December 11, 2008. One of the things I like most about this hobby of model horses is its ability to create a world. Oh sometimes the disguise is thin! and lasts for only a moment. But it is there. With just a little imagination -- a little is all it takes -- you can hear the drumming of the hooves, the jingle of the chains and spinners; see the dust puffing up; smell the sawdust. The roar of the crowd and the glare of the spotlights is there, and the announcer's numbing blare. I have sometimes wished I could recreate in miniature the judge's box, which descends from the ceiling during the National Western. Failing that, upon completion of A.G.'s Single Draft Harness, I opted for the powers of imagination.
There is a large table in our basement. I had just managed to fix a broken drafting lamp (a delightful pun!) and clamped it to the back of this table, to shed light from above. Nothing is more frustrating during a model photo shoot than not enough light!! Then I spread my biggest background cloth on the surface for an arena -- it was a satisfying brown -- and piled up boxes in back, of which there are many in the basement... not a few of them Guide boxes.
(150 copies at a time is a lot of boxes, and we've had a lot of times.) Then I draped my blue card tablecloth over them. It's better than sheet white and my only other choice was my silvery grey, which both reflects quite badly and is too small for this job. (The silvery backdrop may be seen in the Hartland book, behind models shot by me.)
I've always wanted to do this, ever since that table went in: set up a miniature arena. The lights from the plant rack are directly across the way. Their neon-purple glow landed beautifully on a black horse; see her off shoulder in the top picture. I didn't have a decent fence, but I did have a collection of jumps, accumulated over 29 years of playing with toy horses... dating back to one I'd made myself, in the first flush of discovery.
I also brought out all the pine trees, but these did not make it into the photos. A second lamp supplied sufficient light. Then it was time to find the vehicles, drivers, and dogs, without which no harness shoot ever goes forward. You can see the Jack Russell perched on the cart by Sam's elbow. She's a china. Just like nearly every china I've ever owned, this dog got broken -- fell off the cart during the shoot, and lost the OTHER hind leg -- the first having been broken long ago. (A session with Elmer's soon mended her affairs.) The other dog, I'm happy to say, is a plastic Hartland (Bullet) and you can see him here in the wagon bed. Josh, the ring steward, has to be forgiven for wearing a hat that is too small for him. (Isn't that nicer than saying his head is too big?) You can't have a harness class without a ring steward. I found everything I needed,... except a companion to share the fun.
What we are testing out and shooting here is the adaptation of a Single harness to a Pair. The Giddings harness, seen here on the pinto (Papoose/Tarzania), is my first Show Draft harness since 2001 -- and the 2001 one is owned by Giddings too! A Pair was a natural. I built the 2001 one by copying my own Draft harness, seen here on the black (M.G.'s Prince/Reckless Obsession). What could be more obvious than an encore! There are a few differences between them, of course. These are mostly in the brasses; different leather for the reins, different crimps for the bit, minor stuff like that. It was easy enough to hitch up to my Blenkey Draft Cart.
But to test all the attachments and instructions I had made for Angela -- to actually fit a Single to a Pair -- took some courage. I had a perilous question: how much is too much to ask a customer to do? What is the level of skill you can safely assume another hobbyist has? Normally I don't have to ask this question to such a specific depth. It really was most tricky.
A Pair Harness is not the same as two Singles. Teaching the public this message is as hard as getting across the idea that the sun does not go around the earth. Fortunately my customer had been a driver for years and knew all about harness. But I still had to condense all my intentions into something resembling easy-to-understand. This is a skill as much as any other: the graphic artist, the commercial illustrator must do it. I harked back to my college education for this one, a skill drawn on during the making of the Guide, and sporadically for other harness customers. But this time I took photos of my illustrations. Yes, that camera is turning out real handy!!
Pair lines (reins). Flank straps (quarter straps). Trace carriers. A small difference on the traces made a huge difference in speed of assembly. Pole straps. Breast straps. Removable holdbacks and shaft loops for the Single. I even made a fancy rein drop for the pair lines -- you can spot it under Tarzania's jaw.
It turned out a darn good thing I'd gone to all this fuss, because in addition to the fun of setting up the arena and shooting a harness class, I answered my question, which had had to do with how to arrange the martingale strap of the Pole and Breast strap arrangement. Through it all, my star was her words, "easy is good."
At this point I'm going to switch subjects, and rattle off about various notices and holiday hints. Everyone is encouraged to visit the Tack Orders page, and keep an eye on the evolving schedule there. We're closing in on victory -- only 3 more orders to go! A BIG thank you to everyone who's waited!! It can't be easy. I'm starting to think that small Auction items might almost be a reward for those who simply can't get in the Lottery. At the moment I'm hoping for at least a set of reins to come out in the next month or so... thanks to Lori for inspiring me, amoung others!
As ever we will be "incommunicado" over the Christmas break... not that we're not here, but the computer will be down. During this time, Dec. 20 to Jan. 10, the Guide page will be taken down, since I don't handle book orders over vacation. Many thank-yous to friends who once pointed out that one of my pages was down! Bless you for your vigilance, but it was on purpose... The last day to order a copy of Guide to Making Model Horse Tack will be Thursday, December 18.
My Christmas letter may be a bit late this year, but rest assured I haven't forgotten. My wishes to all of you remain the same: I hope you have a contented and satisfying Christmas and New Year, and that Hope, itself, has a place in your lives. "If your heart is in your dream / No request is too extreme." I want to tell a story here, to any who are despondent: in 1983 I had graduated but had no job, and was living, renting, in conditions of, shall we say, penury. While I looked for a drafting job, I was taking orders for model tack on the side, unable to resist the lure and fun of this new hobby. The next 4 years were some of the most challenging, but also satisfying, of my whole life: I built a business and created a field. When one door closes, another opens... that's what I believe. May you enjoy many blessings this Holiday season.
(BEN-sum-uh) (TIM-uh-roo). My eBay name is timaru-star-ii. This page updated approximately every two to four months.