Macclesfield Live Show Report

This last weekend I attended the Macclesfield Live Show is Macclesfield, Cheshire.  This show is run by Claire Ashworth who has run many shows before and usually runs more than one show each year – something I admire greatly.  I admire anyone who puts on a Live Show as the organisation, financial outlay and stress it involved sends a chill down my spine!

My day began early, I had to set off at 6:30 am to meet my friend Ann who was giving me a lift from her house in Leicestershire.  It’s not often I see the sun rise!!

Ann is a good friend, I’ve known her a few years now and she is one of the most supportive and interesting people I know.  She is also very kind and loves animals, something that helped me out enormously a few months ago when we had to find a home for one of our cats, Amber.  It’s so nice being able to visit Ann and see Amber.  Amber was looking very happy and settled, and she’s even lost a big of weight as she doesn’t compete with the other cats for food like she did when she was with us.

Ann also likes cars and I was treated to a lift in her new Jaguar XK, it sounded so niiiiiiiice!

We arrived at the hall in good time and Ann set up her models, she hadn’t brought many this time so we shared a table – hers are on the right (mostly trads) and mine on the left (mostly minis).  I set up a small sales table too with a selection of models and medallions, along with my new mini broodmare.

The broodmare was well-received, I have my first pre-order for her so I was very happy, but a couple of the ladies at the show who own or have owned real horses said something about the neck bothering them, and after a good deal of discussion we all agreed it just wasn’t right, which I am extremely happy about, as something was also bugging me about it but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.  Now I have the opportunity to make the changes before casting which is much better than if we’d had this discussion later, when it might have been too late.

On arriving at the show I took delivery of a couple of models I’d arranged to pick up at the show.  I had forgotten quite how much wheeler-dealing I’d been up to and, combined with the trades I did and purchases I made at the show (I tried to resist but Donna ALWAYS has something to tempt me!), these models have been added to my herd:

The Babysitter painted by UK Guest Artist Amanda Greaves:

AA Sabiha in Liver Chestnut and mini Welsh Mare and Foal (mare needing an ear and foal needing paint):

AA Riding Pony Mare (Hair Prep), broken front leg (easy fix):

AA Sabiha (Hair Prep), broken front leg:

AA Welsh Cob plaque (not the full 3D model but not far off!):

AA Working Hunter Pony Gelding with four leg breaks (bit of a challenge, but for just £5 I simply couldn’t resist!!) – unfortunately, by the time I got her home she had slipped out of her bubble wrap sleeve and also had an ear break!

AAE CBC (Animal Artistry Earthenware, Claybody Custom) Bat-Cat, ordered from the Halloween Retail Therapy page last year – this model was SO popular, I only just managed to keep it for myself!

Sarah Rose Mini Nahar – by trade, you can never have enough mini Nahar models – I wanted this as I have a stripped copy I’d like to customise, but I’ve held off in case of ruining it – now I have a good one whatever happens, yey!

My friend Beccy showed me a model she has recently received from Janice Williford in the US, it’s the Very Little One to the right on this pic.  Looks like a simple baby black….

…until she turned it around and showed me these beautiful lacy markings along it’s back.  She had some documentation to show that foals with these markings are born that way and that this pattern is not a result of any skin issues as was thought years ago.

This model came from the Blessed Broodmare models Janice distributed to raise funds for The Blessed Broodmare Project.  Janice didn’t paint all of the models but made all the arrangements for them and she did paint a few.  I was so thrilled to see that one of them had made it’s way back over here!  Beccy has asked me to decorate a base or two for her growing foal herd, which is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while – now I have a request I’m looking forward to doing these once Spring arrives properly.

The show began and started off well, first of my models was my new Babysitter model.  When I saw the other models in the Resin Thoroughbred class I knew not to expect too much:

So I was absolutely chuffed to bits when my new model, now named “Rose of the Shires”, came in fifth place, immediately behind all the Carol Williams models!  The other Babysitter in the class, painted by Deb Brown got the Special (ie 6th place)

I had a few more successes… Merlin came second in a class of sixteen (and I forgot to bring his breed info to prove Welch C’s come in dappled grey!)

My Tango came second in a class of nine (I’ve struggled to find a breed for him for years, he was simple a Spanish Mustang today – seems to fit!)…

My new little Jitterbug only managed a fifth place in a class of seven, but that was behind three of those amazing  that are just wiping the board over here lately and a stunning Timothy resin – we were commended on a great breed assignment though, which I can take no credit for at all, hehe!

I won’t tell you every placing from the day, but there is one more I must tell you about – I was concerned that there may be too many Babysitter modes in the Thoroughbred class, as it turned out there were two, but I wanted to try something out and I entered my Seal Bay Babysitter model painted by Deb Brown, into the Hunter/carriage class as a British Hunter (again with a little advice from my more breed-knowledgeable friends, and guess what…

…she won First Place!  I didn’t manage to get a shot of how many models were in the class, but the judge said she looked at the model after seeing all the others in the class and she just felt the breed was perfectly assigned!  So, it seems this little mare is as versatile as I’d hoped after all!

My showing for the rest of the day was below par, but I didn’t mind as I was on such a high from this.  So, I’ll share a little eye candy from the show and some pics of the champions:

The Animal Artistry Championship:

The AA Champion with his prizes – a gorgeous Cupid kindly donated by Donna for being the champion, and a bone china chess piece also courtesy of Donna for being the best AA Resin.

The AA Reserve Champion, bought on the day and jumping straight into success, this mule won a bone china chess piece for being the top-placed AA China model.

The Artist Resin Championship:

The Artist Resin Champion:

The Artist Resin Reserve Champion:

The Supreme Championship:

The Supreme Champion with his prizes (there was also a humungous box of chocolates too, but they wouldn’t fit on the table!), this is a Custom Breyer Child Star, I think (I’m not too hot on the OF names):

The Reserve Supreme Champion with his prizes, an Eberl Absinth painted by Claire Williams:

The Reserve to Reserve Supreme Champion with his prizes, an Eberl Adonis I believe, I’m not sure who painted him:

Congratulations to all the winners, there were some beautiful models at this show!

Afterwards, a group of us went to a local pub restaurant for a lovely meal and a gossip.  I caught up with a couple of friends I’ve not seen in such a long time, then it was time to go home, happy but exhausted.