Studio Update: February 9th

My past few weeks have been reaching the tipping point in my show frenzy, which will culminate tomorrow as I spend all day sorting halter horses and putting together a last minute saddle. This said, I've managed to get a lot done considering my lack of time. 

First up is the commission I decided to take on despite knowing I have two shows to prep for this month. 

The five point breastplate finally got finished, and the bell boots are currently in progress out of the picture. After that it's done and off to its new owner!

On the sidesaddle front, I put together the plain snaffle bridle for the dressage entry remarkably fast.

Nothing fancy, but super functional. I'm a little worried for the bridle change, but I should be able to manage it... somehow.

I also tacked up miss mule for the first time, which was so satisfying

She just looks so content to be doing what she's doing

and quickly made her whole get up one of my favorite sets ever!

Look at that cutie pie! I can't wait for her debut this weekend!

Speaking of which, her hunter jump had some flowers picked out,

got the final touches of paint, and ta-da!

There's more I might add for later shows (more green goodness) but I'm more than pleased with how it turned out for now!

Next up two of my four trail entries I needed to get done. In addition to putting off the documentation, I almost completely forgot about making all the poles.

That was fixed in record time, completing not one, but two trail sets in one day thanks to the motivation provided by Grace via Skype. 

First came the little mini whinnie from early January.

So. Cute. And. Tiny!!

I could barely control myself after I put this all together!

I'm actually weirdly excited to have this (very) little guy going in two classes this weekend, just for giggles. His entries will be complete with a magnifying glass for the judge. 

Back to my regular, more reasonable scale, where I decided to make an obstacle that had a whopping nine poles and seven flower pots. 

They were a pain to all paint and touch up, but I'm so happy with how it turned out!

Some nice iPhone flash

The struggle with this entry is two fold. First, it's not the easiest to set up because there's just so much going on, and because I have three other entries going in the combined english/western trail class on top of this monstrosity. Second, it takes up so much space, that I currently don't have a base big enough. I love using bases because they allow me to set up poles ahead of time away from the table, taking care of issue one, but I'm also worried that if I did get a base it would be too large for any size limits. 

My other picture frame which I use as a kinetic sand base was in an accident over the weekend that left the glass shattered and useless, so maybe I'll search for something bigger to replace it.  

All that said, my show prep is so close to done, I can just see the happily packed boxes around the corner. Expect lots of show photos and a nice show report once I'm back. 

Can't wait!