2020-21 Mepsa Champ Box

 

Sorry, it's a little blurry - didn't notice it until after I posted it on the MEPSA FB group (Yes, I posted there before I did here!). I also received the box at the beginning of the month, but since I haven't been in the mood to write - updating the blog has been long since overdue. So, sorry if this all sounds a bit lame and halfheartedly stated, as I am tired and don't want to write at the moment, but knew that I needed to do an update on this subject at some point.

If you want to see which horses placed, you can see them here.

I love how all the ribbons are non-traditional colors for the Champ Show. It's so creative and fun! .....Even more fun when the ribbon for anyone who placed in the Top Ten is your favorite color!

I don't know which prize came with what Grand/Reserve placing or Door Prize, but either way, they're really cool! The Christmas ornaments (which I need to repair as the Candy Cane broke in transit) were donated by Laurel Dedes and made by Penney L. Dodson; my friend, Corina Roberts (an excellent photographer!) donated the Breyer CollectA Foal (now named Spooky Pete - to be "related" to the famous reiner stallion, Spooks Gotta Gun) and the Breyer Paint a Unicorn Blind Bag kit (ended up being the G2 Morgan Stallion - I don't have a unicorn on that mold yet!); and the Breyer Pinto Draft Stablemate was donated by Holly Goldman-Craig.

The Champ Book is absolutely amazing and Elena Lemm did an awesome job on designing it...along with being the show holder for the Champ Show!

One of the things I learned last year about the Writing Contest, is that all the entrants works are published in the Champ Book. This year I decided to write about my photo show experience before I showed with MEPSA. I still think it's pretty cool that Aurelius' near-silhouette picture got the whole page!

(that behind-the-scenes photo of Paint Me A Pepto is supposed to be in portrait format, but I guess that's just how it fit better on the page.......Breyer also posted it that way for the photo "contest" it was in, too).

I Don't Just Photograph Model Horses

Or clouds...or mountains....

Though, the landscape looked really pretty the Friday morning of the 4H Dog Show (the same weekend as the Field of Dolls Online Show Results Announcement).

I am notorious for taking pictures through car windows - they still come out OK.

My dad and I picked up Kneaders French Toast for the judges, my family,....and any leftovers can be used for gaining the dogs' attention during the show. Yes, the kids take anything from dog treats, hot dogs, cheese, French toast, or any other appealing smell/taste to a dog and rub it all over their hands since food/treats is not allowed in the show ring. It has become a Dog 4H tradition to get Kneaders French Toast on show days.

Just saying, if you're ever coming through Logan/Cache County, UT, make sure you go by Kneaders - they have really good food! Kind of like Paradise Café.

More clouds...

OK, now the dogs.

Photographing in indoor arenas are an absolute pain. The lighting is terrible if you are wanting anything to come out clear. This was the best I can do at the moment. Someday, I'll figure it out. But for now, it's just use'n' the tripod at the openest aperture, 1/60 shutter speed, 1600 ISO, and custom White Balance (focused on my brother's red and white Playmate lunch box!)

The first show of the day was Showmanship. Showmanship is basically judged on how well you work with your dog. My little sister, Victoria, showed both our brother, Kaleb's dog MerkTavitch (Merk for short); and her dog, Jasper (above).

This was Merk's very first show. It was very exciting, and new....until...

His owner was judging the other dogs in Obedience!

(Obedience is judged on how well the dog obeys their handler).

Typically, for this exercise, the two cones are actually two people standing as posts, and the dog has to make a figure 8 around them without paying any kind of attention to them. Though, the cones are still pretty distracting to the dogs. MUST SMELL EVERYTHING!!!

As far as Kaleb's attire - it's a 4H themed Hawaiian shirt. He has it as his official judge shirt.

I didn't get any pictures of the kids doing Rally, which is an obstacle course with signs that tell you what to do before advancing to the next sign. I was getting tired and was really needing food at the moment.

Saturday was Agility and Fast. The pictures I have here are of Agility. Agility is basically an obstacle course where the dog runs through either on leash (in the beginning stages) or off leash (more advanced). Placings are judged on how fast the dog went through the course without any faults (knocked jump bar or skipping an obstacle because the dog isn't comfortable with it yet).

I didn't get any of Fast either, due to needing to eat and take a nap (which I did - part in a camp chair and the other in my dad's truck). As far as what Fast is, you're on a set time and you gotta have your dog go through/over as many obstacles as possible to gain the highest points collected (jumps are 1, the tunnel is 5, I don't remember what the A-Frame is, though).

Of course, anything fast with the lighting circumstances does not go hand-in-hand...more like against each other. When photographing high speed stuff (or shake free, as I cannot stay completely still while photographing still stuff), I like to have the shutter speed at 1/125. 1/60 is just not fast enough in this terrible lighting to get a clear picture.

Victoria and Jasper doing the Weave Poles. This is a very tricky obstacle for the dogs and it sometimes takes them awhile to master. It's amazing watching videos of super speedy dogs going through the Weaves.

 And we end with beautiful clouds. Between the colors of the sky and the trees - it could totally be turned into a painting.

Of course, the end is actually with all of us getting sick with a cold. And when a sickness goes through my family, it goes through ONE PERSON AT A TIME! It doesn't help that there are 6 of us! We're on the tail end of it now. But that means congestion for eternity (or so it seams)!

Picrew.Me Create Your Own Cartoon Horse App

Early last month, someone (I think Lesli Kathman of The Equine Tapestry) shared a link to a Japanese made create your own cartoon horse app. Naturally, everyone in that FB group commented with their own creation from the app. Yes, I got hooked on it, too!

I didn't just create our pony, Brody (top), but also many others - like this one for my sister.

One of my favorites!

This is one I made with my Dad.

Had to make Pegasus from Disney's Hercules (NOW LET'S NOT GET ANY SONGS STUCK IN MY HEAD!!!)

I found that working it on my phone was easier since One: I can't read Japanese, and Two: I don't know how to take screenshots on my computer to save the images. I ended up cropping them later (apparently, I forgot to do these ones).

It's actually super simple to navigate. First you need to choose a body type.

And choose a color for the body.

I went with the light tan here, now onto the head.

Apparently, I forgot to take a screenshot of the head types. Oh well, here's the different muzzles you can choose from.

This has nothing to do with color - more of an adjustment to fit the head size.

Now the eye. There are some that you can change the color of the Iris, but not all of the options can do that. He's starting to remind me of Winnie the Pooh.

Cartoon horses always need eyebrows!

Now the left ear...

and it's color match. Then do the same with the other ear.

The forelock, mane, and tail is next. There are two tan colored options - the bottom one is just solid tan, while the one on the top is the typical, two-tone for Fjord Ponies. NOTE: The pink option is not solid pink - it's black/brown at the base and then gradients down to a pinkish/reddish color.

Yes, you can have the option of a lion's tail or a dragon's tail.

Facial markings.

Yes, your cartoon horse can have whiskers!

There is also body markings/fantasy designs you can choose from.

Oh, yeah, your cartoony horse can be fuzzy, too!!!

Now, leg markings.

And you gotta make sure you check every single leg.

There is also an option to have feather on his legs.

And now embellishments! First headgear,

Then your cartoony horse can have traditional tack or you can spice it up with a shirt or a hoodie!

There are also other neck/head embellishments that there are two buttons, so that you can have up to two of those options.

Then there's tail embellishments. You would need to choose wisely, since some of the tack/wings can easily hide the base of the tail area.

Oh, yeah, and your cartoony horse can wear sneakers, too!

Then there are the "riders" - meaning cats, dogs, frogs, books, pies, etc. Just no people riders.

Now you can choose thought blurps.

And a background! Which can be solid colored or scenery!

There are also embellishments to the background.

When everything is done, click the green button check mark button, This is the loading image when completing your cartoon horse.

All done!

Thought I'd put this in here, too. This is the loading image when entering the "workspace" to make you cartoon horse.

Really Cute!!!

Now go make one!

Enjoy!