What If ...

The question comes around every once in a while on hobby forums and chat sites, or whatever media hobbyists are using these days to communicate with one another.  It usually goes something like this: "If your house were on fire/falling down/flooding (pick your natural disaster) and you could only grab one model horse, what would it be?"  Or, more simply, "Out of all the model horses that you own, which one is your favourite?"

Typically, the questioners do not get the kind of response they are looking for.  In the disaster scenario, a large number of people would respond that they would not grab a model -- they would grab a loved one, or a pet, or a photo album, or something else more meaningful.  To the question about favourites, a lot of people will say that they just can't choose a favourite, or that their favourite changes day by day.

Despite this, I think there's some value in the question.  The way I put it to myself is: "If I could only have one model out of all the models in my collection, which one would I keep?"  This question works for me because it is not outside the realm of possibility.  Like many collectors of my vintage, I often ponder when and how I will downsize my collection.

Answering the question tells me something about what I value most in my collection, and can actually help me to make wiser future purchases knowing what it is that I value most.

The one model horse I would keep, if I could only keep one model horse, is my Pour Horse "Red Okie Clay" who I've named Tom Joad.

                      Tom Joad, or Red Okie Clay, as he's known to the rest of the world.

I did show this horse at a live show meeting, and he did win a championship, but I've had other models that were shown more extensively and brought home many more ribbons.  

There was nothing extraordinary about his purchase.  I did not buy him directly from Pour Horse at the time of his release, but years later, off the Model Horse $ales Pages, from a collector I did not know.  I did not get a great bargain, nor do I feel that I paid too much.  I have other horses that have been gifts, have been bought from the dispersal of special collections, have been bought in memorable places under memorable circumstances, have been fantastic "finds" and that I've probably paid too much for.  Tom Joad is none of these things.

He is a piece from an approximately 230-piece run, and is not apparently different from any of the others in that run.  I have other pieces that are one-of-a-kinds (OOAKs) and customized.  I have customs done by myself, by my friends, and by artists I admire.  The resin on which Red Okie Clay was based was done by an artist I admire (Carol Williams) and the china was painted by an artist I admire (Joanie Berkwitz) but I do not know either of them at all.

From this I can see that suitability for live showing, sentimental or historical significance, where a piece came from, its price and its value (which are not necessarily the same thing), rarity, and a personal connection to the maker of the piece are not among the things I value most in a model horse.

So what do I value?  Well, with Tom Joad I love the delicacy of his sculpture: those unbelievably dainty hooves, the long, thin legs, and the chiselled head.  I love the realistic appaloosa characteristics of both the mold and the paint job.  Even though the original resin was based on a Paint horse colt and not an Appaloosa, because it is a foal it has the sparse mane and tail which are also sometimes distinguishing marks of the Appaloosa.  The striped hooves and the lightning marks on the legs are also distinguishing marks, and very well done.  So delicacy, detailing, accuracy, and artistry are things that I value.

I have to admit that I love the fact that he's a china -- after all, I could have bought him in resin if I chose.  But I love the sense of permanence that you get with china.  It's fragile, but in its finished form is is not malleable.  It is fixed.  Its shape will always remain the same unless broken and poorly repaired.  But if Tom Joad were broken and poorly repaired, he'd no longer be my one horse.  So material and condition are also things that I value.

I also like the fact that the horse is just standing there -- not doing something wild or dramatic.  I have my share of rearing and turning horses, grazing horses and lying horses, bucking horses and pulling horses.  But I appreciate the stability of a horse standing four square on its hooves.

I can tell you that my second runner-up, as you might say, for the position of the one horse I would keep shares many of the above characteristics, but after that it gets harder to choose a single horse to keep, and I sympathize with all those folks who say they just can't choose a favourite,  Technically, I can't either, but if I had to get rid of all the others and could keep only one, I think that one would be Tom Joad.  There's nothing special about him, but he is the one model horse I'm proudest to own.