Toronto Live 2016

Last Saturday, I attended my very first live show. The night before, I was up until nearly midnight, slaving away on my first Western Pleasure set...Yet it still had at least 4 hours of work that needed to go into it. Did I mention that I needed to be up at 5am? Needless to say, the idea of showing in novice performance was abandoned entirely, as there was still tack that needed to be made in addition to the WP set. So, I stumbled off to bed.

The morning before the show went smoothly. Everyone was packed up, and no items were forgotten. There is a distinct possibility that this may be a first in model horse showing history, haha! In the days before the show, each individual model was given their own carefully crafted documentation, tucked away in a binder. If there is anything I have learned from my years of reading Jennifer's blog, document everything!

Driving to the show was expected to be a 2 hour highway slog, but encountering a nasty accident left traffic at a complete standstill for 20+ minutes. I have no idea what happened, but I hope everyone survived. Minor accidents are horrific enough.

Eventually I arrived at the show hall with my meager spread of common models. I didn't want to overwhelm myself by bringing too many horses, but I couldn't help but feel inadequate compared to the other tables. All were filled, and with a good number of drool-worthy pieces. Suffering from a bad case of pony-envy, I laid out my horses.
 

Clockwise from Top Left: Secretariat (Keep The Dream Alive), Ganache (Signed in Alcohol), GG Valentine (Sweet Niagara Wine), Heartbreaker (Double The Bourbon), ELCR Lady Phase (Write Me A Story), Platinum Star (In Search Of Stardom), Thunderstorm (Thunderbird), Keltic Salinero (Unsung Hero)

I honestly didn't take many pictures, and out of the ones that I took, only 3 were really presentable. Whoops! I was too busy pacing and attempting to do something that resembles socializing, which (spoiler alert) I am extremely bad at.

I did well enough at keeping track of my classes, and didn't miss a single one. It probably helped that I only brought 8 horses, and also made a copy of the class list that I added the names of my entrants to. If only this level of organization extended to all areas of my life!

Out of everyone who came along, only half were in the ribbons. This wasn't really a surprise as I don't have and exceptional models. However, I do own a Thunderstorm that had won a NAN card at Breyerfest the year she was released. She is exceptional, and I was expecting big things from her. What I wasn't expecting, however, was this...

Keltic Salinero (Unsung Hero), posing with his ribbon and NAN card

My first, well, first! And in a positively massive Warmblood/Sport class, too! This was particularly noteworthy, as all my other models that had been on the table previously were either awarded 6th, or were out of the ribbons entirely. Yes, even my Arabian that I had placed so much hope in. But, I suppose the hero's song is being sung now, after all!

Keltic Salinero (Unsung Hero), on the callback table

 Overall, I had a really lovely time at my first show, and I even gathered up the courage to donate some raffle prizes. I didn't catch the name of the lady who had won my saddle pads, but she seemed to really like them. Hooray for validation?