Magnus

The extra special secret ingredient to the Father’s Day Web Special Clydesdale, Magnus? He’s Chalky. Didn’t see that one coming.

Darn you Reeves, darn you all to heck.

(Actually, the first word out of my mouth when I read the e-mail actually rhymed with "custards". As this is an all-ages blog, feel free to fill in the blanks with your cuss word of choice.)

He’s glossy too, which certainly doesn’t hurt. There aren’t a whole lot of vintage Glossy Chalkies of any stripe floating around: the Gloss Finish was mostly discontinued by the heyday of the Chalky Era of the 1970s. The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are the Brahma Bull and that small batch (five pieces) of Dapple Gray Shires.

There are some earlier Gloss Chalkies - the Walking Horned Hereford and the Bay Old Mold Mares and Foals being the most "common" of these, relatively speaking. Common the same way the "Full Rough" Walking Polled Hereford is compared to the "Poodle Cut" version, I mean.

The reaction among the chattering classes seems to be fairly muted, which probably means my odds of winning one aren't great. I don’t know if I’m some sort of statistical anomaly or in the possession of a really lame superpower, but the better the odds, the less likely I am to win something. (You know those really awkward drawings where there are more winners than losers - you know, 75 prizes and 100 entrants? Always one of the losers. Always.)

I already "won" something else a few days ago that I think will make up for next week’s potential disappointment. I won’t know for sure until it arrives later in the week.

They also released the remainder of last year’s Store Special "Dusty" as a Collector’s Club Special Offer. He didn’t light the model horse world on fire last year, and he’s not doing it this year on the Internet - so much so that Reeves took the "pieces remaining" ticker off his listing, ‘cause the lackadaisical pace of sales was kinda sad.

As I’ve said before, I don’t think the same thing’s going to happen with this year’s Store Special Taskin: a Draft Horse, on a more popular mold, in a more interesting (and better executed?) color. I didn’t bother with Dusty last year, but I am seriously considering Taskin, depending on what he looks like in person. (He wasn’t among the pieces on display at Equine Affaire, if I recall correctly. Odd.)

I have to do some actual, real-world housekeeping today, so that’s all for today, folks.