Intermediaire/INTERSPORT 2015

October 11 was Didi Hornberger's umpteenth Intermediaire show.  As photograher,  I took over a thousand photos.  This post shows just 54 of them:  five percent.  I'll start with the floral centerpiece.  The black horse is intriguing.  Not a resin, he is a trophy from a tack shop; he is nearly 1/6th scale and amazingly correct and detailed.

Most model shows follow a predictable trajectory:  performance classes first, halter second.  But when you've got 2 shows going in tandem, many things are happening at once, and my own preferences emerge.  For someone who's not a chinahead, I certainly love the look of the clinkies, equus fragilis.

Dozen Roses, sculpted by Kathy Bogucki:

Unfortunately I missed most of the harness classes.  I did catch these:

 Apparently Stone's Bogucki Ringo Saddlebred is the mold to show in fine harness!

This splendid cantering grey caught my eye.  We shall see him again later!

One of the ways in which Didi manages her pair of shows is to use different colored tablecloths (actually plastic) for the different divisions.  There are 6 colors altogether.  It's such an elegantly simple idea.  But it makes for overwhelming, solid-color backgrounds to the shots.
A startling use of the new Wyatt mold, by Morgen Kilbourn, is this Civil War entry.

I was so intrigued I shot it from 3 different angles.  In complex performance entries there is sometimes no way to capture it with a single shot.  The card below shows the inspiration painting.

It's rare, and beautiful, for a painting rather than a photo to be the inspiration.  This entry was owned by Kris Gallagher, who also did the dolls.
In central Pennsylvania one can count on performance entries by Kim Jacobs.

Yes, that is a big horse!  Fragilis to boot.

Only second place?!?  Wait til you see first place!  Again a china, this horse is rearing above the tiny china snake almost underfoot.

Kim's costumes often feature strong colors, metallicism and flash.  Her documentation and research is famous for being in-depth, exotic and thorough.

It appears, at least this year, that another of her specialties is large horses.

I'm pretty sure this white drafter is 1/6th, Johnny West size, the size of the Luis Aguilar Nohuanda horses; I have one myself.
And here are all the ladies, deep in performance.  I was proud of this shot and hope I can be forgiven for any inelegance.

Left to right:  Kim Bleeker, Rachel Stacey, Kim Jacobs, Marcella Peyre-Ferry and Margaret (Peggy) Suchow.  In the left background, blue check shirt, Didi herself.  I'm sorry I don't know the purple girl.

The next shot is a sort of two-fer in that you can catch a glimpse of a parade entry behind the cantering Arab.  The chestnut belongs to Kim Jacobs, I think.

One more before we leave Kim Jacobs.  I seem to be a pushover on the subject of gold tack.  This is another outsize horse.  The scale offers an opportunity which she has seized with both hands.

As a transition to halter (there will be more performance later), I want to share a couple of really outstanding dolls and their horses.  This Matriarch (by C. Williams) appears etched in a totally realistic way.  Yet she is actually hand pencilled, by Baker Yellot (thanks Kris!).  The doll is by Kris Gallagher.

But it was this doll that stole my heart.  Never mind that I'm Western.  Her expression says it all.

On to halter!  I have loved Knut, the Francis Fjord china, since he came out.

It is amazing what can be captured with the china glazing process.

This horse caught my eye because I am a frequent reader of Karen Gerhardt's FaceBook.  Surely this is the dapple grey she was working on earlier this year?

I recognize those dapples -- !  And now I confess to one of the most intriguing patterns to come out of my show photography.  An at-large photographer is free to shoot at any time, and I often shoot a class before it is judged.  In the process I develop favorites (was that a pun!?).  It is exciting to come back later and see that the judge followed my thinking!  Digital cameras make it easy to blaze away, and some of my 1043 pix were duplicates, before and after judging.  In this case the ribbon shot can be paired with the before shot because the angle was so different.

I do love looking at the clinkies.

Another wonder of shows (and of being photographer) is being able to see new models, horses you didn't know existed.  When I first spotted this continental-maned stander I thought he was some kind of weird remake.  And then I didn't know what to think!  Plastic continental manes are exceedingly rare.  Laredo is the only one I can think of who remotely qualifies, and he's only got 3 diamonds.

It wasn't until I saw a second stander that the mystery was solved.

There was a third color.  But my preference is for the first bright chestnut.

These two girls are (left) Tiffany Tran and (right) Beth Dickinson.  Tiffany is a bona fide chinahead.

Here is a Stone I unashamedly fell in love with.  At least once a show I find a horse that I actually allow myself to want.  It's kind of a surprise; after a day of staring at every sort of HSO [horse shaped object], to think that one could still stir me this way is nothing short of miraculous.  But when I saw him I said I'd never seen a color on this mold that moved me until now.

His owner, Marcella Peyre-Ferry, told me he's a regular run!  Brazenly I'll use this blog to state that if anyone wants to trade, I'd offer a mecate, bosal or reins for one like this...
Another rather famous Stone:

He appears on the cover of Keri Okie's book, Stone Base: The Decade Book.
I'm including this Stone Mule because he certainly is a new model for me.  Stretching the bounds of what is possible with factory customizations!

Speaking of new models, here is another famous one, but for a different reason.

This is Kristian Beverley's Copperfox Connemara.  I think I got other shots of him:

Yes.  What to do with a dog collection!
The at-large photographer got lucky with one of the most heartwarming moments of the entire show.

 I like portraits.  Close ups are one of the tricks I have evolved in my career as a show photographer.

I told you there was going to be more performance!   Note that this rider is jumping in sidesaddle.

This one introduces a new tackmaker, Tia Buser.  She explained to me the familiar tale:  she couldn't afford high quality tack, so she made her own.
I'm impressed.

Both saddle and bridle are her work.

I am not sure who made the outfit for this Vertical Limit; it may have been Cristina Brown.  I was struck by the navy-blue accents: bell boots, saddle seat, fly bonnet.  I'm pretty sure this horse took first.

I was so pleased with this dark bay resincast I took many pictures of him.  I found out later he is Windfall by Sommer Prosser, painted by Kathy McKenzie.

Obviously the judge liked him too.

This turns out to be a Corinne Ensor bridle.  The saddle is by Hannah Arnold, a new tackmaker out of Iowa.  The doll is by Kris Gallagher.

Only model horse people could understand a shot like this...  so thank you for understanding!

Yet more models I had never seen before.  At first I thought this beauty was a one-of-a-kind customization, but later I saw others like it in different colors.

Those mane and tail ribbons are not cloth, although they truly look like it.  It's metallic-painted resin.  The expressiveness of the great PRE eye!

And now for something truly funny.  This is purely personal, you must understand.  Explaining this, I have to go back a far ways, so:  all my life I have worshipped and honored the Decorators.  They are highly desirable to me, worthy of great care in handling, and possessing that special quality of great value shared only by those in the know.  To the outside world they might resemble a coffeepot (that is what my non-horsey sister actually said once, about a Copenhagen).  But to the insider hobbyist, they are worth hundreds of dollars.
And more.  This hobby almost exclusively involves girls.  What few guys you see are either artist types or company managers, or sometimes fathers; occasionally a long-suffering boyfriend.  I'm from a generation where guys were never interested in model horses, wore suits and carried briefcases, and where a tattoo was as foreign as Mars.

So when I saw this, I fell all over myself trying to photo it.

A heavily tattooed guy carrying two Decorators!!!!!!!!    !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm sorry I don't know your name, sir.  I hope you enjoyed the show....

The standard in performance entries was phenomenal at Intersport.  (Intersport is the "open" show; Intermediaire is for somewhat less competitive sorts, and has classes like Stable Blanket.)  I was drawn to these two almost-perfect Saddleseat entries.

The blue ribbon went to the red-lined coat.  I pointed out her hatbrim was in her eyes, but to no avail. The bay took third.  I decided I liked red-coat anyway.  Her expression was perfect.

To finish this review, take a peek at one of the more wild and unusual fringes on the edge of our hobby.  This creature was sculpted by Lauren Skillern, painted by Liz Bouras and is owned by Rachel Stacey.

Thank you, Didi, for another fabulous fall show!!