A Good Vintage III Was A Hit!

My popular vintage custom show, A Good Vintage, was held again with BreyerWest 2017 in Albany, Oregon at the Linn County Expo Center, during the NW Horse Fair and Expo. It was so great to meet new people and reconnect with old friends! We get to see each other so infrequently so it's a real treat to see them again! This is what shows are really about, aren't they?

On that note, revisiting old friends is also what A Good Vintage is all about, too! Folks brought out their old buddies in force this year, and the tables were full of gorgeous representatives of our past. Voting was particularly difficult this year with so many super-rare pieces showing up—it was tough! Every entry was wonderful and it was such a pleasure to enjoy each one—thank you to all who entered! They're all so special!

Mom and Hubby came, too, to help staff AGV—thank goodness! I couldn't pull this off without them! Thank you, guys! With their help, we were set up, ready to accept entries early, so that was nice. I like to be totally prepared ahead of time before entries start showing up. 

As usual for BreyerWest, A Good Vintage III classes were split according to three dates of creation: 60s-70s, 80s, and 90s. Last year we only had two entries for the 60s-70s, but this year we had loads! It was awesome! The older, the better, baby!

Everyone had a wonderful time and people loved bringing out their old friends to be loved again. Folks had a blast judging and memory lane was treaded happily that day. As it should be! But enough jabber! Let's get to the entries and who won!

There were so many pieces I would have loved to add to my collection! Those who do own them are such lucky ducks! There were lots of minis this year, too, which was fun.

As for awarding my special award, I chose Lakota Diamond, an Adios painted a blue roan blanket appaloosa by Kathy Maestas in the 1960s. This piece was so old, in such good condition, and so unusual as compared to her later style, I just couldn't resist. I just loved him! He's owned by Eleanor Harvey, and he holds a special place in her heart, too. Also of particular interest to me was Whipporwill Incognito, a standing Morgan by Judy Renee Pope and Elizabeth Bouras in the 1990s class. This piece was created by swapping the standing legs of the Little Bits Saddlebred with the articulated legs of the Little Bits Morgan! And voila! A standing horse! How cool is that?

It was so wonderful oogling all the fabulous and fascinating oldies and listening to people's stories about them and how much they're loved. It was also fun to see people vote and listen to their glowing comments and sense of wonder. Everyone had a fantastic time! These vintages have a way of bringing people together in a way modern customs cannot—the nostalgia and charm of a vintage can be such a unifying force! Truly, when we collectively remember where we've been, we gain more cohesion and perspective for where we're going.

CHANGES FOR AGV IV AND BEYOND

Operations went smoothly throughout the day though I did find areas to refine and change so the prospectus now has slightly modified information from these changes. We always learn something new to tweak each time we hold it!

The first big change is a prohibition on non-equines. I'd like AGV to be an equine-only show, including fantasy equines. 

The second big change is a prohibition on faux finishes or look-alike finishes. This is a vintage custom show, not an OF look-alike show. I want the pieces to look like customs, not OFs. 

The third big change is the timetable: everything has been moved up about 30 minutes, which makes the day more convenient for people's day schedules, especially at expos, as follows: 

• 9am vintage customs are placed in their respective classes and left throughout the day.
• 9:30am - 2pm People's Choice voting occurs throughout the day.
• 2:20pm Champions and Reserve Champions are determined by the ticket count.
• 2:30 Entrants remove their entries except for the Champion and Reserve Champion.
• 2:40pm Voting for Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion takes place.
• 3:30pm Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion awarded as determined by the ticket count.
• 3:45 Raffle for voters.
• 4:00 Entrants pick up their entries and vacate the show tables. Entries must be picked up no later than 4:15pm.
• 4:15pm Leave your vintage customs at your own risk.

Also note that times for entry pick up from the tables—first for voting for Grand and Reserve Grand at 2:30pm and secondly at the end of the show at 4:00pm.

The fourth big change is the awards. If you notice, the awards featured a new shape—a circle tile! I really like this shape as it accentuates the shape of the logo image, so I'll be reverting to that circle shape exclusively from now on. Also, I've phased out the OOAK sculpted porcelain tile for Grand Champion and the beaded tile for the Reserve Grand Champion. Instead—drum roll, please—I'll be debuting the new official trophy for Grand and Reserve at A Good Vintage IV, held in conjunction with No NAN-sense Extravaganza (in Kentucky, Thursday, July 13, 2017 in the Thoroughbred Room at the Lexington Center in downtown Lexington)! Yep! A Good Vintage will have official trophies! It's going to be pretty awesome! 

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HOT NEWS!

On that note, A Good Vintage IV will be the centerpiece event at the No NAN-sense Extravaganza, so I'm trying to think of ways to make A Good Vintage IV extra super special. For example, A Good Vintage IV will feature twenty raffle prizes for voters instead of the usual ten! So stay tuned for new stuff as it's developed! Download the prospectus here!

To stay updated on the No NAN-sense Extravaganza, check back with the NAMHSA website as it develops.

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I'm looking forward to A Good Vintage IV in a few months! In the meantime, I'm sponsoring the vintage custom classes at So Cal Live 2017 April 22-23 in Norco, CA, hosted by Julie Dewyer. I'll be busily making the awards for both shows, and I'm particularly looking forward to creating the new AGV trophies.

And in case you missed it, enjoy my blog post about my obsession with vintage customs. My collection is my pride and joy!

Vintage customs are coming back in full force and it's so awesome to see! They're beautiful little time capsules that embody so many good memories and bits of our history. So I hope to meet you at A Good Vintage IV, and until then...VIVA EL VINTAGE!

"Absent imagination and artistic vision, we are blind to the wonders of creation."

~ David Allio

A Good Vintage III Was A Hit!