Breyer FunDay

Many Thanks to Kate at Equishop, Salisbury for inviting the BECF to once again attend the Breyer Funday.

Sadly I don't think there was as many folks attend the day as in previous years, but those that did attend looked be having a good time, there were one or two big sales made (nope - not by me lol) and there were a couple of very keen new younger collectors who came and talked to us for a long time, took loads of information home and are wanting more ... which is great :-)

A couple of the parents were pleased to speak to us too as they now know their kids are not 'mad' and it's a perfectly 'normal' hobby to be involved in - they said it made a change for their children to be able to talk to someone who knew what they were talking about, and could answer the questions they asked! lol

One parent was very interested about the CMing side of the hobby as he's a collector of model of Pickford lorries (250+ at the last count), he also paints remote controlled cars and makes lots of kit models so we had a long conversation about paint, milliput and super glueing fingers together ... lol

Sadly there was not a huge range of Breyers for sale, with some of the newer ones not available, which was a disappointment.

I had the honour of being asked to judge the SM Painting Competition this year, which was a hard job as there were some lovely entries, especially from those under 5's ... we have some wonderful young artists out there :-)

I also had a nice long chat with one of the Reps from TT (sorry I've forgotten her name) - she is very keen to learn more about the hobby, and was sorry that TT don't know as much about Breyer as we collectors do ... she did think it was funny that I knew more about the new upcoming Models than she did, and I had got my JAH before TT had ... so they all had a good look at it to find out what was going on! lol

There is news on the Breyer UK website. It turns out TT had/has no imput or control on the British Breyer site ... it was/is all done from Breyer USA ... and they are/were as annoyed as the rest of us that it was so out of date!

However when the new Breyer USA website is launched, later this month, there *should* be a British section ... and British collectors will AT LAST be able to order from the Breyer USA website which will include the SR and Ltd Ed models. The Breyer UK website is currently a 'homepage' only while the change over happens ...

I also found out that that day a new shipment of Breyers were landing in Felixstowe (I think it was) ... they come into the county via ship, sometimes from the USA or straight from China, and they only ship in full containers, so that is why sometimes items are late in as they have to wait to get a full container before it is shipped.

TT have been invited to and will be attending the Utterly Horses Hullabaloo next year ... and are very excited to meet members of the hobby and to see what we do ... more details about this nearer the time ;-)

We've been invited back to Equishop again next year ... hope to see you there? :-)

Jackie

BECF CO

British A-Z Makes Guide

The British Equine Collectors' Forum is please to announce that the British A-Z Makes Guide is now complete :-D

The list of British companies, makes and sculptors currently stands at over 520!!!

The BECF would like to say a HUGE Thank you to Pam Wakelam for researching, organising and writing this amazing list.

We are now looking for pictures to accompany this guide. Please do contact us if you have a photo we would be able to use on the site.

Also if you have any information that you think we could use - please do contact us!

Enjoy!

New Year Fun Live!

The New Year Fun Live is not like any other live show, and I was lucky enough to attend this year (Jan 2011). The Show is held at Rothersthorpe, which meant a 2 ½ hour car journey, we left just after 8am as this show has not got so many classes it starts later and finishes earlier than most shows. But it still meant getting up at 6am …!!!

With the car loaded up we started off, unfortunately it wasn’t a smooth journey as due to a very hard frost overnight and a lack of gritted roads there were many accidents we came across along the way which slowed our journey.

We pulled into the car park at around 11am (much later than we wanted too) only to find the show hadn’t started yet – this was due to many others having delayed journeys due to weather related accidents on the way, and unfortunately Marian, the host of the show, was unwell and couldn’t attend but thanks to the wonderful Catherine and Amanda who very kindly took over the show at the last minute the show still went ahead.

The NYFL, as I said before, is not a ‘normal’ live show, it’s more of a chance to get together and have some seasonal fun. Classes included ‘Seasonal Scene’, ‘Look what Santa brought me!’ and Worst CM by Owner.

At Lunch time the Mini Show Jumping proved very popular and many tried for a clear round, sadly my horse & rider got the prize for knocking down the most jumps and causing the most damage.

There were also quite a large number of Dr Who figures in attendance too… lol

Much fun was had by all, and all that’s left to say is a Huge Thank you to Marian for organising the show, Catherine and Smurf for running the show on the day and to Amanda for a wonderful Buffet Lunch.

See you all next year!

Jackie Radwanski

Pictures by J Radwanski

More Pictures can be seen here: http://community.webshots.com/user/whitestonesuk

Want to go to a Live Show?

The Diary Page on the BECF website has been updated with all the live shows scheduled during 2011.

LEMS Live Championship Show 2010

There is plenty of info on the website about entering live model horse shows but if you have any questions, please let the team know via the Contact Form on the website.

Breyer Hobby Day 2010

The BECF attended a Breyer Hobby Day in October 2010 held at the Equishop in Salisbury. The stand was set up by the BECF Co-ordinator Jackie Radwanski, and other hobbyists were present including Heather Irvine who did an oil painting demonstration. Enjoy some pictures from the day below:

BECF update!

First of all, Season's Greetings and many apologies for the sparseness of posts during the last few months.

The BECF is currently working hard 'behind the scenes' to bring you, the British Model Horse Collector, the best 'one-stop' model horse information site we can. Over the past couple of months we are please to say so far we have; Updated the BECF website: •Updated the BECF Committee and BECF Reps Information. BECF Committee Email addresses added so direct contact can be made when required. •BECF Link page updated with a Brand New Look and New Links! •New photos added ... more to come! •BECF Membership Joining Form updated. •New Information Pages added: List of UK Manufactures and Supplies & Mending Broken Breyer legs. •Information updated/added to on several pages as well as a new look for some. •List of 2011 Live shows and contact information. •The BECF Prefix Registry is back! See website for more details. •The 'BECF Newcomers Welcome Pack' has been updated, so if you're a Newcomer and have not yet requested a 'BECF Newcomers Welcome Pack' please see the website for more details – The BECF Welcome Pack is Free! (via email) Other BECF News: •BECF Newcomers Show. Sadly the one that was planned for this year had to be cancelled, we are hoping to hold the Newcomers Live in 2011 – keep watch on the website for further details! •BECF Blog The BECF Blog is going well. The BECF try and add information as regularly as we can so if you've not joined please do for all the latest BECF news. •The BECF Performance Guide and BECF Breed Guide are nearing completion, we are hoping at add chapters on Conformation, colour and gaits to the guides, as well as basic judging criteria. We are still looking for photographs for these guides and a list of those needed can be found on the BECF website. •BECF Photo shows – we are hoping to start the Photo shows again very shortly, as well as a series of Online Photo shows too. New items in the pipeline; •An 'A-Z' list of UK models for the website •UK Hobby History for the website •Dolls Clothes Patterns for the website Thank you all very much for all your help and support. And don't forget to check the website – we are always looking for feedback or items for the website, so please do contact us if you have any questions or queries. Happy Collecting! Jackie Radwanski BECF Co-Ordinator

Dartmoor Live Show Report

Kelly Savage very kindly wrote up this wonderful show report for the blog!

The Dartmoor Live Show was organised by Lauren Islip and held at the Bridestowe Village Hall in Bridestow, Devon, on the North-East border of the Dartmoor National Park on 26th June 2010. This, with the promise of a Cream Tea and Cornish Pasty for lunch made me decide to book a couple of days off work and made a relaxed long weekend of this show! My weekend began on Thursday, I had a few hours of overtime owed so took off home early and got packing. It took me 2 hours to pack up my models, and a further 2 hours to pack my suitcase! My parents live in Birmingham so I stopped over with them Thursday night to break up the 250+ mile trip from Northampton down to Devon. Friday morning I set off on my travels, my trusty Garmin Sat-Nav reassuring me that yes, I should be heading South on the M5! The traffic was quite busy and my trip was interrupted by both a broken down car, and a car-fire in the first 15 miles! So, when the sat-nav told me to turn off I wasn't too surprised. After a while though I was beginning to get a bit nervous, should I really be heading along the A38 for this long? Well, just as I was beginning to worry I passed a field with the most beautiful Clydesdale group in it. I twirled around the nearest roundabout and parked up to take a closer look. The horses were fabulous, an enormous gelding and two beautiful mares. I took a heap of photos, mostly of their legs (for Jasper reference - my heavy horse sculpture for anyone who doesn't know me), and eventually tore myself away to continue on my way. Immediately, the sat-nav directed me back onto the M5 - how did the Garmin know??

I won't bore you with the rest of the journey, it was pretty standard issue athough the super-bright, crisp light of the June sunshine made the landscape glow, so as I headed further South into the more rural areas, my jaw dropped regularly with the fantastic rolling hills and distant horizons. I had booked into a Bed and Breakfast about a mile from the Village Hall, called "Week Farm" - I can heartily recommend it. The farmhouse part that I stayed in was very homely, I was welcomed and made to feel at home immediately by Margaret and John, the owners of the B&B and working pedigree North Devonshire stud (for cows, not horses) and who also turned out to be the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress of North Devonshire to boot! I was immediately offered a fresh Cream Tea with scones baked that morning, the perfect refreshment after a long drive! Friday evening, after recovering and freshening up I took the short drive to Bridestowe (pronounced bridd-E-stow) and had a pleasant walk around the village. It is a typical old-school small village, with Post Office, pub and church, a primary school and lots of lovely cottages. The Village Hall is just outside of the village, it's a very new building, just a couple of years old, they're still laying the top-finish on the car-park! As far as village halls go, I was pretty impressed - the car park was right by the door, there were large doors to the rear promising some fresh air and the modern wooden-built building sat beautifully in the Devonshire countryside. There was even a field of young bullocks over the fence.
Satisfied I knew my way, I headed back to get ready - I was meeting Lauren, Marion and Dorothy and her husband for dinner at the local pub called the White Hart. We had the local speciality, fish and chips and were not disappointed, Marion's fish was a whopper and after an hour she had to admit defeat!!

The Show report

On the morning of the show I awoke to birdsong and lambs bleating (that sound took me a few moments to work out before I was fully awake!), but as I was so close to the show location I felt relaxed. The doors opened at 9 for a 10 o'clock start, I arrived at 9:30 and about half the entrants had arrived and some were setting up for the performance classes. I immediately had my first "Wow" of the day; an XTara Endurance Arab resin painted to palomino, being tacked up ready for the opening classes. I unpacked my models, I'd donated a trio of Romeo clinky medallions created by Barb Ness for NAN last year (she sent me a selection for my donation of the original) and it was decided to use these as prizes for the UK Workmanship section which I had chosen to sponsor. There were some fabulous prizes for the raffle donated, including a Sarah Rose Doodlebug mini resin, some very sweet custom models and a selection of Breyer goodies including a few traditional models, lots of minis, some accessories and some dogs.

I toured the room and found a fantastic array of models; Julie had, sat on her table in full parade costume, the instantly recognisable Sarah Rose Independance resin customised by Cindy Williams; Deb had a refreshing customised Mini Scarlett resin, with a straightened head which gave the model an interesting twist; Deb also gave me a sneak peek at her show-stopping Independance resin painted by the UK artist Naomi "Nell" Coffin. One model struck me though - a Moore Hall resin painted and shown by the UK's own Heather Irvine, painted in oils to an incredible dappled grey, this was my star model for the day!

The classes kicked off - Lauren's show was an all-rounder; classes for everyone including OFs, customs, resins, chinas (OF and AC), a whole section for AAs, one for Bendies and one for UK Workmanship. Each section had on average about 10 classes which meant some models had to go into a broader class (ie Spanish, Friesian etc all went into "other Light Breed"), but the day saw virtually every kind of model displayed - if you can't get to many shows each year so want to take your whole collection with you, then this is the show for you!

The morning saw the OF and Custom sections, I found myself drawn to the Custom section; there were customs at every level which was a pleasure to see, from those just starting out (very strongly too!), to the likes of an incredible Lynn Fraley custom of, I believe, a Peter Stone draft horse and two awesome Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig ponies. It was a real treat to see some of these models, very inspirational! The Fraley deservedly (IMO) won the CM Champion place, a too-cute-to-be-true tiny CM Welsh pony won Reserve Champion and a custom ISH model won Res.Reserve Champion.

Lunchtime saw the raffle, hot Cornish Pasties which were a great treat and really stamped the South-Westerly identity onto my show memories, the sales tables which are always fascinating, and then onto the lunchtime classes including the Mare and Foal class, Me and Minime and collectors class which held the largest conga of SM models I think I've ever seen! It was great to see a pair of Breyer models, forgive my ignorance - one is the opposite of the other, they have a pinto pattern in a pearlescent purple-green colour and one model is the negative of the other - well anyway I've not seen these models up close before, the colours just glowed and I found them beautiful! OF course it was impossible to capture the amazing colour, but I did try.

After the fun classes, the AR/AC (Artist Resin / Artist China) and AA (Animal Artistry) classes kicked off. My collection includes mostly these types of models so my afternoon was quite busy. I was quite surprised by the quality of the entrants, not just down to the sculpting and finishwork, but down to the presentation - many entries had professional, laminated breed cards placed alongside the horse which made me think... I think there's an opportunity for someone, especially in the UK as our showing rules are slightly different to those elsewhere in the world, to produce these show-cards - I for one would happily buy them, I would even pay someone to research my models for me; sadly I don't have enough time to research my models fully so I would welcome this! Perhaps someone might have enough time to offer this service (hint hint)?

The AA classes were well populated (even taking into account my lot!) and I was thrilled when the model I had pinned my hopes on; a Chasing Rainbows painted to a roan blanket appaloosa made it through to take AA Champion! Reserve Champion position was taken by an exquisite AAA Quarterhorse owned by Diane, and Res.Reserve Champion was won by a custom-glazed Boxing Shire mini, recently glazed by Joanie Berkwitz (and part of my collection too :).

The Artist resin Championship saw an unusally coloured Valor resin, painted to a grey with bird-catcher spots, I don't know the correct term for this colour. Reserve Champion was taken by a resin I don't know the name of - a cutting horse painted to an awe-inspiring appaloosa (ed: This was an Ima Sharpe Cutter resin), and Res.Reserve Champion was taken by a Mini Independance resin painted a scrumptious subtle paint.

The Bendy section passed me by unfortunately, I recognised the Julips, a few Equorum models and a few other bendable models (including an extremely flexible model of Jackie's). The Champ and Reserve both went through to the Supreme Championship though, which I was pleased to see - these were a white-grey Arab I believe, and a big chunky chestnut that I found adorable (and I don't even "do" bendies!).

The UK Workmanship section was a fabulous showcase of the UK's talent, and though these models didn't go through to the Supreme (which could have caused a conflict due to them being in other breed classes also), they had their own championship. The top model here was that amazing Independance resin I'd got a sneak peek at earlier in the day - I have to agree though, the finish on him was absolutely flawless and the colour just radiated! Res.Champion went to a Little One resin painted by Jane Burn I believe, and Res.Reserve Champion went to a gorgeous little Sarah Rose Hadrian resin painted and tacked up in sircingle (sp?) and ribbons and painted to a luscious dappled black by Jackie Radwanski. Jackie joked that she should start painting again, suggesting this was an older model - if this was the standard of her work a while ago then I definitely feel she should get to work!

The Supreme lineup for the day consisted of the Champion and Reserve Champion for the OF, CM, AR, AA and Bendy sections and was a sight to behold, the quality of the models was astounding. Judging took quite a while, but the final Supreme lineup saw Lauren's unique bird-catcher spotted Valor resin take the Supreme Championship title, with the Fraley PS draft custom model taking Reserve Champion, and my little AA Roan Appaloosa jumping model brought home the Res.Reserve Champion rosette.

All considered the day a success, the only mild concern being the heat and humidity but that was out of anyones control and with the doors open we got a slight breeze, the sun didn't cause an issue as the closed doors had curtains to block it out. The show ran smoothly, the atmoshere was light and cheery, and to top it all off the raffle raised enough money to sponsor both a Dartmoor pony AND an Exmoor pony for a year.

On Sunday I took a trip to the other side of Dartmoor to the Miniature Pony Centre - I have NEVER met any small ponies so relaxed around people, even the mares with very young foals were relaxed and happy for even small children to approch the foals and greet them. It's well worth a visit and at £7.50 I felt extremely good value for money. I took a drive back through the middle of Dartmoor National Park which I won't even attempt to describe or this will become an even more epic tale, but suffice to say that my artistic mojo, which has been missing for a few months, has now been thoroughly restored and I am becoming more in love with what this country has to offer - from our artistic talent, our Cornish pasties and clotted cream teas, to our native ponies and the breathe-taking scenery they habit. This continent has so much to offer and I look forward to embracing this in my own work and my travels.
Right, where to next.....!