The Liebster Award

Wow. Ok, I'm a bit speechless, really. I am incredibly honoured to have been nominated twice for the Liebster Award, once by CedarWoodStables of CWS Stables & Studio and once by Minki of StableStoreys. Thank you both so so much, I'm incredibly touched to have been nominated, and it really means a lot to me that you both like my blog. Thank you.

About The Liebster Award

The Liebster Award is an award made for bloggers by bloggers, aiming to put the spotlight on new bloggers and give them a chance to shine and get known here in the blogging world.

The Rules

– Put the Liebster Award logo on your blog.
– Thank and tag the blog who nominated you.
– Answer their questions and come up with 10 new ones for your nominees
– Nominate 8 blogs (with less than 200 followers), let them know you’ve nominated them, and link them in your post
– No tag-backs

Right, well, since the rules say I have to answer my nominators questions, and they say nothing about how many questions I should answer, I'm going to answer all 20 questions I've been asked by both blogs :)

CedarWoodStables questions:

1: Do you ride horses? If so, how often and what disciplines?

 I used to, many years ago, but then I left school and moved house to an area that has barely any riding schools at all. I would love to take up riding again, but until I find somewhere to ride I'm a bit stuck. As for disciplines, I normally just stuck to ordinary riding school stuff. I never learnt any dressage moves and I barely did any jumping. My favourite thing to do was normally just go out for a hack (ride around country lanes or along the beach).

2: How many pets do you have?

At the moment I have 2 pets (not counting my mother's tropical Neon Tetra fish): a 9 year old male black and white shorthair cat called Frankie, and a 2 year old white with black flecks Saluki x Greyhound female lurcher dog called Maisie.

3: Do you customise model horses? What do you use?

A bit. I'd love to do more, but I haven't been able to do much lately. I've got a lot of projects piling up on my workspace, though :) I don't have the courage or patience to use chalk pastels exclusively, so I mostly stick to acrylic paints and just use the pastels for shading.Here are some of better repaints/customs.

Schleich from left to right: Arabian Mare repainted to a dark bay, Percheron Mare repainted to a chestnut Suffolk Punch, Shetland gelding repainted to a dark grullo portrait, and old Pinto gelding repainted to a bay overo.

Stablemates from left to right: Warmblood stallion repainted to a black leopard appaloosa, Warmblood mare repainted to silver bay, Paso Fino mare repainted to shaded fleabitten grey/leopard appaloosa.

4: Favourite book/series?

I've always loved Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.  I also adore The Animals of Farthing Wood series by Colin Dann.

5: Best model horse memory?

 Hmm, that's a hard one. I've never really been to any events like Breyerfest or the Utterly Horses Hullabaloo, or even any live shows. So I'm going to have to pick the time my mother bought me the Classic Buckskin Morgan mare as a surprise gift: I never imagined that anyone in my family would ever buy me a Breyer without me asking them to, and I'd always thought my mother kinda thought my model horses were a bit childish, so it was great to know she supported my collecting :)

6: Model horse/horsey inspiration?

 My model horse inspiration has got to be Christine Sutcliffe of Last Alliance Studios. Her Schleich customs are what got me into repainting and customising in the first place, her tutorials have been invaluable and her websites for her models inspired me to do more with my own collection. I was absolutely blown away by how beautiful her customs are, and I hope to one day be half as good as her. You can find many of her customs on her Flickr account.

My horse inspiration is Monty Roberts, the real Horse Whisperer. He advocates fear and pain free horse training, and his knowledge of the equine language is inspired. His training methods use positive reinforcement and gentle immersion therapy to help 'problem' horses overcome bad habits and bad training.

7: Worst model horse buy?

That has got to be this guy. Don't get me wrong, I love the model. But I bought him second hand and when he arrived he was badly stained with cigarette smoke. I was crushed: I despise the smell of cigarette smoke. I should have sent him back but I didn't have the guts. Over the four or five years I've had him I've tried almost everything I can to get the cigarette smell out: baking soda, absorbent cat litter, soap baths, leaving him outside to air... He's a lot better than he once was, and you now have to put him right up to your nose to smell anything, but I don't think the smoke damage will ever completely leave him. Sadly, it's ruined him for me, and I'm too scared to put him on the shelf with my other models in case the cigarette smoke damages them too. I don't even think I can sell him: who would want to buy a smoke damaged model anyway? And I'm too scared to customise him in case the cigarette residue damages the new paintwork. I'd love to get a good quality version of him, and if anyone did want him I'd be happy to re-home him, but for now this is the worst model I've ever bought.
   He's pictured below with a white Stablemate so you can see just how much the cigarette smoke has yellowed his plastic.

8: Favourite horse/dog/cat colour?

For horses it has got to be chestnut, especially red chestnut. It's the reason for this blog's name, after all :) For dogs and cats I'm not quite as picky. With dogs I tend to prefer breeds to colours, although there again I guess I like red fur too, as I love Irish Setters, chocolate Labradors and red Border Collies. With cats I really don't mind: as long as the animal is happy and healthy, any colour is good :) I feel sorry for black dogs and cats, since they're often the animals that take the longest to re-home in rescue centres because everyone goes for the prettier colours first.

9: What’s your dream horse?

Real, or model form? My dream real horse would look just like my favourite model horse, Ember: a gorgeous red chestnut Morgan mare with a kind face, dark legs and pretty white markings.

My dream model horse would be a chestnut Suffolk Punch mare like this mock up I made on GIMP. I don't mind if it's made by Breyer, Copperfox or someone else, just as long as it's a good representation of a Suffolk.

10: Any other skills/hobbies?

I've been drawing model horses (and other animals) ever since I could hold a pencil.  Here are some of my pictures.

StableStoreys questions:

1.       What is your favorite place to be?

I loved walking along the beach with my dog before we moved house. 

2. How long have you been blogging?

I started in August this year, although I actually started planning my blog a few months before that. It was only in August that I mustered up enough courage to give it a go :)

3. What would your dream home be like?

Probably one of those old English type cottages sat on a hillside with a view across the countryside from the room where I do my writing, drawing and customising :)

4. How many blog posts have you made?

This will be my 18th post.

5. What’s your favorite colour?

It's a close tie between blue and green, but I'd probably have to say pale/sky blue.

6. Who is your favorite Harry Potter character?

Never read the books, don't intend to.

7. Have you got any pets and what are their names?

I've got a black and white male cat called Frankie and a white female lurcher with a black ear called Maisie.

8. Have you ever fallen off a chair? (don’t ask)

I won't :) To answer your question, yes, yes I have :)

9. What  brand of model horses do you have the most of if any?

Not sure. Probably Breyers if I counted all my Stablemates with my Traditionals and Classics. My Schleich would be a close second, though. To be honest I'm a bit scared to count them all :)

10. What is your favorite horse colour?

Chestnut, by far :) It's the reason for my blog's name. I specifically love standard, red and liver chestnuts.


Phew, that was a LOT of questions :) Now for some of my own (I'll probably borrow a few from above as well).

1. What inspired you to start writing a blog?

2. Who is your inspiration in the model horse or real horse world?

3. Of all your models, which is your favourite?

4. Which of your models do you most regret buying, and why?

5. If you could visit anywhere in time or space (including fictional places) where would you go?

6. What is your favourite season of the year?

7. If you could have any skill you want, what would you like to have?

8. What would your dream model horse be?

9. What is your favourite mythical/fantasy creature?

10. Tell us something about yourself we don't know (Ok, ok, not really a question, I know :) )

And now for my nominees :) If any of you don't want to do these questions, that's fine, you don't have to. It's just something fun if you would like to

Wow, it's quite difficult to find someone who has under 200 followers or hasn't already been tagged, so I'll only do 4. Hope that's ok. 

Ok, I nominate:

Last Alliance Studios

Many Mini Hooves

Chestnut Ridge Blog

Trail Blazer Farms

Ok, I think that's everything. Wow, this has been a massive post, even by my standards :) Virtual cookies to everyone who made it through the whole thing :)