🟠Big Orange Bash 2025🟠

Content originally posted to Instagram and Facebook June 10, 2025

I’m home from BOB and slept for 10 hours so it’s time for my show write-up! BOB (short for the Big Orange Bash) is an annual show held in Knoxville, TN to benefit the University of Tennessee’s Large Animal Clinic. Every year, I try to attend a model horse event in a state I’ve never visited or a region I’ve never shown in. Additionally, whenever Kelly tells me there’s a show I ABSOLUTELY MUST ATTEND, I listen to her. BOB checked both of these boxes for me - although Tennessee is in Region 7, it’s a state I’ve never visited (I don’t count going to Nashville when I was two) and it’s one Kelly has recommended to me several times. So, I loaded my ponies up and traveled eight hours down south.

Saturday was OF halter and CM performance day. As a strictly OF collector, this meant all of my models would be showing. I brought around 30 trads, and 107 minis (which is what happens when Kelly is judging). The OF Breyer division was the most competitive I’ve seen since Are You Kitten Me! My horses fought for the two NAN cards they came home with, and my sole breed card winner Gotta Love a Tight End took it all the way to overall reserve champion in breed, so I was thrilled (incidentally, she went stock section champ at Kitten as well). In mini, I went all out with my collectability entries, coming home with several sectional champs and a public callout to the entire show hall about having a perfect collectability entry. A good day for sure!

What a perfect collectability entry looks like, as announced to the entire show hall

Sunday was CM/AR Halter and OF Performance. Since I don’t show any of that, I offered to judge AR Trad Breed. It was nice to just judge and not have to worry about missing classes for my horses. Plus, I got to sit! If you show with me, you know I rarely sit during shows. My co-judge and I meshed well together, and her show is on my list to attend when she hosts it again! 😃 I had a shadow while I was judging, and it was interesting articulating what I look for in a breed entry and my judging process. I hope she learned something. 😅 The AR Trad division was small but mighty, and the quality of horses on my table during callbacks was insane. I could have picked any of those horses to champ, and it would have been the right decision.

This weekend was such a blast! I got to see so many of my lower region 7 friends who I don’t get to see as often, make new friends, judge some pretty ponies, enjoy some of the best food I’ve had in my life, and enjoy the beautiful city of Knoxville. BOB may be a little far for me to make it out EVERY year, it’s definitely a show I’ll return to 🧡

The Champions: