Hi everyone! I hope you are well. Today, I want to talk about the history of live shows in the USA (not so much the specifics of the early days, because I wasn't born then, but an overall timeline of how things have progressed).
The first live shows in the United States were held in the 1970's, and were often very small affairs, being held in people's backyards or garages, with maybe a dozen participants. The hobby communicated mainly by written letters, hobby publications, and sometimes by telephone, so it would have been harder for people in the community to find each other or get the word out about events.
I'm not positive about some of these parts, so if you're more knowledgeable please let me know what things were like! I believe that outside of splitting "performance" (models wearing tack, but less of the intricate setups we see today) and "halter" (any model only wearing a halter or nothing at all, regardless of maker- artisan and OF pieces all showed together), there were not any further major divisions at that time.
As time progressed through the 70's and 80's, live shows became more popular (a large part can be attributed to Marney Walerius and her friends!) and larger venues such as church halls, Veteran lodges, and other recreational spaces became the places to host events. Somewhere along the way, artisan pieces began to be judged separately from OF (though Chinas and Plastics would still show against each other for a while) in Halter divisions. Performance grew more complex over time, with full on setups being created. By this point, many artists had become more skilled at repositioning and sculpting models into positions that were more geared towards performance. OF and artisan horses still competed against each other in performance at this time as far as I'm aware.
There were several revolutions within the hobby in the 1990's, including; Peter Stone starting his own company, the beginning of Artist Resins, Breyer hiring "modern" artists like Kathleen Moody & Sue Sifton, and of course, the start of the National Championship show, NAN. With all of this came a greater focus upon realism, recreating the equine world in miniature. There were also a lot of growing pains, as the greater variety of the types of model horses available caused splitting of divisions to finally be necessary. Between the 90's and early 00's, Performance split into OF and Artisan (CM/AR), and OF Chinas began to have their own classes outside of Plastics in Halter. We can't forget the impact that the Internet had on the hobby, either. Message boards allowed hobbyists to find and talk to one another. Live shows had their own websites (some still do!), and model horse dealers selling online as well as sites like eBay drastically altered what many people perceived as "rare". BreyerFest also contributed by having its own Live Show as one of the examples of the best competition in the country, and also reaching thousands of more people to bring them into the hobby.
And now we arrive at the early 2000's, which is where my own direct experience starts. My first live show was in the fall of 2003. There was a lot of change happening at this time, as well. While I attended a few shows that combined CM and AR in halter, most of them had started to split those up. China divisions were increasing in popularity. Peter Stone horses didn't have their own divisions yet, but there were often separate classes for them in popular classes such as in Stock Breeds, Arabians, and Drafters. Also, the concept of "double judging" classes on Breed and Collectibility was relatively new. Before that, classes were judged on some combination of the two (I never actually experienced this). That may have started to go to the wayside with the advent of NAN.
Throughout the course of the 2000's, many things came along! As more new molds were introduced, it often called for the creation of new, separate classes to accommodate a greater variety of represented breeds. The Gaited and Spanish classes especially grew in popularity during this time. Specialty shows, or shows that only catered to a specific niche became more popular- especially mini shows (for Stablemates and smaller, or sometimes Paddock Pal/Curio scale and smaller).
Somewhere in the later 00's or early 10's, Custom Glazes became more popular and started having their own classes, though those divisions were, and usually still are fairly small. Continuing into the early 2010's, it became more common for Halter-focused shows, especially OFP, to offer more than one division for plastics, usually a Stone or a Mini division. With the rise in Collectibility competition (even if it was still mostly double-judged in my area), older, less Breed-focused brands like Hartland and Marx started to come out more often, even though many judges were not as knowledgeable about them (I know I'm not), perhaps not placing well against Breyers due to that as well as popularity.
The 2010's brought even more dynamic change to the hobby! Fantasy models were approved to earn National qualifications. Breyer introduced their Specialty clubs (Premier, Vintage, and later, Stablemate). Artists took the realm of possibility to new heights and stretched their creativity in many new ways! Medallions and micro minis burst into popularity. Digital sculpting and 3-D printing technology made advancements in accessibility, both for those with physical limitations (digital sculpting) and monetarily (3-D printing, depending on quality, can be less expensive than resin casting and doesn't require the additional know-how to make molds or the ability to hire a caster). Peter Stone's company shifted towards making more expensive/exclusive models for their niche fanbase instead of offering a larger number of big runs at a lower cost. Debates about workmanship vs collectibility in judging Stones are still often had today. Copperfox joined the model horse manufacturer group, with a first run in England and a few years later after a hiatus, began operation under new ownership in the USA. H-R Tennessee was established and began producing new colors on older molds such as the ones sculpted by Maureen Love.
One of the things I've observed over the last decade in particular has been the exponential growth of number of offerings, mold wise, combined with the laser focus on realism in the Breed have started to create large rifts, inside of which are people who don't necessarily keep up with the latest and greatest new molds, or perhaps prefer the look of older ones. Collectibility isn't always a reliable place for older models to go, because 1. if classes are double judged, it still ends up being a game of "what's the rarest in this class?" and 2. most shows that offer separate collectibility classes don't have too many options for the more common horses (I applaud shows that put the effort in to be inclusive!) So, what we end up with is a lot of people who feel excluded, like they can't keep up, or like they'd rather not bother trying anymore. And most of the time, these are the people who will leave quietly, without telling us why.
There lies the difficult balance of offering enough classes to be worth people's time, while also not including so much that your show runs late into the evening. I've also seen another trend that I think is tied to the "trying to shove as much in as possible", which is more and more shows only awarding out to 6th place per class, as opposed to 10th. This is both due to offering more classes, so the host wants the judges spending less time writing placements and putting down awards, and also costs; more classes = more ribbons needed to make or purchase. We are at the point of being caught between trying to cater to as many people as possible to sell out a hall and maximize revenue, and overwhelming many of the people who do show up. Outside of a few hosts who do a phenomenal job with the "big 2-day show that has EVERYTHING", I truly think it's time to start realizing that there are just too many different niches and demands now to fit everything in without being chaotic.
My suggestion is- if you want to maximize your draw for a weekend, decide which niche is important to you (performance? China halter? OF Stones? Minis? etc) and find someone else who is planning a similar size show, but a different niche (OR find someone with a completely different take on your same niche!) and split the cost of a hall. You'll either need to find a hall that is large enough for both your shows, if you're doing one day, or rent out a space for both days of a weekend and each take one day. Another recommendation to hosts looking to go fairly niche with your classlist- be imaginative! Think outside the box and use a different format! If you are going very niche (like one brand or one breed type) don't forget to add more classes than what you would see at a full size show. I've seen class lists that are just sections of a full-size division copied and pasted, with nothing extra added, or further splits.
For example, if you're doing a specialty show for Arabians and crosses, your classlist might look something like this (for each finish division), at the very least:
1. Purebred Arabian Stallions, Mini
2. Purebred Arabian Stallions, Larger Scale
3. Purebred Arabian Mare/Gelding, Mini
4. Purebred Arabian Mare/Gelding, Larger Scale
5. Pinto Crossbreds, Mini
6. Pinto Crossbreds, Larger Scale
7. Appaloosa Crossbreds, Mini
8. Appaloosa Crossbreds, Larger Scale
9. Other Color Crossbreds, Mini
10. Other Color Crossbreds, Larger Scale
There's such a disappointment in seeing a breed-specific show, only to realize it has a class list that is no different from what you'd get at a regular show. Niche shows with more classes allow entrants to bring out more horses from a certain group, and potentially ones they do not normally focus on, which is fun!
I think that moving forward, we will see a lot more shows with innovative class lists- this was already starting to happen in the late 2010's! I went to one show series in 2019 that featured a different type of class list every time. One of them had separate classes for older mold OFP which was so much fun! There has also been a lot of discord with the national qualification organization, NAMHSA, so more people are moving away from wanting to host shows that will qualify. Some of that has to do with issues surrounding the pandemic, but I think it also has to do with fundamental differences in why people want to attend shows. Some people attend shows for the competitive aspect, either to compete with others or with themselves, and the prestige and qualification aspects of a show are very important to them. Others see it purely as a fun time, a social activity, and don't have as serious of a perspective. It's important to note that *most* people are some combination of both! I love competing, seeing how well I can do, and I'm proud of my models when they win, but I'm also there to visit with friends, and to see a lot of cool models I'd probably never see otherwise up close!
I believe that the differences in ideology have led to the challenges of things like creating standards for judging (this has been brought up MANY times over the years, and it really hasn't been successful, ever). simply because a significant chunk of people don't feel like it NEEDS to be that cut and dry. Because there is no official standard outside of a handful of rules that we arbitrarily assign, it can lead to the perception of some people that judges play favorites, don't know what they're doing, or they are too picky. I know that it is on those people whether or not they voice their complaints appropriately- this is about mismatched expectations. I.e. someone who is expecting a strict judge who is very rule-orientated gets one who prefers to take more liberty- leading them to believe the placements are "random", or that the judge isn't very skilled. On the opposite end, someone who isn't as competitive (or maybe is VERY competitive) and hasn't been doing well all day and feels frustrated might accuse a strict-rules judge of "playing favorites" if there are only a handful of people who have been "hitting the mark" that day. Because every judge is different, I highly recommend taking notes (even mental ones) at any show and just be aware of what each judge is more likely or less likely to place. If you also judge, watch other judges in the same division you do and see if you can discover how their rationale differs from yours. You will learn if there are any judges you want to avoid showing under, if you strongly disagree with their choices most of the time (including how they place others' models, not just your own). Unless there are major changes within the live show community and the way events are structured, I expect you will still see a mix of judging styles.
What do you see in the future of live shows? What are some things that you hope for? Thank you for dropping by and I hope you have an amazing day!
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