That's Racing

My brother is a professional race car mechanic. No kidding. He's worked in NASCAR, and for an American LeMans Series team. This weekend, he worked a race called the 24 hours of Daytona. Apparently there was a great shot of him sleeping standing up on Speed in the wee hours. I followed the race on FaceBook. Early on, the car had some issues with the gearbox, but they thought they resolved the problem. They were running well. And in hour 23, the gear box failed and the race, for them, was over.

Sucks, right? As my brother puts it "That's racing."

Yeah. There's hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, in building the car, and prepping it for the day of the race. I don't know what it costs to actually enter the race, or pay the team that cares for that car. And despite all the money and all that work...they can't even place, they are Did Not Finish.

That's Racing.

I swear it will make sense in a moment.

So. If you took a moment to actually read the NAN packet when you enter, you'd see that there's a note that classes that have fewer than 20 horses entered in a given class (or if less than 20 actually show up on the table--a lot of times not all the horses who are entered show) then half the class is pinned, and its not a Top Ten, its a Top Seven, or whatever. Its been like that since 1995. Some of its economic--prizes are about $60 per class, and if you have 20 horses entered, the class breaks even. Some if it is in the spirit of competition--to earn that rosette, you have to beat someone, not just show up.

You don't get a prize just for showing up.

I know, right?

NAN is not a member show. Its our National Championship show. Those awards should mean *something* that isn't "I paid my entry fee and got up on time."

And no, we don't track horses who qualify. So you have to compete against what actually shows up that day, not what is hypothetically qualified to be there, but isn't for some reason. Using that logic, its possible that the True Best Horse Ever never gets to a show, because not everyone who collects stuff--even resins, even CMs, even tack--shows it. I realize that seems like a waste to those of us who do, but its true. So you have to be judged against what shows up to compete, not what is hypothetically going to compete.

And while I agree that a good, consistant sponsorship program is something NAN and NAMHSA desperately need...I don't think its ethical to be able to just create a class to sponsor. You get to pick what the NAN committee offers. If you get to create a class--say Traditional scale CM Glaze Walkaloosa, bay base color, then you sure as hell don't get to show in it. Its cheaper to just make your own trophy.

Should we just give out "PARTICIPATION" ribbons with the NAN packet? Or maybe just forget the show and let people order trophies on demand? That would save the org money and a lot of aggravation, certainly. It would also make your cookie worthless.

It would be awesome if we could all count on winning a championship at every show we go to, but that doesn't happen. Sometimes all you get to show for an effort is the experience. I spent a lot of time and money on the 1999 NAN and I think I got one Top Ten to show for it. I've been just nudged out of champs at local shows and missed a National Reserve by a point. I suppose I could waste time being furious about how I'd been cheated out of a prize...but that's showing.

If actual professionals can have this attitude about competition, why on earth don't we, who are doing it, in theory, because we enjoy it? Do we enjoy just having the prizes?

The NAN Webcam Calamity

OK, since this has been posted on a public list, I feel like I can discuss it. And I also think I am done posting on N-D for now. Its become an echo chamber for about half a dozen people who are apparently ill informed about the show, and just enjoy hearing themselves. No one disagrees with them because the discussion is actually going on in other places, just not the official venue. Shocking, I know.

Anyway, when the webcam idea was developed and announced by Jim West and Andy Faraci last year, I was skeptical about it. Let's face it, model horse showing is sort of boring if you're not actually showing. Its not a spectator sport. When the jumpers come out, they don't jump. And at NAN you have to keep your distance, you can't go up and gawk at the entries and admire the detail and care that go into them. I thought a static camera shot was going to be kind of dull. But a lot of others were excited with the idea, so I kept my Debby Downer crap to myself.

And I was totally wrong. The webcam ended up being a freaking hit, especially after someone mounted it to a rolling dolly and pushed it around the hall. Laura Pervier eventually ended up doing most of the dolly rolling and commentary on the thing. I am not sure how that happened, I guess she got bored when she didn't have enough to do judging. It happens.

And hey, kudos to Laura for then writing an organized proposal that was submitted to the BOD. We were in the middle of another discussion, and per our long established protocol, discussion of the web cam was temporarily tabled to be discussed later. Laura wasn't happy with that, as she stated on NAMHSA-Discussion, as she is trying to swing plane and hotel fare and her proposal included a clause for reimbursement of part of those expenses. Eventually she withdrew the proposal as it was becoming economically unfeasable for her to wait.

This does not mean that the webcam isn't happening, folks. It just means that Laura won't be running it. Laura was not behind getting the webcam set up last year, her equipment was not used. So there is no point in getting your panties in a wad over it because you'll still have it.

I am not personally sure that this should be a $300 paid position. I mean, the webcam is a nice addition to the show, but with out the NAN chair (who gets $525, increased for this year, unless there is a co-chair, in which case, the stipend is split), a registrar ($525, also increased for this year--both these posts were $450 before 2013) or judges ($100 per day, an increase in 2012) a head steward ($300, position created in 2010) and a vast army of volunteers who work for a $10 lunch and a T shirt. The other staff members I already mentioned also get lunch and a shirt, and there is breakfast and refreshments provided to judges each day.

Now--its possible that at some point in the future, the webcam does develop into a paid position. I have a hard time saying that the organization should be spending $300 plus whatever the parking pass, and special food request for what is, really, a non essential part of the show. Without a chair, a registrar, judges and the ring stewards, there is nothing for the webcam to stream. I'm glad Laura is so eager to shift to this position, but it might be smarter to work it up more slowly than what she's got outlined. Probably, this needs to be a team of people-two or three-because that schedule she has is a long one. I love the idea of some structured programming--interviewing folks, that sort of stuff, but man, that is a lot of work for a single person. Worth $300? Probably...if the show wasn't already so far in the red. Are you willing to raise the entry fee so your mom can watch the show? People are also clamoring for small classes to be pinned all the way to 10, which is another way to spend. And there will be more on that later in the week. At some point, we have to start trying to get the show to raise revenue. And it can't all be subsidized with sponsors and raffle tickets. We either need to cut stuff or raise the entry fee. We probably need to do both, but I can't imagine what else CAN be cut at this point--does it make sense to add in another expense that isn't vital?

I don't think anyone who works for NAN expects to get most of their expenses recouped. Some folks don't even pick up their stipends, they feel that its part of their hobby pay back (I'm not one of those people--any little bit helps!!)

For reference, here's the proposal:

NAN Webcam Walkabout Proposal

I would like to propose that NAMHSA hire me as the official webcam operator
(aka Walkabout) for NAN 2013 and NAN 2014. There was a significant amount
of positive feedback from those who had never attended a NAN or who were
unable to attend this past year, but were able to watch it live via the
internet. People checked in from all over the US, Canada and overseas, and
really appreciated the ability to see what was happening in real time and to
ask questions of me. Not only did I have an enjoyable time running the
camera all over the show hall, I believe the ability for many who have never
been to NAN is a great benefit to NAMHSA, NAN and the hobby at large.
Ideally I'd like to do this for all years of NAN going forward, depending on
where the Indy NANs will be held.

Many people feel NAN is very cutthroat, scary and intimidating. I would
like to change their perception with the walkabout. Show them that folks
are having a good time at NAN and they're busy congratulating those that did
win.

My goal for the walkabout is to show those at home how much work is put in
to NAN by the entrants and staff, as well as what exactly goes on during the
day. I will be showcasing all of the classes during NAN, as well as entrant
tables, the judge's corral, podium, championship photo area, whiteboard,
registrar's table and anything else related to NAN. In addition to
featuring the nuts and bolts of the show, I will be happy to again field
questions from those watching and to highlight areas as they request it.

What I would be providing with the walkabout:

Broadcasting via LiveStream (or something similar) during the entire 3 show
days, from beginning to end

Broadcasting on the day before NAN from the show hall, both as a test for
the system and to show those at home what goes on in getting the hall ready
for NAN

Interviews with various entrants, judges, stewards and other volunteers and
spectators

Lots of positive promotion for NAMHSA and NAN which will encourage those at
home to attend a future NAN

I will provide:

My own laptop with an extended time battery and a back up battery
A wireless router (if needed)
A portable, moveable platform for the computer, webcam and microphone
An account with Livestream (or similar)
Lots of great commentary during all days of NAN for those at home
A very loose time schedule of when pre-arranged people will be interviewed
so those at home can tune in to see their favorite artist or whomever - this
can be published on the NAMSHA site, N-D and other lists ahead of time

What NAMHSA/NAN will provide:

Access to the Comcast hard-wire connection via my (or Niki's) wireless
router
Paid parking pass for the 4 days of NAN (show and set up days); if parking
fees are applicable
A large fruit plate in the morning (I'm gluten-intolerant), each day of NAN
Compensation for 3 days of NAN at standard judges pay rate - including per
diem for lunch. Set up day will not need to be compensated as this is
strictly to test that the equipment is ready and working.
A printed seating chart and cross reference list of entrants by first and
last name (so I can find entrants at the show for those at home that would
like to "meet" them) or provide me with the files so I can print them myself
Judging assignment schedule
Class list, in order of when they'll be called
Name tag
Official NAMHSA staff shirts
NAN FAQ on the NAMHSA web site (further details on the FAQ available from
both Stacy Faraci and Niki Hertzog)

Unpacking NAN 2013

We're adults. We should be able to have an intelligent and rational conversation. Especially when we are talking about a model horse show, which is about as much of a ridiculous display of extra time and money as you can get. I mean, we are not discussing how to divvy up the last case of Icehouse Light during the Zombie Apocalypse here. We're just discussing where the best spot for NAN 2013 should be.

Yeah, its that time of year. Full disclosure--I have been following the posts on NAMHSA-Discussion, though not in the last 24 hours. I do not read Blab. I have largely stayed OUT of the discussion, because I feel I can be polarizing, and frankly, its much better the meat of this on N-D comes from the people who are currently serving it. However, I got to the point where I was pissed about feeling unable to make my thoughts heard, and, well, I have a blog.

So how do you go about making a selection? Really? It should go to the location that makes the most sense, based upon things like what it will cost to run the show, and how many people can be expected to show up and cover its costs. NAN has not covered its own costs in over a decade. It loses money. On average, the Breyerfest NAN (which gets more entrants since Breyerfest is that weekend) looses less--between $2-5K, and the non Bryerfest one (which has been in Las Vegas, Dallas, Portland, and Tucson--prior to 2005, it was held in Pomona California in conjunction with another hobby event called Jamboree. Jam was a big draw for the hobby, but its organizer decided to move on) loses around 10K. Though apparently the Tucson NAN lost a lot more than that. You can make the argument that losing some money is OK, since NAN may have benefit for the hobby--its a big spectacle and you get to see all sorts of things you wouldn't otherwise. The competition can be fierce. But you can also decide that probably a 5 digit loss every other year isn't smart for the long term viability of the organization. After all, the often quoted "$80K in the bank" is now really, according to the latest NAMHSA News, in the $60K area.

And yes, there's been some discussion about how to cut costs, but no one wants to lose the trophies ($20 each, so $40 per class) or make the rosettes shorter (another $20 per class), or decreasing the judging staff from 3 per class to 1 (which would relieve issues with having the sheer volume of volunteers who can judge) No one wants to limit entry (like a show like Westminster does) and when you want to raise the entry fee, people don't like that (understandable) They also don't like it if the org wants to set a limit on how small classes can be (awards alone are $60 per class. It costs an entrant $3 to enter a horse in a class, so you need at least 20 in a class to break even. At the Tucson NAN, the entire OF performance division was sub-20 horse classes. Some were 3-5 horses. Entrants largely refused to allow the organization to combine classes. Some were offended by the very idea) No one wants to hold NAN with less frequency--say every other year, and people demand that it be held in a different location every other year, creating logistical problems that must be solved over and over again. So, the show is stuck because everyone wants what they want and are unwilling to compromise at all.

One way to get the non Breyerfest NAN to be less of a cash suck would be to try and get more entrants to it. This year, there are two bids in the northeast, east of Lexington KY, in the running. These are in areas that do support large, active, showing populations. While many of these showers do go to KY in Breyerfest NAN years, there are many who don't--the trip isn't feasible due to work, family obligations or finances. An event closer to these dense populations, might draw more entrants to a non Breyerfest NAN, and then have less of a loss. An event east of Lexinton could draw not only those who do make the trip to Breyerfest and NAN, but also those who stopped or never have been able to go.

For me, getting to the Breyerfest NAN is a 12 hour drive one way. The show is held the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday prior to Breyerfest. If I were ONLY to do NAN, that's a week I need to take off to do it. That's 1/3 of my vacation time. While this is do-able for me every other year, its impossible for some of my comrades who live even further east than I do.

For the western half of the country, the trip is, obviously, even more arduous. Which is why, initially, that non Breyerfest NAN was started. The org wanted to include them. Great. Except its become an entitlement. Even suggesting that the show be outside of California is met with anger. I helped run the Las Vegas NAN--5 hours from Los Angeles! And people were angry about the 5-6 hour drive to that. Oh, the non Breyerfest NAN is also held on a weekend. I'd LOVE to have a NAN 5-6 hours away. I could do that taking only one day off, if I felt like jetting out right after work on Thursday. But, because I live in NJ, I won't have that chance. I'm already privileged, apparently, to have a 12 hour drive and a mid week show, and I should be happy with that.

I do feel for the west coast and the travel issue--last year at this time, I packed a bunch of china horses into a plastic tool box and flew cross country to attend BOYCC. It was not cheap for me--my roommate had to bail at the last minute (her job cancelled her vacation, there was nothing she could do about it) and I had to take on the entire cost of my (not cheap, but very nice) hotel room. I don't regret the trip, but I would love another BOYCC experience that was closer to home. However, unless I put it together, its not happening here, and I'm not going to pursue that right now. I suppose I could bitch and whine about how I deserve a BOYCC here, and how unfair it is that it will only be in CA...but, its not the responsibility of the person holding BOYCC to make sure I have a convenient experience. If I want it, I'll make it happen. If I can't, I can't.

NAMHSA decided to try and make it easier for all to come, at least once in a while. So why is the west coast "more deserving" than the east coast showers who have supported the show and the organization as much as the west coast (really? How are we measuring this and who cares?) Why is someone in Region 2's time and cash spent going to a NAN in their region worth more than my same amount of time and money getting to the Breyerfest NAN? If its going to be fair, you cannot allow one group to gripe about distance and then poo-poo the idea that this is an issue on the other end as well. If its a valid argument in one place, its valid everywhere. That doesn't mean the organization should try and hold NAN in all 50 states, or everyone's personal circle. But it does mean that if one group is allowed an opportunity, to truly be fair, it should be offered to all. After all, in 17 years of NAN, 8 have been west of Kentucky. None have been east. No one has even bothered to put up an east coast bid because no one thought it would be taken seriously. When discussion last turned to this, and the suggestion that the non Breyerfest NAN might stop, the west coast begged saying that all regions should be considered. Now that there are TWO eastern venues up for consideration, they are sounding a lot like a spoiled child screaming about a toy.

The western NAN is subsidized by those east coast showers. If the childish behavior continues, they may find that the east is a lot less supportive of the endeavor. After all, more people from the east have helped chair that NAN than the west has turned out to work Breyerfest--in 2011 the organization had to threaten to cancel the show unless a chair could be located. It took a threat to get someone to step up and run the show they wanted so badly. IF the west wants this to continue, they need to start taking a lot more responsibility, and offering more help than showing up and paying entry fees, or buying raffle tickets.

I know this will post to Twitter and Facebook shortly after I hit publish. I ask that if you read this, and you want to respond, PLEASE do so here. This page is public. Everyone can read it. The hobby does not (and will not) have broad access to my FB account. Any conversations need to happen where everyone can read them.

And you can post anonymously--but if you're going to be packing a flamethrower, its not showing up. Be forewarned :)

The Amateur Owner

Sorry to abandon you all there.  NAN got in my way.

Moving on...in the past few weeks, I've been having sort of half on, half off discussions with many people about The Future Of The Hobby.  This tends to get people wringing their hands about youth showing, and I'll get there eventually, but I personally do not think that kids are necessarily The Future of the Hobby.

In the typical Natural History of the model horse hobbyist, you bought Breyers like crazy when you were a teenager (assuming boys and/or real horses did not take over) and when you got to college age, you Grew Up, sold your plastic ponies and joined the real world until you hit your 30s where you had money and time again, and hey, remember those Breyers?

Now, the natural history of the model horse hobbyist has undergone some dramatic changes in the past decade or so:

- it is less common for a person truly entrenched in the hobby to truly leave, or even take a hiatus on the scale that we used to.  College kids stay on board via the internet.
- it is easier to find local connections to encourage the obsession, thanks, again, to the internet.
- hobby activity is more stratified than it used to be, even though we fail to recognize this.  It leads to conflict among factions with different goals, as those different goals are rarely recognized.  Take showing at Nationals as an example--people whose goal is to show and win at Nationals is different than someone who gets a ticket and feels that the show should be as inexpensive as a local show.  We don't rate our shows based on goals or experience (I don't know that we TRULY have a base large enough to set up an A rate show circuit, but maybe its time to dink around with that idea)

In Region 10, we are starting to talk about Novice shows, and youth shows, and the amateur owner (AO) division.  I'm planning on getting into Novice and Youth in later posts, so for now, let's consider the AO.

I can recall showing my "roll my own" horses 15 years ago when New England Spring Expo had its AO division.  It was never very large, but it was often quite tough, and past AO entrants included people like Carlee Balling and Jen Timm (now Al-Biek.)  This was at about the same time that the Resin Revolution was in full swing, and you could have a body that you could slap any color you wanted to in fairly short order.  For a while, all my horses were my own work.  They were nice, but I don't have the talent or time to really be top notch, and I did flirt with the idea of selling my stuff (there are 2 of my horses out there--one was for sale at least recently, and I may go see if I can buy him back.  I know the other is in a black hole home.) in the end I decided I was not interested in that.

At the time, if your own work won an open grand championship, or a champ at NAN, you were booted from the division.  At the time, this was a smart rule, as it gave way for the next batch of up and comers.  Except NESE was the only show really offering an AO division, and it mostly died when NESE stopped.  I think NEMHC may have done AO for a while, but I don't think they have such a division now.

The AO idea did not really pick up outside of the region.  For a while, there was hearty debate on Haynet (yes, that used to happen) about how to split up custom and resin horses at shows, and most of the world felt that a Simple Custom division would suit the needs of people who wanted to paint their own...except it didn't.  A Simple Custom painted by Sarah Mink wasn't the same thing as one painted by me, even on my best day in the studio.  I sort of slid to buying other people's stuff once I went out of AO for a few reasons: there was no incentive for me to continue showing my own stuff in halter, as my stuff was now only going against stuff done by professional artists.  I had less time and more money to me, and this meant I could buy better things than I could produce.  I turned my creative mojo to performance set ups, which could be dreamed up and mentally worked on in places I could not wrestle with a visual problem. 

And here I am 15 years later, and I've gotten to the point where I am so picky about the resin blank I buy, I am not about to go and put my own paintbrush to it.  I suspect a lot of my other former AO's are in the same boat.

Now we DO have a new crop of people who are where I was 15 years ago, and the AO division has cropped up again at Windrush.  In a brief conversation with Kate (and feel free to chime in, Kate)  she feels that perhaps the accomplishment requirement should be dropped form the AO designation, and just leave it as a place for people who do not sell at all.  Back in the day, you often did morph into a sales force once you had stuff that consistently won, but obviously we've become more diverse than that now.  And I think it would work now, especially since everyone on earth makes medallions which are inexpensive and easy spots to practice without making a huge commitment, or having the anxiety that you might be "ruining" a perfectly nice resin.  People seem a bit more willing to torch up a plastic for the same reasons.

In terms of hobby growth, it really makes more sense to encourage the AO over youth or even novice.  The AO is a person who is invested enough in the hobby to not only show, but to create horses.  These are the people who are already supporting the hobby, at least on a local level, and really, model horse showing truly is all local level.  This is the person who is more likely to stay invested in the hobby and go to future shows, or even hold their own, and this is a person who should be encouraged to stay by giving them a spot to show their work against the work of others who are more or less on the same level.  Is it possible that a high caliber person who chooses not to sell might take over?  Sure, but I think that we are still a small enough community that, on a case by case basis, this person could be taken aside and asked to refrain from AO, assuming they don't take themselves out.  If it gets to be epidemic, then we need to think of a new set of standards, or perhaps, another division.

I do plan on discussing the issues of the Novice and Youth shower too, and I promise it will be in a more timely manner.

Getting Smaller to Grow Bigger?

Skye and I went to dinner after Windrush, and Skye was pretty adamant that the hobby needs to think hard about going back to holding shows in homes, and start being more specialized. She'd had a lot more fun at that show than she'd had in years. I agree, somewhat, and here is sort of how our discussion went.

I'm not sure that holding all shows in homes is going to be a viable thing. Not everyone has the space. I've got a more or less finished basement that I could host a small show in, but I think I could have 10 people, max. I also do not think I could pull off a performance show in my basement (unless, maybe, it was limited to a single discipline) due to my space constraints. Even at Kate and John's, parking was an issue. Not everyone is going to have spouses or roommates that are as supportive of the hobby either.

However, given the financial crunch everyone is feeling these days, a free show space, even a small one, is a huge advantage when planning a show, especially a new one. A hall around here can run from $100 a day to nearly a thousand, depending on if you've got a friendly fire hall or a hotel to deal with. You don't really have a time limit on a home show. I've been to shows where the staff is literally breaking down tables as you are packing up your stuff, and when you are showing custom glaze china, this is a really scary proposition. Perhaps going small and having more frequent shows is the more healthy thing for the hobby right now. Certainly, "free show space" as opposed to "hundreds of dollars out of pocket before you have a single entry" is more palatable to a new showholder.

I do think that shows are going to have to specialize rather than try to serve all comers. I know back when I started showing, most people were showing OF Plastic Breyers. Stone didn't exist. Few people had chinas, and the whole hobby ceramics movement didn't exist. Neither did the hobby resin movement. There were customs, but most people had one or two (and nearly everyone had one or two). There were not enough different types of horses to support different divisions like we have now--customs and OF showed side by side in performance (and I can recall discussion about if it would be worth splitting the OF and CM for the first NAN!) and if there were chinas, they showed with the Breyers, and usually beat them. Sometimes the customs showed with the plastics too. Now shows are at least split OF and custom. OF is probably split into china and plastic, but plastic might be split by manufacturer too. Customs may be shown with artist resins, but maybe not...and then there is custom glaze china. And performance. In order to support the number of judges you need to cover all these divisions, you need to have a big show, so you need to rent a big place. It has to be a big deal--time, space, and personnel--to be viable.

Specializing shows, if its by media (all china, all plastic, all custom) or by breed/type (we've had a sport horse show, a stock horse show, a pony show, and there is a draft/pony show scheduled for later this spring) can be smaller. You can have a more varied class list (Shetland, Welsh, Other UK, Gaited ponies and so on, as opposed to the typical UK/non UK split seen here) so you have more classes that are smaller, and therefore faster to judge. You don't need a large staff to run the show. Since you're already planning a small event, you can plan on using a small space. I'm toying with an Arabian only show as a result of this discussion because I think that is the one breed everyone has a few of, and would be willing to bring out. If the class list was split out--say Stone Arab stallions, Breyer Arab stallions, Breyer Arab Mares, Stone Arab Mares, Plastic Geldings, Foals under 6 months, Foals over 6 months, Artist resin stallion, AR Mare, and so on...you could have 2 dozen halter classes that could be full, but not 30 horses deep, and use entry fees to pay for lunches and maybe trophies or something, instead of a big hall that you have a time limit on.

Another benefit of specializing shows is you could have more of them on weekends next to each other, and they need not eat each other. I realize that none of us can go to shows every single weekend, no matter where they are held, but if show holders co-ordinate, they could serve different populations of showers (say, OF plastics and china, groups that rarely cross lines) on different consecutive weekends. Two or more shows could occupy the same space at the same time, much like China Buffet and NEMHC do. A huge do it all show every month is just not a functional model any more for most show holders or showers. We've outgrown that paradigm, possibly even at our national event.

Smaller shows that don't run a whole day also give room for other stuff--the "farm tour" we got at Windrush, time for seminars (which people in Region X finally appear truly ready for without needing to have them in conjunction with a show) and the like. I'd LOVE to do a model horse retreat--no need for competition, but rather we can have judging clinics, critique performance set ups before having them go live, or possibly hash out what we actually do want as a written set of rules or judging guidelines for our hobby (rather than soley relying on rules for live horses that don't truly serve what we do well.)

So what up guys? We've been experimenting with more specialized shows for a few years now, and the changes NAMHSA made a few years ago really do open us up to all sorts of novel formats. What's your region doing, and where do you see the hobby going?