Recently there have been a couple of interesting discussions around declaring color when photo showing models. In one case a judge claimed that a shower couldn’t declare a color on an OF plastic model other than what Breyer had declared; in another the judge insisted that a Fjord color designation had to use the Fjord registry specific terms (and curiously, the English translation of those terms, not the original Norwegian).

So here are my questions for discussion:

  1. Should we require color next to breed and gender at all? And if so, how specific should that color be? (IE: “chestnut” or “flaxen chestnut sabino rabicano”?)

  2. Does it matter to you if a shower chooses a different label for a model’s color than the manufacturer or original artist did?

  3. Does it matter to you if the color matches the label that the registry would apply/require? (Chestnut vs sorrel, grulla vs grey dun or grå)

  • LesliEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    As a judge, I sometimes find myself wondering what color the shower intends the horse to be. That’s usually because the rendering of the color is a little “off” for a valid color for the breed, and slightly closer to something that isn’t. However, it’s not something I weigh heavily. Real colors have a surprising amount of overlap between them - more than many “online color experts” allow - so I give the benefit of the doubt whenever I can.

    I also don’t count against entries that have a color misidentified unless it renders the horse unrealistic for its designated breed. If I have them handy, I have been known to put post-its on documentation correcting common misunderstandings, but as long as the model is a reasonably believable version of a legitimate color for the breed it isn’t something that factors in my placings. When it comes down to it, misidentifying your horse’s color is about as real-to-life as it gets. ;)

    Unless a host requires something different, I don’t DQ entries unless they are ineligible for the class - wrong breed, wrong scale, etc. Unless the model belongs in another class, nothing is so wrong that I can’t assess the model against what else is on the table.