I would first like to start this post by apologising to all those who I, for the second BMECS in a row, have infected with lurgy. It sucks. I'm still ill. I'm so very sorry. I promise to try and not be ill next year!
As with the last show report I did Blogger has uploaded the pictures in reverse order, so you'll get a show report and then picture at the end!
Normally BMECS would start with a journey up on Friday night and faaarrrr too much alcohol in the hotel. But this year a heavily pregnant guinea pig and a pet sitter who wasn't available meant that we
had to drive up from home on each day.
So instead we started up on Saturday morning. The drive was less than 2 hours so it wasn't too bad but we wanted to get there nice and early. We arrived in Leicester with plenty of time to spare so we stopped off at the newest Tim Horton's to keep Brendon and his desire for Canadian coffee happy.
Filled with caffeine we arrived at the school on a VERY cold morning. Stood outside waiting for it to open was NOT FUN. Gosh it was so cold! But once we got inside we were greeted with a real party. As well as cute little party hats we also got party bags and balloons throughout the hall (although in hindsight these were probably not the best).
Brendon brought in all my boxes and I started the day by unpacking all my performance entries. As always I had everyone packed in order and planned to unpack as I went to keep everything nice and simple and organised.
The show started with performance across two rings and then Plastic CTF in one ring and Bendy CTF in the other. I didn't get off to a great start as my first Bendy CTF model had been left at home! But after that it turned out I had managed to pack everyone.
I didn't have much enthusiasm for performance so, although I brought some entries I wasn't in the mood for putting much effort in! As you'd expect the standard of performance was really high and there were some stunning entries. My personal favourite were the working Julip donkeys, each on a little scene showcasing a different job that donkeys can do. They were super cute and there was so much detail. I particularly loved the little lambs in baskets. I had seen this entry in photoshows and it was amazing to see them in person!
There were also some gorgeous Bendy CTF models on show, tonnes of beautiful Julips (the Julip showers were out in force) as well as some gorgeous RubberNedz.
Once performance had finished we moved onto Original Finish. As always this was split into small and large. There were some gorgeous OF models, including some really rare pieces which is always amazing to see.
It was soon time to break for lunch. There was some yummy food on offer and a chance to browse the amazing selection of sales available. There were loads of gorgeous horses for sale and I'm lucky I didn't have much money or I think I would have bankrupt myself! I did manage to come home with two REALLY REALLY TINY micros (I am not exaggerating here) that I'm so excited to paint! The smaller the better :D
At the end of lunch was the first raffle. The most exciting part for me was that I won the AA! I think it's been over 10 years since I last won the raffle AA so, as you can imagine, I was VERY EXCITED! I got a stunning bright chestnut Dartmoor. I remember thinking up a really good name for him on the day but I now cannot for the life of me think of what it was, so suggestions are more than welcome!
The day finished by running through the end of the CTF and OF sections. I was delighted to receive several Top 10s in the OF Small section (many with horses that have consistently got Top 10s at BMECS for many years). I was very happy to have some gorgeous rainbow rosettes and some beautiful little medallions. Although the stunning Clydesdale with flights gave me much anxiety as to how I was going to get it home without breaking it! I am yet to unpack that box so I cannot provide any updates as to whether he has remained in one piece.
I also had the pleasure of helping to judge the CTF Bendy championship. I don't often get to judge CTF as I usually have a large number of entries so it made a lovely change to be able to get to see people's horses. My personal favourite was the amazing condition Rydal, although we awarded champion to another horse, I was so impressed by how well it had been preserved.
We then had a long journey home, via Maccy Ds for a not so healthy dinner and Tims for some coffee! Once home we quickly fed the animals and headed straight up to bed (me taking a shot of Night Nurse to see me through) ready for another early start.
Sunday started in a rather lethargic fashion, I probably, in hindsight should not have doped myself the day before, but alas I had. As a result I slept the whole way there and was exactly compus mentis going into the start of the day. After a few slightly confused conversations I took to sitting in my seat and being filled with caffeine at strategic points through the day.
The day started with Workmanship and CCR. I had very few workmanship entries and not too many CCR entries so I spent some time wandering around the vendors gallery and chatting to a few people. I had the absolute pleasure (and pain) of helping to judge the workmanship championship. There were so many incredible horses it was honestly almost impossible to pick. My personal favourite was the incredibly stylistic medallion that was a true piece of art, it was honestly so beautiful.
Once workmanship was finished it was on with the AA, AR and CM sections. Custom had been split into large and small, as with OF. I didn't have many small entries which was quite nice as I could feel a bit more relaxed. I was also thankful that the AA ring was right next to my table as I had a LOT of entries in that section, including nearly all of the other equine class (I actually only had one mule that didn't qualify)! I received a large number of Top 10 rosettes, although no champion this year, and it was somewhat bitter sweet as I managed to smash one of my best AAs into 8 million tiny pieces. It was nice to see some horses that don't normally place take home rosettes though.
It was soon time for lunch and by this point I was feeling rather worse for wear so I spent most of it sitting, consuming caffeine and contemplating my life choices. We won a cute little purple bear in the raffle as well as a rather nice zebra water bottle (one can never have too many water bottles).
After lunch it was time to finish the CM and AR sections. Despite some clearly difficult judging, with some amazing horses on show, the day finished in good time with the CM Large and CM Small championships ending the day. Overall the show had been a huge success, and as always I was exhausted and wondering why I do this, but happy with all my winnings (and especially my new Dartmoor).
Roll on next year! I wonder what disease I can catch before then?
Photo Gallery!
CM Small Champion
CM Small Top 10
How amazingly tiny is this ickle mule?
A stunning Suffolk, I love the darker colouring
Absolutely beautiful and dramatic bay resin
Adorable little custom Arab
This absolutely beyond cute little foal
Cute little Welsh pony
A cute little drafter
Custom Small Champion
Tiny little AR - you might recognise this one, it's featured in many blog posts!
Another adorable micro
Another angle of that lovely bay
Another gorgeous little TT Night Heather, this one has been modified
A beautiful custom Valegro
Another model that's featured on this Blog several times. A gorgeous horse.
This little donkey is so cute!
In the process of judging the custom large championship
Lovely gaited model, I love the white markings on this guy
Lovely bay leopard spotted
So much cuteness!
This model was absolutely stunning. The colour on the tail was to die for!
A lovely little custom foal
One of my favourite resins - the paint job on this one is lovely
Another one I've definitely featured before. I adore the heart on this model, so creative
Champions received these gorgeous resin foals
The AA champion a really beautiful model
One of my own AA Top 10s - CRS Fiesta
Another of my AA TOp 10s - this is CRS Red and Green
Also one of my own AA top 10s - CRS Heinrich Hanson
Another picture of the AA champion
Romeo again, getting his group winner :)
A lovely AA Welsh - nice to see a resin as most AAs are now china
Another nice resin
Where's the horse?
Best of British Custom Winner
This is Jade - I very much regret selling her!
Lovely the colour on this one
This stunning piece was Workmanship Reserve to Reserve - it is a real piece of art
Workmanship Champion was this gorgeous delicate grey
There was much thieving of this unicorn! Here he is hanging out in my photo booth
Trying to take photographs is great fun WHEN EVERYONE GETS IN YOUR WAY
The face of a winner :)
Best of British paintjob winner
Another picture of the same horse, you can tell I have favourites!
Heinrich again - getting his Top 10
Close up to show the amazing workmanship on this spotted horse
A lovely sport horse
Bendy CTF Reserve to Reserve Champion
A beautiful dapple grey AA
CCR Top 10 - One of my favourite Northlight models
CCR Reserve to Reserve Champion
A gorgeous CCR Top 10
A cute little custom CTF
Romeo again :D
A better shot of that lovely Northlight
A lovely little CCR donkey
I love the pearl colour on this unicorn
Gorgeous grey AA
A very nice paintjob on this resin
Cute little Arab
Trying to get a shot of this one was almost impossible!
This Akhal Teke has always been one of my favourites and was a popular model when shared on Instagram
That cute little foal again :D
Lovely dapples on this little guy
Another shot of that lovely Akhal Teke
One of the sales offerings - the colour as amazing!
Another sales table
Tiny birds and slugs!
Another shot of that cute little CCR
Close up of the jumping resins face to show the detail
Mirrors to help you see the spotty bottom
A baby rainbow zebra
Lovely Chevel
Nice custom with a decent base!
FINN!
The best ears of the entire show by far
A lovely Marwari
Another gorgeous paint job
Reserve OF Small Champion
Reserve OF Large Champion
OF Large Champion
OF Small Reserve to Reserve Champion
A group winner from OF Small
OF Small Champion
OF Large Top 10
Another shot of the OF Large Reserve Champion
OF Small Top 10
OF Small Top 10 - love the colour on this little bat horse
My own Bobby Jo
Another shot of the OF Large Champion
Shannodell group winner
Partly Cloudy group winner
Lovely classic foal group winner
OF Small group winner
OF small group winner
CRS Maitri Daydream getting a group winner
CTF Champion
CTF Top 10
CTF Top 10
CTF Champion
Another shot of the gorgeous bat horse
The Bendy Champion and also a Top 10
Bendy CHampion
Bendy Reserve Champion
Bendy Top 10
Bendy Top 10
A cute little cob
One of my favourite Breye rmodels, I still haven't got my own one!
Cute little Breyer SM - I wish they'd use this mould more
A very impressive collection of plushies
Really nice colour on this guy
Gizmo getting yet another bmecs rosette!
Shiloh getting a rosette
Prague one of my own minis
A gorgeous little Stablemate
A beautiful Equorum - I love his plaits
SO SHINY!
Cute little Schleich getting a Top 10
Lovely Equorum Icelandic
MORE SHINY!
Frutella adding another rosette to his collection
The colour on this PSA is just stunning, I love her dapples
A beautiful little Equorum pony
Lovely colour on this Equorum
CRS Lion Tamer - one of my Equorum ASBs
The Best of British Prop Top 10
A really cute little tack set
Lovely RubberNedz and rosette
Gorgeous RubberNedz pegasus
Performance champion
Performance Top 10 - one of my all time favourite models
Performance Top 10
Performance Top 10
Performance Top 10
RubberNedz with a lovely mane
Another picture of the gorgeous Hackney
A shot of one of the gorgeous donkey sets
CollectA Top 10
Judging a RubberNedz heavy class
The Bendy Champion in performance with her adorable foal
RubberNedz group winner
A gorgeous Julip and cart
Beautiful working tack set
Arabian RubberNedz with decorative halter
The Performance champion with his group winner rosette
Cutting top 10
Up to no good I'm sure!
Not often you see a CWP, this little custom is adorable
Knabstrupper winning its class
An overview of the sales area from my table
Destiny one of my Julips
A barrel racing entry
Sow Jumping entry
Before we started I got Crackers out to test the lighting on the photo booth. Here he is being a test subject
