Monster Post from NAN 2011 and Around Arizona!

Whew!  I'm back from NAN 2011 in Tucson, and finally starting to get caught up on things.  This is going to be a monster post, with pix, descriptions, stories, and hopefully some humor, so please bear with me. :)  And hopefully you'll choose to read to the end!


Day 1: Wednesday, June 15th, 2011

After being picked up by Lauren at 10PM Tuesday night and going with her to the airport to pick up her husband Bob at midnight, we arrived back at her house.  Packed up the car, got everything squished (carefully) in, and went to bed around 2.  Up at 6, on the road by 6:30, for a total of 4 hours of sleep in 24.  THAT kindof sucked.  But yay! The adventure had begun!

That's Ed there on the Left.  He's my Schleich Gigantosaur that some of you have seen at the shows -- he Desperately wanted to come on the roadtrip and hang out with his pal Backpacking Brighty, so of course I said he could as long as he was a good dinosaur and helped us out by providing his opinions along the way!
He was quite thrilled to be in the car and driving across the countryside!

Traffic was surprisingly not that bad on the way out of the metroplex.  We DID see a woman driving along at about 60 mph in a little red Escort type car SUCKING HER THUMB!  We were both sortof like "wha??" I didn't get a pic of it because i kindof thought that might be slightly rude, but i made a mental note!  It was fairly amusing to see a grown woman (youngish adult) just driving along, sucking her thumb, in her happy place.  It reminded me of being seven, in a way.

Anyway, we had decided to take 20 to 380, so once we'd driven out a little ways, we started to see one of my favorite things -- WINDFARMS! 

Ed was watching happily out the window as we started to get into the flat country where windfarms are so popular.  He likes them too.  We both think they look like happy little dancing, cartwheeling people making green energy!

So we drove, and drove, and drove some more... UNTIL.... (wait for it)







We came to.... ROSWELL, NM!  (See, i knew you'd be impressed! worth the wait huh??) Ed was a little worried...

Click to embiggen

But he had his trusty friend Brighty by his side and soon figured out that Roswell could be FUN!  (Or, barring fun, at least kitschy and interesting...)  Brighty, i think, was rather bemused by the whole thing.

So, arriving in Roswell, we saw a sign for the UFO Museum and Study center, which was on Main Street.  (Where else would it be, really?)  We decided we had to make a side trip to see this amazing font of UFO knowledge (haha) and take some picures of the boys exploring the displays.  Ed thought this was a fairly good idea...

He figured if nothing else, at least he could have a snack.  He thought maybe there would be real aliens in there that he could munch on!

So, we went inside, and immediately as we walked in the door, we saw a display case with a little alien in a cowboy hat.  Ed thought it was very kind of them to put his food under glass so it stayed fresh.

That alien looks strangely nonplussed, doesn't he?

The people at the museum were amused by our little "mascots" as they called them.  They especially liked Ed's bell collar.  He has to wear it; you wouldn't want him sneaking up on you, now would you??

So we started looking around, reading some of the newspaper articles that were posted on the walls, generally being quiet in our skepticism (or at least my skepticism -- the museum was neat, but certainly played on the "the government says THIS, BUT.." aspect of the whole Roswell thing), when we happened upon a model of the crash sight with a saucer molded into the sand.  Ed HAD to get up there and see the saucer for himself.

I'm not sure how impressed he was, but he seemed to enjoy being bigger than the alien ship.  He does sometimes need his ego stroked, since he's such a tiny dinosaur. *wink*












After the crash site, we wandered to the back and came upon some "fan art".  Ed thought this piece looked particularly tasty.

I told him it was terribly impolite to eat the art, even if it WAS green and looked like it glowed in the dark.  I think he was a little disappointed.

So, we saw the art, we saw some more displays that talked about abductions and personal experiences, other UFOs, quotes from Presidents of the era(s) who believed that little green men were definitely out there and that we needed to find them, etc.  (did you know Kennedy, FDR, Ford, and Reagan all wanted to make contact and believed that we are not alone in the universe? i thought that was kindof interesting, myself.)  And then, at the end of the displays, was this.

Yes, that's a dead alien.  Ed thought it looked QUITE tatsy.  Turns out it, and everything else in the case, was a prop from the Showtime Movie "Roswell".  It kinda did make me want to learn more about what actually happened -- it seems interesting, and i do like to make decisions based on my own interpretation of the facts of a given situation.  So now that i'm home i will look into it a bit more.






After we left the museum, we went to sonic for some lunch, and Lauren's mom called.  She was a little jealous that we were in Roswell and said she wanted a little green alien!  So we drove back to the museum and found one in the giftshop for her.  He fit right in with Brighty and Ed:  And Ed didn't try to eat him once!

After Roswell, we got back on the road and continued driving.  We drove and drove and drove... The scenery changed from this *points to pic* to this *points to pic below* as we approached Ruidoso.  I thought I had more pix of the beautiful stuff we saw, but I think lauren and i were too busy gabbing about models, and NAN, and the other stuff that was going on and I just forgot.



We also passed by this neat little shop that sold nuts somewhere in New Mexico.  I believe this was after White Sands/Los Cruces, but I'm not positive.  They had a giant Pistachio outside!  The pic is not too clear because we were driving, but you can see it if you look closely.

It's there behind the sign.

Around this time we all started to get tired of being in the car.  Ed wanted to know the classic children's question, "are we THERE yet???"  I think this was about at the 12 hour mark or just before.  We hadn't quite gotten into Arizona yet; we were still driving through New Mexico.
















Not long after this, the sun started to set and we also started driving through some of the smoke from the wildfires in Arizona.

It was a beautiful sunset, but in the beauty it was also sad to think of all the things that were burning as we drove through there.

One thing I didn't realize was that Arizona is two hours different from Texas during Daylight Savings Time.  I knew they didn't do DST, but it really hadn't occurred to me just how they did their time thing.  So we got in to Lauren's Parents at about 9 PM Their time, which was about 11 PM our time.  I know I was bleary eyed exhausted, I can't imagine how tired Lauren must have been from driving all that way.  I met her mom, who is lovely, her dog Lonnie, a doberman who is afraid of her own shadow and decided to bark at me every time i moved (which was kindof funny), and her parents two cats, Snickers and Mo.  Both of them are pretty old, and Mo is completely deaf, so he yowls because he can't hear himself. Lauren's mom apologized for both Lonnie and Mo, but I told her i had a Siamese and she understood.  Not long after this, I fell into bed and quite literally didn't move until the next morning.  It was blissful!

Day 2: Thursday, June 16th, 2011

So i woke bolt upright on Thursday at 5:30 AM Arizona time.  My little Texas brain was like "Gotta Get up! work!!" but fortunately I looked at my watch and was able to get a few more hours sleep, because I needed it!

So i got up at about 8:30 I think, and had a muffin, and then we got the car packed up and got ready to go to the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum.  Before we could do that though, we had to pack up the car and take our stuff over to Pat McDonald's, where we stayed for the 3 days of NAN.  But more about that a little later.  We picked up a couple of big bottles of water, dropped our stuff off, and then went out to the Museum, which is really more like a zoo, botanical garden, and museum all rolled into one.  It was really really cool!  Also, i learned that desert heat really IS a dry heat.  Evaporative cooling works GREAT when there's no humidity!

Okay, so here's some stuff from the Desert Museum.  The one to the left is of the road on the drive over.  It's right near Saguaro National Monument, so there are cacti everywhere.  Lauren called the road "roller coaster road" because it's all ups and downs and some turns.  It was great fun! Lauren said if i felt carsick to let her know because sometimes people do, but I was fine.  =)

It wasn't far from Pat's to the Desert Museum; maybe 20 minutues or so?  The sign at the entrance is really nice; quiet, but still very dignified.

I thought it was pretty appropriate that it was nestled in a bed of cactus, considering it's the sign for the Desert Museum!

We got there fairly early, but it was already pretty hot -- it was in the low 90's at around 10:15 AM!  The thing that I didn't realize though was that when people say "but it's a DRY heat" what they mean is "you can tolerate this heat because your body can cool itself."  I usually have a problem with overheating -- it's a consequence of being on wellbutrin, which makes some people extremely heat sensitive.  Which SUCKS when you live in Dallas, but that's neither here nor there.

We parked the car (even got a pretty close spot!!), and started walking up, and saw this:

This is a Saguaro that's going to fan out at the top.  It wasn't that tall -- maybe 7 feet?  So pretty young, and it looked so happy.  I dunno, i really like cactus because a lot of them seem like they're just happy and timeless.  So there was a little sign in front of the saguaro that said why they sometimes fan, but I can't remember what it is at the moment.  I've slept a few times since then :)

We heard a rustling in the greenery near the cactus and saw a baby Desert Cottontail down near its base.  I tried to get a closer up picture of him, but he heard my camera and darted into the underbrush.  I DID manage to get this shot though, which turned out really well considering it was kindof on the fly.  I think it was a fairly young rabbit -- he had that "baby" look about him that fully adult rabbits don't have.
Also right near the entrance is an old station wagon called The Desert Ark.  I didn't get a pic of it, but it was pretty cool.

I learned from lauren that the Cougar's name is George, and he also has his own facebook page.  (i looked, but i can't find it atm.)  So we went inside,  and the first place we went was to the reptile exhibit, my favorite.  =o)  If you don't like snakes and scaly things, you may want to skip the next section,  just a warning.

Ed was happy to commune with his decendants... though he was a bit put out when he found out that the snakes and lizards in the displays were distant descendants, and that he was, in fact, more closely related to chickens.  We didn't tell him that until later though, so that he'd still enjoy himself.

 

This exhibit held a chuckwalla and a spiny iguana.  The iguana was in a rock crevice, so i didn't get a very good picture, but the chuck was out on top of the rock outcrop in the enclosure.  He looked pretty happy.  

There were, of course, lots of rattlesnakes on display.  

 This guy is a hypomelanistic western diamondback.  Hypomelanism is cool because it's the presence of reduced or absent black pigment.  That makes these guys different because regular diamondbacks have much higher contrast between their saddles and their body color.  They're also fairly uncommon.  I think this one may have come from the Ft. Worth Zoo.  It looks terribly familiar, and their hypomelanistic diamondback hasn't been on display since they opened the new reptile house.  It's just a theory though.  At any rate, this guy is lovely.

Ed liked this one.  I think this is a Sonoran Desert Rattlesnake, but I can't be sure.  I do know it was a species i've never seen before.

I liked him because he had little eyebrows.  he looked terribly serious, but i couldn't take him seriously at all because he looked like a cartoon villain.  =)  He also looked like he was smiling, but maybe that's me anthropomorphosizing since I love snakes.

When we came out of the reptile exhibit, there was a dust devil churning away in the distant desert.  I'd seen a few on the way up, but I didn't get pix of them because we were driving.  They're really pretty cool -- kindof like little dust-nadoes.

I'm sure that people who live in the desert probably are over it and don't think they're nearly as cool as i did, but it was still a neat thing to see.

I also saw this cactus wren.  There were lots of them flitting about,  as well as inca doves and some kestrels.  I think there were other birds i hadn't seen before as well, but I didn't recognize them. 

While I was appreciating the cactus wren, Ed was appreciating the view off of the balcony over the rest of the museum and into the desert outside.  It was really really beautiful.  I think i've come to the conclusion that I just like extreme scenery -- I love the beach, i love the high desert of Big Bend country, I love the mountains, and i love the Sonora Desert as well.  I loved how the landscape was stark but still had growth.  I'm not entirely sure how to explain it other than that.

The little short stubbyish trees there are either Palo Verde's or Mesquites.  Really the only way you can tell them apart is to look at the bark.  If its grey, they're mesquites.  If it's green, theyre Palo Verdes.  I thought that was pretty cool.

From the walkway, we went down into The Cave, which was a really neat exhibit with actual cave specimens, leading into a hall where there were geology exhibits, with crystals found in Arizona, and then the history of the desert.  There were fossils, casts of footprints, some bones, and lots of different minerals on display. 

I especially liked this trilobyte. 

Ed found a friend, or rather, a potential dinner, in the next room.  He thought that this Brachiosaur was just the perfect size and was disappointed to discover it was a replica.

Once we emerged from the cave, we walked around the rest of the outdoor Museum.  The way it's arranged, there are exhbits both on a half mile dirt trail called the Desert Walk, which houses Coyotes, Javalinas, and other wide ranging desert guys.  We didn't SEE any of them because by the time we got there everyone was in their dens for the heat of the day, but we looked really hard for them.

One cool thing about the Desert Museum was that any exhbits where there were burrows had glass windows against where the premade burrows were, so you could see inside.  This ground chipmunk guy was really interested in my camera.  When i stopped taking pix of him, he made terrible faces. =oD  

This raccoon was ridiculously adorable.  As we were coming up to his den, he sat down and grabbed his tail like a security blanket and just looked at us. I wanted to snorgle him.  I think he was grooming, but he may not have been.  Either way, he was completely precious.  

It was about this time that things started getting really quite warm.  It was about 100 or 101, but we didn't have too many exhibits left to go, and I felt okay, so we continued onward.  The bighorn sheep intereted Ed quite a bit.  He'd been trying to be good for so long, but the sheep, well... the sheep were entirely too much like snacks for poor little Ed.

After the Bighorns there was a walk through aviary with lots of different birds.  My favorite was this little quail guy.  The always look to me like they have little apostrophes on top of their heads! 

There were also hummingbirds buzzing around.  This one sat on a branch resting and let me take his picture.  I THINK this is a black chinned hummingbird, but I'm not sure.  I don't know hummers that well.  =)

He was sitting on the branch, nice as you please. 

After the walk through aviary, there's a hummingbird garden where many different species come throughout the year.  We found a mother hummer feeding this baby hummer.  I didn't get a pic of them together, but this little guy was almost fledged, and they flew off together not long after i took this pic. 

This guy was an adult male black chinned hummer.  He was guarding that feeder that he's sitting on from all comers.  It was highly amusing because these guys are so tiny!

So that was the desert museum.  After that, we went and drove through Saguaro National Monument for a little bit, but we didn't get out because we were already roasting.  Then Lauren and I went to EeGees, which is sortof like subway but better. They have their signature drink/frozen treat called an EeGee, which is kindof like a slushie almost? But has actual chunks of fruit in it.  I got the tangerine dream, and it was seriously one of the most awesome things i've ever eaten in my life. Delicious.  I wish we had them in texas!  But i guess they're just a Tucson thing.  I totally would have eaten there every day, seriously.

From there we went to the hotel to pick up our packets.  It was a really beautiful hotel, but i didn't take any pictures.  I was kindof too busy enjoying my Tangerine Frozen Goodness In a Cup.  

After we trekked around and saw where our ballroom was and how to get there from the parking area, etc., we went back to Pat's place for Spaghetti and Tagging of Models.  I had pre-tacked everyone already, so it was just a matter of putting the right tags on the right feet.  Of course I lost one while tagging, but fortunately it turned up the next morning before my filly had to go in her class!  I'm pretty sure the tag fairies decided to hide it because they like to watch me running around like an idiot. ;)  After that, it was time for a shower and bed, because Friday was the first day of NAN!!

Day 3: Friday, June 17th:

YAY! The first day of NAN!!  It was really funny, because I wasn't really nervous until the show actually started.  I thought  I was good because NAN 2007 in Mesquite was my first NAN and only my 4th live show, but I got the Jitters!  I think it was because this time the stakes were higher, somehow.  It was my last BIG model thing that I could for sure commit to until i'm done with my Master's degree, and I wanted Atari and Logan especially to do well.  Friday is OF Breed Halter and CM/AR Performance, so I had lots going on, but I managed to get quite a few pictures, especially of the lovely performance entries!

Lauren was volunteering on Friday, so we had to get to the show hall at 6:30 AM.  This kindof sucked but mostly wasn't so bad because I wasn't quite used to AZ time yet.  It also gave me extra time to hang out with Fellow Region 5 peeps Kellye Bussey, Lyn Norbury, Diana Parker, and Collette Robertson.  You'd think we'd see each other all the time, but we really don't.  Everyone's so busy we only see each other at the shows!  And of course we keep up on facebook, but that's a little different.  

I was tabled WAAAY at the back of the hall, near the top 10 table.  Collette shared my table the first day, but after that had her own, which meant i had my own!  It was pretty nice to be able to spread out, but even sharing wasn't so bad.  Across from me was Kellye Bussey for all three days, and Shirra Villard from Washington state was next to me for all three days.  She was nice!  Saturday and Sunday Val Tudor and Renna Moss were next to Kellye, and Lauren was next to Shirra.  And then Lyn and Diana were across from us on 4 tables for Friday and Saturday.  It was nice to be surrounded by friends, especially when they were winning everything!

But, back to Friday!  Here's a pic from my table across the show hall...

The showrings were in the middle of the hall running across, with the competitors' tables surrounding them and slightly set back from them. 

 Ed was quite excited to be attending his first NAN.  He got lots of attention from other showers and volunteers -- lots of people came by and asked about him.  I think we may have started a new trend!  Several people asked where i got him and what kind of dinosaur he was, so hopefully we'll start seeing more dino mascots in the future.

 This incredible donkey cart and harness were all handmade by Deb Omel, who i THINK is from Ohio, but don't quote me on that.  (If i'm wrong, someone feel free to leave corrections in the comments!)  The donkey's name is Sweet Pea, and she won a national championship with this setup!  All of the inlays are tiny printed pictures, and Deb provided the book she got the idea and reference from next to the cart so the judges could see that it was correct. I was just enthralled with all the detail and kept going back to look.

 Deb also put the cart on a mirror,  so that you could see the underside.  It's just as detailed as the top! SO. COOL.

 This nice dapple grey Khemo is owned by Collette Robertson, and the costume is by Cary Nelson.  I believe this costume was National Champion.

 I took pix of several of the arab costumes just for my own records.  I did notice though this theme:  Cheekpeices In The Eye.  It kindof made me a little upset to see this basically simple error at the national level.  This is why i appreciate showing in Region 5 SO much -- we're super competitive, but our judges are great about telling us what we need to do to improve, and most, if not all, of the performance showers help each other out as well.

 The next class was Indian Costume, which had some seriously amazing entries!  This one belongs to Lyn Norbury, and I think it was 3rd by points.  The champ and reserve were costumes by Linda Gilette i THINK, but not 100% sure.  I'm still learning costume makers because it's an area I haven't ventured into yet.  (Again, if I made a mistake, please feel free to correct me in the comments!!)  I like indian costume though because I love all the tiny beadwork and the feathers.  I also really like the research involved in doing a CORRECT costume.  This is definitely a class I'm going to watch more closely in the future so I can try it myself!

Indian costume was followed by Other Costume, which is basically an anything goes class.  I like that it's got anything from historical 

This was a neat cavalry setup.  I just liked how it looked on the little buckskin morgan guy.  Not sure what resin that is, but i thought it was a cute setup.

 This was the national champion costume, owned by Collette Robertson.  I'm not sure who did the costume, but i know the horse is Boom Shakalaka, a CM Valor to Kathiawari by Karla Rankin.  I've always thought that he's one of the best CM's on the Valor mold that i've ever seen.  He really looks super oriental, and this costume was just incredible.  The reserve national champion also belonged to a Region 5er, Lyn Norbury.  I didn't get a pic though, unfortunatley.

 I really really liked this setup.  The resin is a CM Moody arabian (i can't remember which one at the moment -- either Serenade or Deja Vu) to Spanish, the Doll I think is by Sheri Wirtz, and the tack is by Jill Aman.  I liked everything about this setup except the fit of the bridle.  The cavesson was a bit too low, as was the bit.  I don't remember if this setup top tenned or not, but I did like how expressive it was.

While I was busy taking all those performance pix, my OF Stone Weanling, Totally Over Dun BWS, won a Top Ten in OF Stone Stock Foals!  I absolutely LOVE this weanling, and I was really proud that she won a top ten at NAN after only being shown twice previously.

 The CM/AR Scene class had some really nice entries.  I always like to see scenes from other regions because the people in our region don't always take the time to put scenes together.  I've seen this one to the left before, but I still think the idea was really cute -- peeping tom cowboy and the cowgirl in the stock tank!  I'm not sure where this one placed, but i liked it.

 This was one of my favorite scene entries.  I loved how complete that little stable was, right down to the working lights!  And that's a CHINA HR Silky Sullivan (??).  I know the tack on the wall was done by Jen Buxton, but I think Marilyn did everything else herself.  I really liked all the little details, and so did the judges.  This scene was reserve champion.

 This is Kellye's CM Deseoso Lorenzo.  I have always liked this setup; it's something different that you don't see very often.  And i LOVE the detailing on the horse -- he has the double braids that they do for lusitano bullfighting horses, as well as the mud tail.  I want to say Lyn Norbury CMed him, but i could be wrong.  I believe this scene was National Champion.

 Speaking of Lyn, this is her mule Emmett, showing in Other Performance.  I like Emmett -- he's another one of Lyns horses who does absolutely everything and does it well, and the fact that he's a mule makes it better. =)  He went on to be Reserve Champion with this setup.

 Here's a Fraley Tuesday doing Coon Jumping and not looking very happy about it :)

 This is Lyn's CM Sheila Anderson Bishop Sundance Kid resin (yes, there was a stock horse under there somewhere!!), Come A Chameleon.  I absoutely LOVE this horse -- He's quiet, he's forward, he's willing, AND he's fuzzy.  I've thought about getting Lyn to do one for me, but I just don't have the money right now.  Maybe next year it'll be in the budget.  Anyway, he cleaned up at this NAN, winning a top 10 in, i believe, every class he competed in.  He's doing english showmanship here.

 This is Kellye's CM Stage Mom/Giselle/GG Valentine to a Spanish Mare.  She makes a GREAT little andy mare, don't you think?  I'm not sure who did the horse, but I believe that the dolls are by Joan Yount and the Tack is by Vicky Norris.  I love how creative Kellye gets with her setups! This is a Leadline Class at a Spanish Show.

 This is Christine Armstrong's CM Breyer Clydesdale stallion doing Draft Horse Barrel Racing.  He also has a weight boat that he pulls, but I missed getting a picture of that.  I thought he was pretty cute.

 And here's Logan!  He showed in CM/AR Showjumping and Cross Country.  I decided to use his cross country fence because Diana Parker needed to borrow his regular base for her Justin Tyme, and i thought he'd be more competitive in cross country.  Unfortunately though, he was outclassed this time.  He did make two of the judges' cards, but he didn't get enough points for a top ten.  I'm going to work on more flair for his cross country fence and see if i can get another showjump made as well.  He's a VERY consistent horse for me, and I adore him, no matter how well he does at shows, so we just need to up our game a little bit and we'll do great next time!

This jump was set up right next to him, which i'm sure didn't help.  i was AMAZED by the construction.  Turns out Kevin McFarland did it as a CM order for Paula Anderson, who won reserve champion with it.  She also won the championship with her cross country horse.  Both of her setups were just spectacular; she totally deserved to win.  All three of her jumpers Top Tenned, and by points they were 1, 2, and 3. 

 While this was going on, I had several horses on the halter tables.  I'd been not doing as well as i'd hoped in breed halter, but I was still having fun and had basically gotten over the NAN nerves... Though I was pretty torn up about Logan not making the top ten.  I did get philosophical about it though, and that helped.  Anyway, so here is Cognoscenti BWS, my OF Breyer Limerick.  I've shown him very successfully as a TB x Percheron -- he was my first overall reserve champion ever, in fact.  So when I heard his name called for a top ten, i was thrilled!  He made me super proud, but then when they called him as champion, well, I have to admit i Squeed!

He's just so consistent.  I rarely come home without a NAN card when I show him, so for him to win a National Championship just made me so happy.  He's going to get a pedigree and go up on my Sire/Dam list now -- I wasn't sure if i would because he's a cross, but he won a Championship and he's been so successful that I think he deserves it.  I'd also been toying with the idea of retiring him, but I don't think i will.  I think i'll give him another year and then see what happens.

 Atari was on the table for his dressage class for a long time; those judges were busy!  There were not very many entries in this class, and I only got pictures of the first 4 that were put on the table because they started calling a bunch of OF Classes at the same time.  I was worried about the lack of entries in the class, because I was afraid they'd only do a top 2 or 3, and Atari would get locked out just by virtue of being 4th, but it ended up working out perfectly.

 This is Kellye's CM Alboroso by Sheryl Leisure, Arsenio.  Of all of Kellye's amazing CM horses, I probably covet this one the most.  He's just spectacular! 

 This is a CM Salinero that was also showing in dressage.  I didn't see who owned him, but he was fairly nice.  I always like Salinero, but he does have a few issues.

 This is Bleu Cheese BWS, my OF JCP SR Bay Bluegrass Bandit winning a top ten in OF American Ponies.  In 2007 my only national championship was in OF American Ponies, with Tybalt, my Flash.  I was quite happy with this, as her breed is somewhat hit or miss in our region, but she did well at NAN.  She ended up winning a National Championship as well, but i missed getting a picture!  I did take one today at home though, so there will be a pic of her with her cookie later on in this post.

 While we were waiting for dressage to be judged, people started setting up their stock work entries.  This calf roping setup belonged to Annette Dean I think.  I liked it because I thought it was pretty dynamic, but i know NOTHING about stock work.  (It's on my list to learn about over the summer so i can hopefully do some different western classes with my rose reiner!)

 I think this cutting entry was another one of Annette's, but i'm not positive. I like how this one is in the middle of the ring with no wall to guide the cow.

 And this is Kellye's CM Whisper by Lyn Norbury.  She was one of the few stock work entries that had a working setup rather than a show pen setup. I like how this guy is just quietly moving the cows, just like a ranch horse is supposed to.  (Theoretically, anyway)  I guess the judges thought so too, because Kellye won the national championship with this entry.

 I liked this one as well, but i think maybe the cow isn't placed quite right?  Someone with more knowledge than me would have to tell me for sure, but i think the cow's outside eye is supposed to be locked on the horse's inside eye? No?  Maybe it's just the angle of the photo, too.  I snapped these pretty quickly.

 And, after what seemed like an eternity, dressage was called!  Atari won the national championship!!! I'm so proud of him; he's done absolutely everything I ever wanted him to do, and more.  When I bought him directly from Kristina in 2005 or '6, my goal was to show him in CM/AR Dressage and win a National Championship.  In 2007, he top tenned at NAN in Texas.  He has won a total of 17 NAN Cards, the 2008 One Trick Pony Championship at Red Dirt Roundup, his NAMSHA Register of Merit in AR Dressage in 2008, his NAMSHA Superior Event Horse in AR Dressage in 2010, and now a National Championship in 2011.  I should probably retire him, but I have no replacement for him comping up, so he'll just keep showing until I find the horse to step into his shoes.  I do need a new upper level dressage set though; so what I might do is order one to fit both him and something else if I can.  Anyway, so after this win I was just floating on AIR!  Atari won!! Yay!!

So that pretty much finished out Day 1 of NAN.  I did also win a top 10 in Other Ponies Other Scale with Cair Paravelle, my JCP SR G3 SM Pony in chestnut, who i show as a Kerry Bog pony.  She missed a reserve championship by 1 point!  I didn't get a pic though, so you'll have to make do with the "At home" pic later in this post.


Day 4: Saturday, June 18th, 2011.  NAN Day 2:

Day Two!  So after all the success of Day 1, Day 2 started off with a few nerves, but more just wanting to get started.  Ed was pretty happy to be there again, but he was getting a little tired.  Traveling is tough on a dinosaur, don't you know?

 Day 2 is a reverse of Day 1; it's OF Performance and CM/AR Breed Halter and Workmanship, which meant that i was actually busier on Day 2 than Day 1.  I had three OF performance horses and i think 9 or 11 CM/AR horses on Saturday.

Here's a pic of our loot from Friday.  5 Top Tens, 3 Championships!  That's better than I did at my first NAN over all three days!

 OF harness started the day in performance, as usual.  This lovely entry belonged to Sheila Anderson Bishop, and I think it ended up being the national champion.  I liked how put together it looked.  This is what I want my harness entry to look like, when i eventually have one.

 I don't know who owned this adorable shetland pony mine cart entry, but i just loved it.  Even the little lantern was lit up! 

 This is Annette Dean's OF Cleveland Bay, being driven to a meadowbrook.  I always like the cleveland bay in harness; he looks like he's made to pull a cart or carriage, and he does it so well.

 This is Debbie Roff's Strawberry Jam by Sherry Clayton.  I love her.  I've wanted an SJ for a while, but i can't find one I like at a price i'd be willing to pay.  the nice ones are pricy, of course, as are the unpainteds, but I've even looked at ones to strip and not found one I can afford.  Ah well, she's on the want list, anyway.

 I'm not sure who painted this guy, but I like him because he's so fuzzy.   Or Girl, i guess... it's an Eberl Rosita!  It looks like one of lauren's, but my little brains were in a million places on Saturday!

 I know this one is lauren's.  This is the china Gilen painted a nice soft baby buckskin.  The sport foals class was interesting because it wasn't JUST sport foals... There were tons of other breeds in there too.  Someone had a Carlie Balling Gesche in bay dun that was marked as 1/2 Swedish WB and 1/2 AQHA, with a note that said that both breeds carry the dun gene.  I had to laugh at that.  SWE's carry CREAM, but not dun, and it comes through Bernstein, who was actually buckskin, though he was registered as bay.  Gotta love it when people don't do their research.

 I think this Gesche belongs to Jennifer Buxton.  I have to say I absolutely adore this foal, and I wish i could get my hands on one, but she's so hard to find... I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the plastic Gilen for now.  I do like his little face better than Gesche's.

 Meanwhile, in the OF performance ring, there were some lovely Indian Costume setups.  This one is Annette Dean's, and I'm pretty sure it was made by Linda Gillette.  I like how the horse has a face mask on this one.  I've always thought those costumes were pretty cool.

 This one also belongs to Annette i think, and it's also made by Linda Gillette.  I think this one is a brave's costume, but don't quote me on that.  I liked the diorama that went with it as well.

 The OF Parade entries were lovely as always. I really liked this stone TWH -- its a FCM with (i think) a Palouse head & neck.  You wouldn't think it would work, but it does.  I think i have a pic of it in halter as well, but I didn't get any closeups.  He (she?) belongs to Annette Dean.

 This is Kellye's 1 of 4 stone saddlebred winning the Parade class with a set by Sue Bensema-Young.  I've always liked this set, and i think it looks spectacular on that saddlebred.  I have to say the new stone saddlebred is growing on me... If one comes out in a color I like, i might just have to get it.  Not that I do saddleseat or parade, but i do like the mold, and Kathy Bogucki sculpted him, so at least he's fairly correct for an OF Plastic.

 I thought this was a great idea for Other Performance!  That's the schleich vaulting set on a stone pebbles stock horse.  I don't honestly know if this set top tenned, but i really liked it.  I'm pretty sure it belonged to Rachel Pierce; she shows a lot of minis in performance, so i wouldn't be surprised.

 And here's my OF JAH Raffle Treasure Hunt Honey Bay Lady Phase in showmanship!  They lumped showmanship in with other performance, which is fine, but I kindof feel like it made the judges compare apples to oranges.  Ah well.  I borrowed the doll, made by Lyn Norbury, from Alicia Vogel, and Heather Abounder from Desert Night Creations made me the halter a couple of years ago.  I thought it looked like a pretty polished entry, especially with the arena wall I got from Christie Partee.  Gotta love it when performance showers sell prop grab bags!  She got a Top Ten for this setup, which made me pretty proud.  It was my first Top Ten of the day!

 And this little Stone Arab Filly is doing a Led Trail pattern.  Rachel Peirce was proxying this entry for someone, but I didn't get the owner's name.  I like the setup, except i think i'd probably move the poles a bit closer together to accommodate the length of the filly's stride.  It's a good idea for showing foals/yearlings in performance though!

 I thought this was kindof a neat piece of hobby history.  This is a Cantrell/Boydston Secretariat.  I think only 50 were made, and i think maybe only 10 (??) had the racing tack with them?  Anyway, I'd never seen one in person, so it was really cool to get to see one and take pictures of him.

 This horse won both the OF Other Costume and the OF Other Performance championships.  He's another of Deb Omel's, and I believe she made every part of the costume as well.  The samurai guy even has little toes in his sandals!  I wish i'd gotten closer up pictures, but I didn't get a chance.

 This was a Polish Hussar... I'm not entirely sure who it belonged to, but again it was just an amazing other costume entry.  I admire people who research historic costumes and then reproduce them.  It makes me want to try, but i know i'd get stuck on all the fiddly bits and get frustrated.  Maybe someday I'll find something I just HAVE to do and that'll make me get my feet wet!

 I loved this SM Spanish Riding School entry.  It made me think of Alicia and her 4 Schools Of Equestrian Art project that she's working on.  I was also impressed at how correct this was for being on such a small scale.

 While I was taking pictures of the costume entries, they called Draft Horses to the table.  I love the sleepy shire from AA -- he just looks so relaxed!  i'd like to have one, but i worry because the AA resin is pretty brittle.  Maybe if i can find one I really like, i'll pick one up.

 I'm pretty sure this Mini Scarlett belonged to Shiela Anderson Bishop.  If i could have snatched any draftie off the table, it probably would have been this one.  I LOVE Scarlett in both sizes, and i really like Sheila's roans.  I wish i could afford a big one painted by her, but alas, not while i'm in grad school.  I wish i'd been able to get an unpainted one before they sold out!

 This is a Fraley Bram'll Blue Boy owned by Sarah Weelehan.  Lauren painted him and he went on to be reserve national champion!  I like the blue boy drafter, even if he is a little wonky.  Lynn sculpted him to be a young drafter, and I think he fits that discription pretty well.

 Here's my OF Cleveland Bay, Mahoney BWS, with his handy hunter setup.  He's been my OF English Division horse since 2007 or '8, and he's been super consistent.  He has his NAMHSA Superior Division Horse Award, as well as his ROMs in Dressage, Sport Type English Pleasure, and Hunters.  NAN 2011 was his last show, because he's done SO well, and I want to concentrate on other horses, like my CM and OF Straplesses (straplii?).  He showed in the entire English Division at NAN, 4 classes, and he did VERY well for himself.  I'm really happy, and he's going out with a BANG.   I definitely need a pedigree for him, so the search is on for at least one Bay RID parent -- most of the RIDs in the hobby seem to be grey, so it could be pretty interesting to find the right pedigree for him.

This is Margaret Suchow's Gummi Bear palouse.  I really like this pattern on her -- and I like the Palouse when it's CMed with the head and neck arched... When she's not CMed she just looks like she's stargazing, but she's a very useful peformance horse when she's got her head and neck in the right place.

 This is Theresa Buzzell's OF Snowman Gem Twist and his Working Hunter setup.  I don't usually like Gem Twist as a performance horse, but i was impressed that Theresa showed him so well!

 In the end though, Mahoney won his first National Championship!  After Atari's win on Friday, any further cookies were just gravy, but for him to go out, and in his first class win not just a top ten, but a National Championship, i was just tickled.  If he'd stopped there, i would have been able to finish the day happy!

 The next english class was Trail, and this lovely dapple grey Palouse belongs to Annette Dean.  She ended up being the Reserve Champion.  The champion was Kellye's OF Stone FQH, C Me Go, with a natural trail setup.  I didn't get a picture because i was running around kindof like an idiot, especially after Mahoney's win.  He got a top ten in trail also, and just missed another reserve championship!

 This lovely Haute Aire was painted by Kate Schick and ended up being the reserve champion of her class.  The gaited guys were on the table during the english division, so in between moving Mahoney to his different setups, I took some pix of them and the spanish horses...

 I'm pretty sure this Verroccio belonged to Jeannine DeCuir until very recently.  I know I would have loved to add him to my collection, but I didn't have the money.  He's just as gorgeous in person as he is in pictures though!

 LOVE Majestuoso!  I'm not sure who painted this guy or where he ranked, but I had to take a picture of him because I just love Maj.  He's got so much presence!  Most of the spanish resins do, but there's just something about him.  I know he's not terribly performance friendly, but i just like the way he's got so much self confidence.

 This cremello verroccio is based on the lusitano stallion Saphiro, who is one of the best known cremello lusitanos in the US.  (I actually think he's in canada, so i probably should say in north america instead...)  Anyway, i thought the cremello was pretty well done -- so often artists turn them pink or too yellow, but he was just soft.  I liked it also because it's unusual to see a double dilute in the show ring.  There are TONS of buckskins or palominos, but not too many cremellos.

 I'm a sucker for bay roan, and i really liked the work done on this little bay roan sabino Mindy.  I like Independence anyway; he's one of my favorite resins, but of course way out of my reach financially.  I have a mindy, and she does really well in the show ring -- she didn't get any love at NAN this year though.  Oh well; i bought her because i loved her, as with all my horses; any awards they win are just icing on the cake.

 This is the ribbon count in the middle of the day on Saturday. Eight Top Tens, Four Gold Cookies!

 Here's Mahoney with his second cookie of the day, and third top ten.  He was reserve champion in OF Huntseat Pleasure!

 After the Huntseat Pleasure class, the judges called for OF Stockwork to begin loading.  I really liked this entry of Margaret Suchow's...  I'm not sure if it won anything, but I thought everything was nicely coordinated and it made a pleasing picture.

 Here's a closeup of the bridle.  To me this looks like Heather's work, but I couldn't be 100% sure, and I didn't get a chance to ask the owner.  I do notice that the bit's not quite positioned correctly in this shot, but I think i took it while it was still being set up.

 After the Gaited beasties were pinned, they called for AR warmbloods to come up.  I loved this little bay Eberl Mini Tornado.  I'm going to try to get my hands on one for sure.  He's got a lot of personality packaged in that tiny body!

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 This is a Tracie Caller Highflyer in bay roan.  I saw this guy from across the room on Saturday morning and was just struck by him.  He's really nice, although i wonder how much of it is just that i like both the sculpt and the color.  I'm not sure who painted him.

 And here's Mahoney again, winning his THIRD cookie of the day in OF Dressage!  I can't believe how awesome he did!  He entered four classes, won Four top tens and three cookies!  *hop*

My wins in performance really made me feel like i hit the big time.  I know that if it were a Kentucky NAN, i might not have done as well, but i really felt quite vindicated knowing that being trained in the tough competition in our region has paid off. 

 I didn't do nearly as well in Western, but at least I had the experience of going, and I know what i need to do to improve!  None of my setups were BAD, I just made some rookie mistakes!  But i won't make them again; I made lots of mental notes!  Here's my OF Shining & Sassy, Seven of Nine BWS, in the Western Arena Trail class.

Here's Kellye's OF Natural Trail entry.  I like how the calf is just laying there asleep in the grass. =)

And here's the table at the end of Day 2: fifteen top tens, three reserve championships, and four championships!  Horses that I didn't get pix of were Ysgallin in European Ponies and CM Workmanship, Almost Always and Flirtation in CM Warmbloods and Flirtation in CM Workmanship, where she won a reserve championship.  I took pix at home, and they'll be attached to the end of the post with the rest.

By the end of Day 2, I was both energized and exhausted, which was kindof a weird combination... I was hopeful for Sunday, but I was also so tired I wasn't even sure I wanted to show!  LOL. But I figured I paid the entry fees, so i should go ahead and show my guys... We went back to Pats and watched Secret of Kells, which was pretty good -- the animation was interesting because it was done in a style similar to the Illuminated Manuscripts that the movie was about, so I enjoyed that. Then we crashed and slept like logs until Sunday Morning.

Day 5: Sunday, June 19th, 2011: NAN Day 3:

Day 3 of NAN is OF Collectability and Chinas.  I don't do chinas because not only do i have cats, i'm also quite fumble fingered and I'd have lots of very expensive piles of china dust, rather than beautiful china ponies.  That being said, maybe someday when I can get some curio cabinets and a horse room with a door that shuts, I might get a few chinas to enjoy.  until then, however, I'll stay with my Plastics and ARs!

 Ed was pretty excited about Collectiblity day because he wanted to see all the neat and weird plastic OOAKs.  He especially likes OOAK Breyers because there are less of them than Stones, and he's used to seeing breyers on my shelves, since I only have a few Stones. =)  Even though my showstring didn't do well in collectibilty -- to the point that i've decided unless i somehow get something REALLY special that has a good chance of winning, I won't show in collectibilty at NAN anymore.  It's too expensive to not do well.  (At least that's my decision for the moment -- things could change before the next time i go to NAN...)

 This Moody Clock Horse is the 2000 BF Judges Model.  I'm pretty sure he belonged to Tom Dean, but not 100% positive.

I really like this mold; he's quite popular, and I have three of them -- not any really rare ones like this, but three that I liked enough to want to add to my collection.

 This is Devil's Food, the BF 2009 Grand Champion Prize Model.  i WANT this horse!! She's black, which is one of my favorite horse colors, and she's glossy with chrome; what more can you ask for?

I really like the BGB mold; i know a lot of people don't because she has weird hair, or maybe her proportions are a little off, but i just think she's cute.  I do wish her mane were a little more performance friendly though.

 This is a Silver Fox.  I hadn't seen one in person!  I THINK this is the first time Breyer combined pearly mane and tail with "normal" body color.  He was a raffle model for BF 2001.

 THIS was definitely one of my favorite pieces of the Test/OOAK Breyer class -- A Bay Rabicano PAF and PAS to match the Shalimar PAM Conn!  There were two or three Shalimars there, so it was really neat to see the whole family completed.  I know these guys were an auction piece, but I don't remember what the date was on them.  I assume it was probably 2002, because that's when Shalimar was released.

 This guy was SO COOL!  This is a test for the Conn Third Time's A Charm in Glossy Silver Bay ("taffy"). I definitely would have tried to get a TTAC if he'd come out in this color!

 Okay, i know this Goeffert was a special giveaway for a big breyer event last year, but I can't remember what it was!  He's a OOAK produced at the NJ Factory in 2010, so maybe he was something done for the Sunshine Celebration?? It's been bugging me since NAN that I can't remember what he was done for!

 KIPPER!!! Kipper always reminds me of a toad -- he's so ugly he's cute! The first time i saw one of these guys was at NAN in Texas in 2007, and, while i have no desire to own one, i do think he's terribly cute.  There were 2 at Tucson, and both were in great shape, all things considered.  I know kipper and his friends were not produced for a long time because they were pretty unpopular, so it's neat to see one in person. :)

 This is a 1 of 8 SUPER surprise Glossy Charcoal Quarter Horse Gelding from BF 2009.  I'm a sucker for glossy charoal, that's why he's pictured here.  Basically, if it comes in Charcoal, I eventually want to have one.  Some people think i'm nuts because charcoal isn't a real horse color, but i think every collector has a weakness.  Mine just happens to be this one! =oP~

 The Stone collectibility classes had some pretty cool things in them, like this glossy purple pebbles saddlebred. Usually i'm not a fan of decos, but quite a few caught my eye in the Stone All Unrealistic Colors Class.

 I liked this guy because of the flame job -- He reminded me of a little hot rod!

 I loved loved LOVED this Unakite warmblood! He was incredibly striking.  I'm pretty sure he's a OOAK that was a T shirt contest award model, and if the owner ever wants to sell, I want to know.  This guy belongs in my collection.  And yes, it IS an unrealistic, and i don't typically do those, but he's just WOW.

 This is a ShooFly, which i think is a Stone Ebay Store SR. I really thought about getting one when i saw him on Ebay a while back, but i didn't because i couldn't see spending that kind of money for a mini plastic when i could get a mini AR or CM for the same price.  I'm kindof rethinking that now that i've seen one in person, but we'll just have to see.

 Here's a very pretty FCM Arab.  I like the shading and the flaxen =)

 This was another horse i would have taken home with me in a heartbeat.  He's a stone You Call it CM on the arab mold with the modified ASB head and an ISH Tail, and he's a portriat of an actual Tuigpaard stallion.  I'm fairly sure he top tenned in breed on halter day, but i didn't get his pic until Sunday because i was distracted :)

 Here's the TWH with the Palouse head & neck that Tom & Annette Dean own from the parade class earlier. The neck looks to be a little long, but the silouette is different from the regular TWH, and the palouse head does make it look more feminine.

 Look!! Snotty Pony Goodness!!  This is a OOAK Pebbles ASB that looks decidedly evil.  I wanted to snorgle her!

 This is B-52, owned by Jan Banks.  He's a Fjord x Drafter cross that might have been a run of 5 (?)... I'm fairly sure he won both of his classes.  There behind him is the reference shot that Stone used to produce him.

 I just liked this pony.  I dont know anything about him other than i thought he was pretty cute.

 Same with this weanling.  Now that I have one Stone Weanling, I definitley want to get some more.  She's just CUTE.  And I can't afford a PDD resin, so I can get some weanlings and still be satisfied. :)

 This ISH Mare and the filly below were SRs for "the Little Horse Show." I wouldn't mind having them in my collection -- I don't usually like the Long/Long ISH (or many ish's in general, ut this pattern s just really striking in the black liver splash + sabino.  I think i'm going to see if i can find the set here in the next year or so; I was just really struck by them and kept looking at them

The mare was matte, the weanling was glossy!  I actually think (don't fall over now!) that I like the matte better.  You can see the pink shadings in the flank and armpit, as well as on her nose a little more clearly. :)  These were the only two of these guys at the show, and I didn't really get to ask about them, which is a little unfortunate.

So those are my pix from NAN that i managed to take AT NAN while showing and visiting and hanging out.  It was SO Much fun!!

 Here's Mahoney with all of his awards!

 Here's Impressed By Treasure with her Top Ten Rosette

 and here's Almost Always with his top ten rosette...

 ... and this is Bleu Cheese with her Rosette and Gold Cookie!

 And here's Flirty with her two top tens and her silver cookie for workmanship.  She's not been to very many shows, but she's one of my most decorated show horses!

 And this is Ysgallin with her Top Tens.  She also has a top ten from NAN 2007 in Breed :)

And here's Cair Paravelle.  She also won a top ten!

I had a really great experience at NAN 2011, and i hope i get to do it again soon!  I learned a lot, i got to meet a lot of new fun people, and I came home with a box of awards that I didn't expect. It was so much fun!

So thank you to Lauren for driving my butt around and putting up with me, and her parents for housing me for a few nights, and to Pat McDonald for housing me the rest of the time, the rest of the AZ crew for showing a texan a good time, and to all the judges, volunteers, etc. who make NAN possible.  I also want to thank all the Region 5 Showers for being my friends, and for kicking my butt so I have to improve!  And congrats to everyone who won even one rosette.  You earned it!

I'll post the rest of the trip in the next few days... I've been typing this post for almost three days now!