The speaker chronicles their decade-long journey in the world of model horse showing, evolving from a novice enthusiast to a professional custom artist. The narrative tracks their growth through various competitions, a brief hiatus for film school, and the eventual achievement of top honors through relentless dedication to their craft.
Yeah this is me at 14 years old.
Yes those are side bangs. This was my very
first model horse show.
I had no idea what I was doing. I used this old car
blanket as a tablecloth that my mom happened
to have in her trunk because I
didn't bring anything myself.
I brought all of my briars that I own and I heard
you needed a dust brush
so I brought this plastic giant cleaning thing like
what even is that? But I got to spend the weekend with my mom,
my best friend, my horses, and I even
won a couple ribbons. Needless to say, I was hooked.
In 2012, I attended my second show,
which my mom helped host locally.
Glad to say I had a tablecloth and a makeup brush this time.
I received a very lucky overall champion with my stablemate.
There is a steep learning curve here.
You have to understand horses
and do your research to receive these top prizes.
I spent hours upon hours researching in order to successfully compete
and this dedication paid off.
In 2013, with only three shows under my belt,
I won both overall champion and overall reserve
champion in the Briar OF division.
It may not seem like much but this was an insane accomplishment
at the time and I had no idea just how important
this moment was and how it would drive me to
further my artistic career when you make bad life decisions like going
to film i retired completely
from both model horses
and showing for a couple of years to attend film school and work in the
industry i collected life experiences until i found myself back
into collecting and customizing
in 2017 i began djb studios as we know it
and it wasn't until 2019 that i returned to my home
my roots and was able to attend another model horse show.
But this time I could also show my
artwork. This suddenly made the competition less about knowledge
and more about the expertise for
fine artistry. Showing O.F. Briar is fun
but essentially a competition for buying the best
quality toy and hoping there's no dust on it.
But the art side of things, that's exciting. I could
make the pieces, and the award was for that effort.
Damn Town Live was held in Bassano, Alberta in 2019.
The best in the West by a damn set.
This town is in the middle of nowhere
with only a show hall and one restaurant.
This was the moment I got to meet other full-time artists
and really start to understand the scale
of which this could take me.
This was the catalyst to my studio
becoming a serious way of life.
I showed over the weekend with my mom
and my best friend once again in my branded merch this time
and I debuted my custom work with humble results.
My repainted stablemate won a reserve champion
and Finnegan did too.
I was most proud for him as he was sculpted and painted for that award.
Finnegan then went on to win the overall reserve champion
in the custom division. It was announced
to the hall that I was an up-and-coming artist to keep
an eye out for and I left feeling so inspired,
supported and excited to be a part of this newfound world.
The next show was also in 2019
but across the border in Idaho, USA.
My mini artist resin won a champion and my custom pull
won a reserve champion. I was so motivated seeing all
of the other wonderful art and wanted to make
higher quality pieces in the years preceding
but then COVID happened so the next show wasn't until
2022. This gave me extra time to finesse my craft
and show work I was truly proud of. I got several
high placings for my customs,
but a lot of my drastic resculpts had to show in the artist resin
division. Despite this, Bacillus received a champion,
my mini artist resin got an overall
reserve prize as well, and I was happy with these successful placings.
However, I hoped for an
overall prize. This was starting to become the overarching goal.
In 2023, I attended Damn Town Live
and I felt my work was really improving.
I was excited for the outcome, but the judges did not
feel the same. I received high ribbon placings in each class,
but no champion or reserve rosettes
that day, other than my O.F. Briar Donkey,
but to me that doesn't really count anymore. Feeling
slightly defeated, in 2024,
the show moved locations back to Lethbridge. My customs were now
essentially complete re-sculpts.
I would go into these shows hoping for the best and often feeling
slightly defeated by the end of the day.
The models did well, don't get me wrong, placing high
while receiving a couple champion and reserve rosettes.
One of my customs I sold received the
overall reserve champion prize.
It was this show I really felt the drive. I had a couple missteps
by this point and my goal felt so close yet
so far away in 2025 i attended Lethbridge Live this time
with my good friend Emily she traveled across
the country to share this show experience with me we
dominated the rings in all of the categories
my mini artist resin won overall reserve champion
and her mini artist resin won overall grand champion
my briars did really well my stone got
an overall grand and kai got
an overall reserve still second best i have a hard time letting
things go and in my mind i knew i could do it
and i didn't want to give up just yet in between these
years i was intensely competing in the briar best customs contest
and stone art of the horse contest
for top prize as well. In 2022, Denali placed second.
In 2024, Mabel had placed second. But in
2025, Enigma had won the Stone Art of the Horse contest.
This winning really proved to me that
my work was at that standard, at that caliber that I had strived for.
And since then, I've been able
to step back from the competition
and enjoy the glory that came with working so hard all those
years. So in late spring of 2026 I was able
to attend Lethbridge Live once again in hopes of
that top prize. In preparation for this show I finished
a bunch of new models in hopes of
showcasing my new skill set.
My friend Mariah joined me on this adventure and together we
competed in the same rings.
The custom divisions were separated for minis this time and I received
several high placings throughout the day.
Mariah ended up winning the custom division alongside
Tammy Palomarchuk. I felt confident in my mini artist resins
but the downside of these shows
being highly competitive is how many horses come
to the callback ring for only two rosettes. This
was the model that won it all.
My medallion did me proud taking the overall champion and so did
Enigma on his base as a performance entry.
When it came to the custom minis I placed reserve champion
and I did my best to have a positive attitude through
these highly competitive classes and
intense judging situations these models are all crafted
so beautifully and it's so hard for the
judge to truly pick two pieces at the end of the day mariah
also won this division with my recent
paint job receiving a reserve in workmanship it
was wonderful cheering my friend on with her
success at her first show and even
though i received champion rosettes i felt like i failed
to reach my goal all of my custom work placed second overall once again
this left me to make a
spontaneous decision
to attend another live show back-to-back the following
weekend. We made it happen in Missoula, Montana.
This was full of new competitors
and new judges. With a complete custom list
for the first time ever, I was able
to show my work in the category best suited
for them. The resin division was
challenging once again, Mariah winning big.
The custom division started out with
a bang. Ghost received a champion of the light division,
then Enigma, then Clyde,
then Denali, then my stablemate, then my other stablemate,
and I was completely overwhelmed by
this contrasting result.
My customs won every single division champion that day. The callback
tables were significantly filled with my own personal artwork.
If that wasn't enough, Clyde
won overall reserve champion
and Moscow Mule won overall grand champion. I not only achieved the
goal, I surpassed it. This show
also included a best in show component where all the winners of
the day came back for a People's Choice Award.
Mariah won reserve, Moscow won champion. I cried.
All of these years of practice,
putting myself out there and trying so so hard had finally paid off.
Even though this video was solely about awards,
I don't want you to believe that it's all about
winning. It is about the journey to the prize.
I encourage you to make big goals and follow those
dreams relentlessly. Hard work always pays off.
Don't give up. Keep making art and keep showing up.
