NAN 2014 Wins

Here is a composite picture of my 2014 NAN winners.

 (Love the player piano as a background - it looks so pretty with the models, trophies, and ribbons!)

Windsong Sherif was Reserve National Champion in Original Finish China/Resin  Light/Gaited/Spanish Foals.

Harry Potter was Reserve National Champion in Original FInish China/Resin Stock/Other Pure/Part/Grade Foals.

And Vader won two Top Tens - the first in Original Finish China/Resin Other Pure/Part/Grade/Sport/Carriage and the second in Original Finish China/Resin Collectibility Other Makes (Chevals, Japan, and other non-American or European Countries).

NAN 2014

Wednesday Craig and I drove to Lexington, Kentucky for the 19th North American Nationals. 

Kentucky - a place after my own heart. Where else can I get my favorite drink out of a vending machine with a horse on it??

We ate a late dinner in The Horseshoe, the restaurant next to the motel. Only one other table had customers, and as I glanced over at it, one of the women sitting there looked up and our eyes met. It was Karen Beeson, a long time hobby friend who had attended the University of Illinois! And with her was Chris Wallbruch, another U of I alum, hobby friend, and fellow teacher! I hadn't seen either gal in at least ten years - who'd have thought??

We had a nice chat, and they gave me some tips for showing at NAN the next day. I was disappointed that they would not be there, but they'd shown on the previous two days of the show and needed to get back to Chicago and their families. (The third day of NAN was for china, resin, and collectibility classes.)

The next morning we drove to Heritage Hall/Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington and got in line to be admitted to the show.

I'd shown at the inaugural NAN in 1995 and the third one in 1997, so I was a bit rusty at showing on the national level. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous, although I did not have high expectations of winning much - 212 people were entered along with 5,600+ pieces over the three days of the show.

The show hall was massive and sprawling, with 23 tables (rings) for exhibiting.

It was a very well-run and organized show and a volunteer manned a whiteboard where classes that had been called were posted, their status as to whether entries were being loaded or if the class was closed, and which ring the class was in. I took my clipboard and entry list up there more than once just to keep track of where my pieces were going.

My show string for this year's NAN.

That's Kristina Lucas Francis in the green, a friend from Tennessee and a sculptor for Breyer and Disney (she did some of the The Nightmare before Christmas Christmas ornaments), and other commercial companies as well as her own sculpting. (She specializes in horses and dinosaurs.) It was fun having her nearby and getting to chat throughout the show.

Another good friend, Beth Dickinson, who I have known since we became pen pals in 1971, was also in attendance. She works for Hershey (the chocolate company, not the school!) and brought me some special chocolates to try. Thanks, Beth!

Classes started being called at 8:00 AM.

My Breyer Icelandic and my HR Misty.

My North Light Welsh Pony.

My Lakeshore Belgian Warmblood and my Cheval Friesian (he won two Top Tens, one for Breed and one for Collectibility.)

My HR Sherif, a piece that usually does very well at shows. I found it for $4 at an auction in Fairbury, Illinois in the early 1990s. It's from the 1950s and has exceptionally nice detail which is why it often wins the classes in which it is entered.

I thought it might Top Ten, but to my surprise it was Reserve National Champion in Breed!

And my other surprise was when my HR donkey foal, Harry Potter, also was Reserve National Champion in its Breed class!

The show wrapped up in the early afternoon, and so we were home by 7:30. I came home tired but happy, and still more than a bit surprised that I had had such a successful day.

Entering NAN

I used to do quite a bit of showing with my collection of model horses. As I began teaching, weekend time became harder to find, and so, while I still collect and keep up with what is happening in the hobby, I rarely travel to shows anymore.

But, after a show-drought of seven or eight years, I attended three shows in Indiana, Iowa, and Kentucky in 2012, including Breakables in Lexington, the largest all-china show in the world. (My tablemate was from Puerto Rico, and folks from all over the world were there.)

My 1958 Hagen-Renaker china Sherif winning the Reserve Grand Championship of the Americanware Show. (The red china horse head is a stirrup cup trophy sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis just for this show.)

All three of those shows were qualifiers for the very biggest model show in the world - a three day show that encompasses not only china, but plastic, resin, customs, and performance called NAN (North American Nationals).

With reciprocal qualifying shows in Europe and Australia, folks from all over the world who qualify pieces come together for those three days to show annually at venues across North America. This year it is being held in Lexington, Kentucky - a four hour drive and thus quite doable.

I attended the inaugural NAN in 1995 and then the third NAN in 1997, winning several Top Tens at each. There were 100+ showers back then; that number has since more than doubled. Competition is FIERCE. (I may not have gone since 1997, but I do watch the show as it is live streamed each year.)

All in all, I have about 30 pieces qualified, but I am only taking 15, the best of my best. (Including Sherif who has won multiple trophies and championships over the years at shows. Not bad for a $4 auction find!)

So, I organized all the needed qualifiying cards, filled out the online entry form, and then mailed in the cards (they prove that I was at the show and won the class) to the registrar in Texas.

I have a BUSY summer coming up, and I may end up not being able to show depending on family plans. I can get a refund of all my entry fees until June 13, so I will make my decision by then.

BreyerFest 2012 - Thursday

After a week of preparation, I left for BreyerFest today. And I left in a pouring (and very welcome) rain.

 So thankful!!

 We are in an extreme drought (two months!) - the corn crop is lost and probably the soybeans, too, so this rain is a blessing, even though it is too late for the farmers.

 My show tubs get preferential seating - no trunk for them! I want them in air conditioning comfort. :D

The rain had actually stopped by the time I reached Indianapolis, but about an hour after I made it to Lexington, the skies cut loose! I sat in my car at the Clarion Holiday Inn North, waiting for it to let up some before bringing my pieces into the show hall.

 Breakables is a show that Breyer sponsors at BreyerFest. It actually was started by hobbyists who wanted a place to show their chinas. Breyer only does a few porcelains and resins, but a few years later, graciously offered to sponsor the show and make it an official part of BreyerFest. I think this is the fourth year Breyer has done so. It has become the largest all-china show in the world.

There are five shows-within-the-show, and I entered three: Americanware, Europeanware, and Original Finish/Cold Cast Porcelain. And, the show was double-judged - halter and collectibility. (Collectibility is my focus in my collection.) My hope was to win a ribbon or two but I did not anticipate doing more than that.

 I felt a little sheepish as I laid out my pieces - they seemed pretty modest in comparison to the other showers' tables. And in attendance were many people who are the biggest names in china collecting: Kristina Lucas Francis (California) and Lesli Kathman (Tennessee) being two of them. Gulp!! Donna Chaney (England) poked her head in to watch a bit (non-exhibitors were not allowed in the show hall) as did Karen Gerhardt (Colorado; the woman who hosted the first Breakables.) And the woman whose table was next to mine was from Puerto Rico -  exhibitors were from all over.

Look who else was there! Beth Dickinson! My penpal since the time I was 12 and she was 10. We are still in contact after all these years. She hails from Pennsylvania. I didn't get pictures, but I sat with Brenda Metcalf and Marilou Mol, and chatted with Liz Strauss and Jackie Arns, too. Lots of long-time hobby friends.

My hopes of winning a ribbon seemed feeble at best but... I wasn't just there for the ribbons. I enjoy collecting, and it is ALWAYS fun to see others' collections!

Like Sue Stewart's, from Texas. This mammoth piece is from Europe. Look how it dwarfs the others on her tables. For perspective, those pieces are traditional Breyer sized.

A view looking from my show table across the exhibit tables. The exhibit tables are in the center of the room, and the shower's tables are on three sides of it. The fourth side had the buffet tables (they provided snacks and a light supper), the silent auction table, and tables to hold the ribbons and awards.

To my surprise, I won the very first class I entered (which was also the first class of the show!) My Hagen-Renaker Sherif won the Arabian Foal class. That qualified him for NAN (the North American Nationals) and a chance at the division championship. (If he won that, he'd be in contention for the Grand Championship of the Americanware show.)

Breakables was an incredibly fast-paced show. Since I was showing in three rings, being organized was a plus and I was grateful that I'd thought ahead and planned my entries well. And to my delight, not only did I win that class, but my pieces won many other ribbons - more than just that one or two I'd hoped for! Because the show was moving so quickly, I gave up recording wins then and there, and simply kept the ribbons and NAN cards with the models when I packed them up. I'll sort them out when I get home and unpack. I know I qualified at least 10 pieces for NAN.

My Performing Misty won her class and was Reserve Champion Pony in Americanware.

But little Sherif was my big winner.

He won Champion Foal in Americanware and then Reserve Grand Champion of the Americanware show! Not bad for a little piece I paid $6 for at an auction! The red porcelain bust was the award for Grand and Reserve. I think it was sculpted by Lesli Kathman. 

The show ran about seven hours. I had thought to stay and wander through the Artisan's Hall or look at the room sales afterward, but I was too tired. So I loaded my car and headed to the DoubleTree Inn and crashed. 

I am still glowing that I did so well.