Prizewinning photos
Lisa and I showed our models jointly under the name of Sunset stables. Her collection was larger than mine, so of course, she got more ribbons than I did, but my models didn’t do poorly at all. I can’t remember what pictures won what placings, but there were a few pictures of my models that usually got something, even if they didn’t place first.
Here are a few of these old photos and a few interesting things about them:
This photo was taken at the Garden Grove library and was one of the photos that always came back with some sort of ribbon. The photo faults of this picture is that it was taken a little far from the model as well as being a downward angle and is slightly blurry. Despite all of that the photo has a certain artistry to it given it's unusual back lighting. Notice the way the reflections on water in the background lead the eye to the model's tail and then to the nose where the strip of dirt leads the eye back across the image once more. None of this was intentional, it just looked good through the viewfinder and Lisa took the picture.
Here's another photo taken at on the Garden Grove library grounds. I remember wanting to place him more toward the center of the waterfall, but the current was too strong. Even at this spot we were a little worried that the force of the water might topple him over. Some people say the light of a slightly overcast day is ideal, but I love afternoon sunlight. I've also taken photos of models at noon. I just love how the light reflecting off the water and also shining through the model's plastic gives a luminescent quality to the horse and makes his white markings look pristine. Dominey (that's his name) is one of the oldest models in my collection. I still remember the day I bought him: I'd gone to Knott's Berry Farm with my family and I saw him in a gift shop. I just had to have him and I named him Dominey (A name I'd made up based on the model's Breyer name San Domingo). He has competed in dozens of photo shows, but he doesn't even get noticed at live shows.
Another photo taken on the grounds of the Garden Grove library. At the time I didn't have any better tack than this Breyer bareback pad and bridle and a saddleseat and English bridle. This photo was taken late in the afternoon and the sky was beginning to become overcast. I like the smooth, mirrored surface of the water.
Roselle Hurley
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My early photo showing
When I first started photo showing, all my friend Lisa and I had was our Breyer tack, but our photos were still competitive. Since we used real outdoor backgrounds, not studio sets, not all of our photos came out perfectly. This was also way before digital cameras so we never knew which photos were going to be good until they were developed and looking them over after we got the photos back from the developer was an exciting activity. Though a bit disappointing sometimes when the photo you thought was going to be awesome came out fuzzy or with something obviously out of scale in the background. Sometimes we sat down immediately after we’d looked over our new photos and drew up another list of horses to take on our next photo shoot. (I recently got a scanner and I've just finished putting up some of these old photos which can be seen in the Amethyst Hill Gallery.) I don’t think many of these old photos could compete with the kind of photos that are shown today, but twenty years ago our efforts made Sunset stables a serious contender on the photo show ring.
In the beginning most show hosts charged a fee per class and there was no flat entry fee. Most classes cost a nickel or dime apiece. As photo showing became more popular, more shows began offering unlimited entry for a flat fee of one or two dollars. The awards usually were hand-made ribbons (either construction paper or photo copied slips of paper), but we didn’t care if the ribbons were hand or professionally made we just loved that our horses were winning. Winning was fun, but so was picking our next shows, deciding what classes to enter and taking photos of our models, sending off our entries and then getting them back weeks later.
A few show hosts loved the waterfalls in our photos so much they asked where they were taken and we told them…the Garden Grove Library. It was hard to believe it but none of the scenery in our photos was on the banks of any real streams or waterfalls and why would we take them anywhere else when our photos came out so beautifully there? Often Lisa and I would gather our models, tack and props and carry them in paper grocery bags to Lisa’s mother’s car and she would drive us to the library. Other times we would pack a few models, tack and props into backpacks and go to the library on our bikes (it was only a few miles from where we lived).
Welcome to the world of Model Horses
It all started with a single model...Justin Morgan. When I was seven, I recieved the boxed set of the model of this famous founding sire of the Morgan breed along with the book by Marguerite Henry Justin Morgan Had a Horse. Being only seven, I uncreatively gave him the name Justin. There also was a Breyer catalog inside the box and I spent many hours looking it over and dreaming of getting more horses so Justin could have some friends. Later, for my birthday I recieved a couple more horses: A palomino Western Prancer and an Appaloosa Yearling. Now I had a herd, and Justin's adventures became more exciting. Though the only dolls I had were Barbie and Big Jim who weren't very good riders.
Years passed, and for each birthday and Christmas I recieved another Breyer, but I still didn't know any other collectors or that there was more to do with my Breyers than play with them. By the time I met my best friend Lisa MacLeod I still only had a very modest herd consisting of: A sorrel Five Gaiter, San Domingo, Proud Arabian stallion in bay, a palomino Quarter Horse foal, a chestnut Classic Arabian Stallion, and a white Stablemate arabian mare. Though Justin, Western Prancer have since succumbed to broken limbs and a few bad attempts at repainting. The palomino QHF has been repainted gray appy, but the others remain OF and are still part of my collection. It was my friend Lisa who told me Breyer's weren't just toys and the two of us began reading Just About Horses. We were amazed to learn how many other people, all over the U.S. and other countries were involved in the hobby and actually showed their models in photo contests and live shows. It didn't take long for Lisa to get an old camera and we started taking photos of our own models, and showed them under the fictional name of Sunset Stables.