Little girls, for some reason, are always nuts for horses. I don't think I've ever encountered one that hasn't at one point gone through a little period of horse love. And not just country girls, although they have it bad. My daughter is no exception. This year, for her birthday, she wanted a Breyer horse and a diary that locked. (More on the diary, later...) She's given up asking for a REAL horse for every birthday, Christmas, Groundhog's Day, etc. and resorted to the model horses.
In the box, there was a nifty "magazine"/catalog about Breyer horse models, designed to encourage the collecting and appreciation of the figurines. Things like which models are most desirable to own, books and model sets, and how to take your model horse to a horse show and win.
I had to come to a screeching halt when I read about the model horse shows.
This is where the "crazy" part comes in.
Let me share an excerpt from the magazine:
Did you know that you can compete in judged competitions with your model horses, in many of the same ways people compete with their real horse?
Model horses compete in "halter" and "performance" divisions. The halter classes have a separate division and classes for each horse breed (and sometimes color classes).
How do you judge 50 Breyer Arabians, when several copies of the same model/color may be in the class? It comes back to those subtle differences in painting and finish quality. A judge may note that one bay Arabian is darker and more richly shaded than the others and give that the edge.
I mean to tell you, folks; this is SERIOUS.
It gets better.
More from the magazine:
Performance showing (and I wondered how this was possible) is possibly the most interesting, fun and interactive part of model horse showing. This is where you can put all those wonderful Breyer tack and accessory items you've been gathering to the test!
Shows are typically divided into English, Western and Other performance; each division has classes in each type of event you'd see at a horse show. You bring your model to the table when the class is called, with well-fitted tack and appropriate obstacles or props. The goal is to portray in miniature a "stop-motion" phase of the event. The judge will grade the class on accuracy, tack fit, proper placement/action and more.
I'm my father's daughter and I didn't know whether to be horrified or completely amused. Perhaps horrifically amused. Apparently, this is a big, honking deal across the U.S.! Now, I'm as competitive as the next girl about...well, everything...but I'm not sure I could show up at one of these shows with my little plastic horse and seriously get worked up about winning my division and class. And you KNOW there are adults there that are entering, trying to kick some little 10 year old's plastic horse around the block with their obviously superior, darker, more richly shaded plastic horse.
Sheesh.
And then, last night, I watched the movie "Secretariat".
What a GREAT movie!
If you have not seen it, I urge you to hustle on over to Netflix or your library and find a copy. I want to own it, and I only say that about maybe 10 movies in as many years. I don't know if it was the housewife, believing in a dream that came to fruition after blood, sweat and tears, or if it was the horse that really ran the Belmont in a time that has still been unmatched, or what, but it was very, very good. You don't even have to be crazy about horses to appreciate the story!
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