us on a ride-along. Massive KHP nostalgia. BreyerFest Blog: You might have heard about our Celebration Horse, Oliver? 2019.

Seminars, workshops, hobby how-tos. Breyer Horses began as a side gig. “It was a special order for the F.W. Woolworth Company, made to adorn a mantelpiece clock. Breyer was flooded with requests from people who wanted to know if they could purchase just the horse! With that first horse, the Breyer Molding Company had changed the focus of its business forever!” Breyer: Breyer History. The smaller sizes were introduced during the oil crisis in the 70s when price of plastic went up.

One demonstrator had a large LEGO model in background of the video. LEGO & horses. Will you be my new best friend?

The video on how-to photo show sadly told me nothing new. I say sadly because that means I need to get off my butt and take pix. No magic tricks; just practice.

People on various social media channels chatted up a storm. Sharing photos. Helping each other navigate around the multiple pages. Bitching during problems. I include this as a benefit because it was good to find out that ‘Yeah, it’s not your machine, it’s a known glitch. Patience, Grasshopper.’

Downside
All the distractions of home. Pitchforks. Dishes.

Lotsa time starting at a screen. Until we have fully immersible rigs, that’s the reality of virtual reality.

Did they do a good job? Depends on your starting point. Will it win awards for computer management? No. I won’t belabor the problems, mostly to do with shopping. If you were there, you know. If you weren’t there, you don’t care. My completely unsupported opinion is that the site was wildly more popular than anticipated and blew up under the load. Good news for me for next year. Shows demand for a virtual component. I didn’t have a heavy emotional investment in any particular model. It was easy for me to shrug and move on.

Some tours were less interesting. Please stop talking and step aside. I’m here to see your horse. This could be addressed with a longer development time and the ability for segment producers to travel.

This one is completely personal. I have a cat who goes bonkers when my phone talks. Attacks phone. Tries to drag it off. I had to sit outside.

My Side
Did I have fun? Absolutely. I had no plans to go. Anything was better than nothing.

I attended out of curiosity. Have always wondered. While I have not experienced a true BreyerFest, I can extrapolate. Start with Virtual BreyerFest. Combine with Dragon*Con. Mix with the hours spent stomping around the Kentucky Horse Park. Leaven with years among horse people. I can close my eyes and have a good sense of how BreyerFest would feel IRL. [Peregrinatio in Stabilitate]

Would I go? Still no. Not if it meant a special trip. Too many other things I’d rather do instead. If I were in town/at KHP, I’d wander by. [Happenings at the Horse Park, In Which I Live Virtually and Vicariously]

If they have a virtual component? Again, absolutely. Get myself a model or two. Watch a few videos. See what the model horse world has been up to. Then put down my phone and go ride a horse.

Four more posts, when they fit into the schedule or show up in the mail. That will make nine total. I’ve certainly gotten my money’s worth for the blog.

Model Horse posts [archives].

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Thoughts

Awareness of the outside world. As has been my habit lately, Mondays are about pondering the moment we all find ourselves in. All really means all this time. I wonder if this qualifies as the first truly global event.
~~~
Woo-Hoo! I’ve done BreyerFest! Spent the weekend (virtually) roaming Kentucky Horse Park. Plastic Ponies! People! Seminars! Shopping! Much fun was had!

Yeah.

But.

This never would have happened without a world-wide pandemic. I’m sure we would all prefer that I had stayed home and thousands of model horse fans had spent last weekend partying at KHP without me.

I’m interested in BreyerFest and model horses, clearly. However, it’s a low-key interest. A model here. A blog post there. I would not have taken the time and effort and expense to haul myself to Kentucky. Next time I drive through the gates of the Horse Park, I want to be hauling MY horse so that I can show MYSELF. Hear that universe? [7 Ways To Dodge Nostalgia, “Clearly, I am not as over this as I claim.” Dream Rides]

Ahem.

While I would not have rousted myself to a WorldCon, I am looking forward to participating in virtual CoNZealand that starts later this month.

Similarly the USDF annual convention in December has gone virtual and is free to members. I certainly plan on stopping by. [Ambushed By My Mailbox]

All manner of opportunities; at such a cost.

The world is on fire. Enjoying myself because folks are forced to go virtual feels as if I am using the flames to roast marshmallows.

A more positive take on the weekend tomorrow.

Stay safe. Stay sane,
Katherine Walcott

Celebrating Art

 
Awareness of the outside world. “That electric blue that all of us dream of pinning on our horses’ bridles.” Calling All Horse Girls: One In Six Hundred and Sixteen, by July Urschel. No, I’m chopping onions. Why do you ask?
~~~
Recent Additions. Thank you to Identify Your Breyer: for the model/mold data. Still have no plans for these, other than “Oooooh, pretty.” Bought back in December. I can’t blame cabin fever.

Lightning Ridge. Model #1817, mold #721. Desatado mold. “Desatado was introduced in 2012 … It was sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis.” Other links, Identify Your Breyer: Desatado. Other links, Model Horse Madness: Khalid, Lightning Ridge and the Seafoams are here!. Lightning Ridge Opals are from Lightning Ridge, Australia. Gem info International Gem Society: Australian Opals.

.

Bisbee. Model #1815, mold #736. “The Mustang Mare (also known as Forever Saige) was released in 2015 … It was sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis.” Identify Your Breyer: Mustang Mare. Other links, Model Horse Madness: Bisbee!, Model Horse Madness: Bisbee is (finally) here!, Breyer History Diva: Bisbee. Bisbee turquoise is from Bisbee, Arizona, USA. Town & gem show tour International Gem Society: Bisbee Mineral Show

As I have done every year since 2015, I bought the MEPSA result book as inspiration for my model horse photo showing. I know the chances of me actually getting around to organizing a photo shoot and entering a contest are vanishingly small. If I wanted to, I would have done so by now. I like to think it’s a possibility. Allow me my fantasies.

Plus a handful of Stablemates Mystery Horse Surprise Blind Bags & Mini Whinnies Surprise Packs to relieve the ennui of errands.

Research Notes for Rest of the Herd
Model refers to the paint job; mold is the underlying body. AFAIK

Fire. The only one I have managed to name. Chinese Year of the Horse. Breyer model #1715, mold #717. “The Esprit mold was designed specifically for the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG). It was sculpted by Kathleen Moody.” Identify Your Breyer: Espirit. [Shopping: My First Model]

Illumination. Breyer model #1799, mold #1279. “Nokota was introduced in 2007. The mold name refers to a feral and semi-feral breed of horse native to the North Dakota badlands. It was sculpted by Kathleen Moody.” Identify Your Breyer: Nokota. [Low Key Photo Challenge: Toys]

Winter Wonderland – The 2017 Holiday Horse. Model #700120, mold #725. “The Totilas mold was introduced in 2013 and is a portrait model of Dutch Warmblood dressage superstar Totilas. The mold was sculpted by Brigitte Eberl.” Identify Your Breyer: Totilas. [Speaking of Shopping Sprees, My Latest Breyer Purchases]. Second photo from Breyer site.

Sam. Model #, mold #476. “The Cigar mold was introduced in 1998 and is a portrait model of 1995 Horse of the Year Thoroughbred racehorse Cigar. It was sculpted by Susan Carlton Sifton.” Identify Your Breyer: Cigar. [Foto Friday: A Suitable Subject]

Frankel, left. Model #1712, mold #586. “Smarty Jones was introduced in 2004 and is a portrait model of 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones. The mold was sculpted by Susan Carlton Sifton.” Identify Your Breyer: Smarty Jones. [Shopping Bonanza]

Harley D Zip, right. Model #1718, mold #728. “The Loping Quarter Horse, also known as Latigo, was introduced in 2013 … It was sculpted by Sommer Prosser.” Identify Your Breyer: Latigo [Shopping Bonanza]

Peppermint Kiss. Model #700118, mold #728. “The Gem Twist mold was introduced in 1993 and is a portrait model of Olympic and World Champion show jumper Gem Twist … The model was sculpted by Kathleen Moody. Identify Your Breyer: Gem Twist [Shopping Bonanza]

Artist Links
Susan Carlton Sifton: Sam, Frankel
Sommer Prosser: Harley D Zip
Model Horse Gallery: Kathleen Moody: Fire, Illumination, Peppermint Kiss
Kristina Lucas Francis: Lightning Ridge, Bisbee
Brigitte Eberl: Winter Wonderland

Post Archive
[Model Horses]

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Welcome Meg! [Archives]
Meg McKinney, Photographer
[We – The Unicorns … Arrive]
[We – The Unicorns … Go On A Road Trip]
~~~

We – The Unicorns … Bring their magic, to the Magic City

Story and Photographs by Meg McKinney

Until now, we’ve only seen our visiting unicorns in daylight. But they go out at night, seeking adventures, and make discoveries in our world.

One recent evening, Twinkle, with her brilliant pink coloring glowing brightly, encouraged the herd to visit downtown Birmingham, Alabama, a.k.a. the Magic City.

“Let’s go! We must make the most of our time here. There’s so much to see. Maybe we’ll make new friends,” Twinkle said, breathlessly, while shaking her product-enhanced mane and tail.

Mystic took the lead, naturally, directing the group towards the city’s lights, avoiding traffic jams, and gawkers, altogether.

With their unearthly powers, they transformed Morris Avenue’s red brick, cobblestone pavement, into a purple carpet, as their hooves touched down. The buildings – former livery stables and boarding houses – faded into the shadows.

While the unicorns’ colors and glittery speckles were enhanced by the street lights, they didn’t pay attention to the street’s transformation. Unicorns are used to magic.

Seeing a sliver of a rainbow in the east, as the sun was setting in the west, as a good omen, they cantered to the Alabama Theater, on Third Avenue North. Theater lights were blazing.

“Oh, they’re showing films tonight!” Twinkle said, and trotted in place, hoping to attract a Hollywood talent agent. Starlight and Mystic stayed close to her, not wanting to attract agents of any kind.

To Twinkle’s disappointment, no agent materialized.

Melody, herd coordinator for all things practical, sniffed the air, and detected freshly popped popcorn. She spied food trucks down the street from the theater.

“Nothing here for us to eat,” she sighed, “only provisions for people. And, Birmingham doesn’t have water troughs for horses, any more.”

The dark purple unicorn mare thought longingly of their guest stables, where the herd’s daily menu consisted of delicious oats drizzled with pomegranate molasses, first-cut alfalfa hay, and fresh spring water.

Not having been to an historic theater before, the unicorns walked inside the Alabama Theater’s lobby, and looked around. Theater-goers were intently networking among themselves, so the unicorns went unnoticed.

A few notes from the Mighty Wurlitzer organ reached the lobby. The unicorns had to see what created this music, and they went inside the theater itself.

The grandeur of the theater left them speechless. It was beyond anything they’d seen before.

They returned outside, and toured more of Birmingham.

Mystic sensed brighter colors for the herd to enjoy, and followed traffic to the 18th Street tunnel. The changing LED light display entranced the unicorns, as traffic streaked past them.

Starlight, head of the unicorns’ security detail, with her no-nonsense blue coloring, thought they should stay there until dawn. The unicorns coloring matched the tunnel’s light show. She felt secure.

But, after several cycles of the light show, Melody, Mystic, and Twinkle wanted to see more of the Magic City.

They trotted for a few blocks, and saw very tall buildings.

“These are called skyscrapers,” Mystic announced, as they looked to the sky.

Melody asked, “I wonder what skyscrapers are for? I don’t see any paddocks, and the windows look too small let in sunlight.”

Mystic was hoping to see the tunnel lights one more time, but the other unicorns decided it was time to return to their guest stables. They were thinking of a late night buffet with oats and hay.

The big surprise, to us mortals, is that no one noticed the unicorns, or, at least, reported seeing them, in our midst.

Unicorns have their own magic, for travelling in the Magic City.
~~~

Photographing toy unicorn models is a welcome challenge presented by “Virtual Brush Box,” during the pandemic of 2020.

For this edition, I photographed them in my kitchen, with a back light, projected through a soft-light reflector. My camera is resting on household items, to get closer focus on the unicorns. I photo-shopped the unicorns into my own Birmingham photographs.

The opportunity to create a fictional story — a complete diversion from photojournalism and corporate photography –- is new territory.

Follow “We – The Unicorns…” as they let me know when, and where, they roam.

Unicorn Stablemates created by Breyer Animal Creations.

Meg McKinney

Travel, of a sort

 

Awareness of the outside world. Beneficiaries – BreyerFest 2020.
~~~

Today is the first day of Celtic Fling, Virtual BreyerFest 2020. I’m not completely sure how everything is organized. That’s okay, no one else knows either. Breyer has been around for 70 years. BreyferFest for 31. This is the first virtual. This is my first BreyerFest of any kind. Time at BreyerFest 2020 will be time spent staring at a screen, either watching events or shopping.

Things to Look At
Guest Horses
Seminars
Workshops
Model Horse Photo Show, update
Best Customs Contest, photos Braymere Custom Saddlery: BCC finishwork entries
Diorama Contest, photos Braymere Custom Saddlery: BreyerFest Diorama Contest entries, part one, four parts.
Live Auction
Silent Auction
Artisan’s Gallery, update
Vendors
Equus Film Festival

Of course, some of these could make the leap from “look” to “buy” if I am struck coup de foudre by an artist’s resin. I don’t think it’s likely. This is not a high expense-risk event for me. Okay, I will admit to one, tiny grail model that might be hanging out in a vendor’s barn, Herald-Leader: Breyer adds ‘Big Lex’ to its stable, Staff report, 2010. We’ll see. Really, my shopping list is long enough as it is.

Things To Buy
Commemorative Model. Comes with my ticket.

Special Run Models. IRL, one gets a ticket for a certain time. Enters the Special Run sales tent. Is allowed to buy two models from available stock. To recreate this exercise in enforced scarcity, we submitted a list of preferences in order. At the appointed time, I will be offered two models based on my list and what is available. My top choice was the decorator model Boudicca. I assume I will get this because decorators are not a fan favorite. I also chose the surprise. I don’t have a strong preference among the rest, I’ll take whatever they give me. Needless to say, I’m very much a tourist in the hobby.

Limited Editions. Have my eye on the shiny green stablemate, Éire. Not sure if this is limited or unlimited. I only want one, so I should be fine. Okay, maybe two. They’re small.

Regular Run. All the normal Breyer products will be on sale as well, I assume. Expert advice says yes. This one is pretty. Lipizzan Mare & Foal, Favory Airiella Gift Set.

Probably a few other things that will leap into my cart when I’m not looking.

Raffle. They have three. Tickets are free, but I have to remember to enter. Update.

All the loot bought from Breyer will be held until after the event, combined into one order, and sent with free shipping. Nice.

Things To Do
The exception to all of this screen time is the Gaelic Gallop on Sunday morning. I signed up for this back in January, when life was still normal. Remember those days?

May walk in the pasture. May do multiple laps of a pocket park near me.

More Links
Celtic Fling nail art from eternalequestrian on Instagram.

BreyerFest posts from the miniature artist who blogs – not often enough – as Desktop Stables, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014 II, 2014 I. Their work is amazing.

[VBB Model Horse Post Archive]

Meanwhile, Elsewhere in KHP

Over in the Rolex Arena, the Saddlebreds are showing IRL at the Lexington Junior League Horse Show. To my mind, gathering hundreds of horses from 30 states is not the best choice of activity in the middle of a pandemic, but no one has appointed me dictator of the world. Having made the decision to go ahead, KHP/LJL have done what they can. Here’s what I saw via the livestream on Monday.

Judges, ringmaster, etc. wore masks.

Much messaging, both on the video crawl and by the announcer, on masks & social distance.

I think I glimpsed a mask with the horse show logo. Handed out by show? No, sold as a fundraiser.

Victory pass but no presentation shot.

Blue ribbon handed out in the ring. Rest of the ribbons given outside of the ring.

No post-ride interview.

Ring took up half of the Rolex arena. Other half used for warm-up. Lots of space. Rolex arena is huge. Lots of room for warm-up and entry. Exit lane may have been a little tight, but most people hustle right on out of there.

No crowding along the rail.

No spectators allowed. Lots of space in seating. People were seated far apart, in clumps. I assume those are the ones they came with and already have each other’s germs.

Judging from the still photos from the official photographer, the rails look to have gotten more crowded as the week went on. Still, many masks.

Mitigating the creep factor. I wasn’t stalking Reagan as much as Stepping Stone Farm in general. The day that I livestreamed, Reagan was the only adult showing, so she represented. After that, I refuse to admit how many times I checked the schedule & results at HorseShowsOnline: LJLHS 2020 or surfed the photos at Howard Schatzberg Photography: Lexington Jr. League.

As you can see, I’m still guilty of living other people’s lives instead of my own, a little bit. That’s why I limited myself to one day of livestream. It was tempting to get the whole week. Not a good use of time since I end up watching all the sessions, because they’re paid for. Turns out, you can learn a lot from close examination of show proofs.

SSF has one more class this morning & then heading home. Safe travels.

Stay safe. Stay sane,
Katherine Walcott

Fit To Ride

 
Awareness of the outside world. World Toilet Organization.
~~~

5K at home
Sunday, June 14, 2020
Pasture
Time – 1:05:37
Pace, clock – 21:11 min/mile
Pace, calculated – 2.9 mph

Medal from Virtual Strides. No real-world location associated with this walk. Virtual Strides: Gotta Go.

The Plan
Walked the day before. One of the bikes needed a farrier. No biking. Figured I see how I did with two walks in one weekend. Originally planned to do this in a local park for variety. However, this was the day after l’affaire cat food. I was not up for dealing with people. Pasture here I come. [Flying Pig Saturday, Putting The Outside World In Time Out]

The Possibility
Can I do this in one hour? Can I mosey peacefully 15% faster? You’d think so. I did the first two IRL in 54 & 56 minutes. Same distance, right?

Ha.

Terrain. Off road. Not to mention the distraction of wandering into the barn to check on, feed, pat horses.

The Problem
To average a 20-ish minute pace, or just over 3 mph, one has to occasionally go faster to make up for times when one goes slower. In addition to the above mentioned horses, pasture distractions include patting the dog who has come out for a visit and removing a vine you almost tripped over.

After all that stomping, I wasn’t even close. I guess I’ll go back to my turtle pace. What I got to rush off for?

[Walk Archives]

Do you walk, run, exercise for the pure joy of it, or do you need bling/ribbons to keep you motivated? Tell me I’m not alone.

Update. Virtual race benefits Girls with Guts, “The mission of Girls With Guts is to support and empower women with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease & ulcerative colitis) and/or ostomies through the building of sisterhood and self-esteem.” ibid.

Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine Walcott

Horsekeeping

Lucky enough to have a horse.

 
Awareness of the outside world (& friend brag). Photo guru Meg McKinney was hired to take the photos of the Montgomery mural in this article, Alabama News Center: Black Lives Matter murals paint Alabama in a different light this 4th of July. More on the mural, AL.com: Montgomery slave market site bears ‘Black Lives Matter’ mural. [Archives]
~~~
In the process of switching Milton to the senior feed that Rodney is on. Switch is official, just feeding out the last bag, which of course takes longer and longer as you feed less and less of the old feed. Zeno’s feed scoop.

Rodney’s feed. ProElite Senior.

Milton’s old feed. ProElite Performance.

The more I fed, the more I wondered why we bothered with two bags. Looked awfully similar to me.

Bag comparison:
Adds alfalfa
Beet pulp, 17% -> 16%, close enough
Protein, 12% -> 14%, not crazy about this but his dinner scoop is small
Less fat*
No oats

Don’t see any deal breakers. Single bag it is. Let’s see how long that lasts. One way or another we always seem to end up back with separate bags. *Side note, Previous Horse & Matilda got veg oil as supplement for years. Did great. These two not so much. Weird.

The rest of dinner is the same, mostly:

Cosequin for both

Cimetidine for Milton [Annoying Shortages]

Sand-Aid, although haven’t feed in a while. Keeping boats unrocked.

Treat. Not shopping as often = less fresh fruit. I’ve gotten out of the habit of a tossing in an apple or carrot. Don’t worry, they get plenty of carrots & cookies from the cookie dispensary. (Not me, I’m the buzzkill. I insist on work for treats.)

[What’s In The Feed Scoop, Winter 2020]

Stay safe. Stay sane,
Katherine Walcott