Ask and You Shall (Maybe) Receive

     Yesterday, I posted about the beautiful Arabian tack set I received from Terri Wright a couple of days ago. I mentioned that while it still didn't make me want to show, it does bring me joy, and brings me back to my beginnings of hobby work. I didn't start out as a doll maker. Though the first doll I made was a Hollywood/showring style Arabian rider. There is zero authenticity to what I created, but they are pretty fun. Anyway, Terri said I should post photos of the stuff I used to make. I cannot find the very first set, but this is set #19 with doll #1. These were completed in September of 2006.

This was set #20 with doll #2. Her pants are a big sheer, how scandalous!

This was stablemate scale #5

And stablemate scale #6

     I have now forgotten what number this set was, 20something, but I already put the book away and don't want to dig it out again. All of these photos are super classy photographs of photographs. 

      This may or may not have been the last traditional scale set that I made. I know I showed it in the first ever live show I entered, where I THINK I got 6th place (which was super cool at the time! And my only placing of the day I think). I then tried to sell it (all of them got sold) and it didn't sell and didn't sell, so I donated it to a raffle. It might even still be in region X. Come to think of it, I may have made another set or two after this one. But I don't have any accurate records of that. At least none that are easy to find. 

     This was, I believe, the very last stablemate scale set that I made. And I made it out of spite. I know I have told people that before, but I am not sure that I posted it anywhere in such a blatant way. Anyway, the story is:

     One day I was judging performance and I had just finished the Arabian costume class (it was still called costume then). I felt horrible and my stomach was very angry with me. I went to the bathroom to throw up and immediately felt better. My PSA for today (after that TMI) was don't eat cold bananas. Anyway, on the way to the bathroom a shower stopped me to ask why her horse didn't place better (it was stablemate scale, this is important information). I told her one or two small things and then excused myself (I really felt horrible). 

     Later that day I saw that she blasted me all over Facebook. Not by name, I was just "the judge" and she and the person who had made the costume talked a lot of trash about me. Said people "like me" shouldn't judge since CLEARLY I didn't know what I was doing and OBVIOUSLY I just don't like stablemate scale. They went on, bashing my judging skills, and saying that stuff that placed higher, had enormous tassels that would weight too much in real life and so on and so on. They also said that it wasn't really possible to get stablemate scale tassels perfectly in scale. I nearly responded, with some photos of actual showring costumes with ginormous tassels (that clearly were not too heavy) but I decided instead to suck it up and go the route of subtle spite. Even if it was only ever me who knew what I was doing. I give you... the spite set!

     Not only is everything in scale on this set but I had to go the extra (crazy) mile and make a doll to go with it. I guess the argument could be made that the rider is a bit small, but people come in many sizes. So after a whole ton of years not saying anything, here's my defense of my placings. It IS entirely possible to have everything perfectly in scale on mini tack. It is also extra easy to screw up a mini entry since 1/8" is a HUGE deal in mini scale, where it is often less noticeable in traditional scale. If you are missing a girth, a throatlatch, or your stirrups are down to the horse's knees, you are not going to place as well, in any scale. If the straps on the bridle are in the horse's eyes you are not going to place as well, in any scale. 

     In conclusion, I have not always been a doll maker, I was an Arabian tack maker at the beginning of things. I have made other types of tack as well, but not a whole lot of it. My Arabian sets very well may not have had all the correct pieces, but they LOOK like they have all the correct pieces, which is very important. And when I judge I always look first to see if the entry is safe. Everything else, even the size of your tassels, is secondary.