So you're interested in entering a MECAA qualifier show? Great! Please read the information below so you know what to expect. You can contact your show hostess with any questions that are not addresed here.

How MECAA showing is different for you, the exhibitor.
First, choose your Arena.
Next, choose your Division.
So what does all that mean?
Okay. Now I'm confused.
All right - I'm confused, but I'll try it anyway. Now, how are awards and placings done?
If my entry wins first or second place, do I get to take it to the National Show?
My entry scored 90% at a MECAA show! What should I do next?
What will the MECAA National Show be like?
I like this idea! What can I do to help?



How MECAA showing is different for you, the exhibitor. You can choose which Arena and Division best suits every individual piece of your collection. You are not required to show all of your miniatures in a single division based on your showing experience - but you will instead pick where each piece best fits in based on its quality and its history. We hope that you will find this to be the most fair and the most enjoyable way for you to show!

First, choose your Arena. We use the term "Arena" to refer to the major categories of competition in MECAA shows. You will decide which Arena best suits the item you are entering. The Arenas are:

• Artist Resin. This is for resincast or similar cast equine sculptures, produced by an artist (not a company). In this Arena, your miniatures will be judged partially on the quality of the sculpture and partially on the quality of the finishwork. You should enter any resin miniatures that you painted yourself, or that you purchased already painted, in this Arena. Unpainted artist resins may not be exhibited at MECAA shows at this time.
• Customized. This is for customized mass-produced equine miniatures, such as repainted or remade/repainted Breyers or Stones. In this Arena, your miniatures will be judged partially on the quality of the body (including remake work) and partially on the quality of the finishwork. You should enter any customized miniatures that you painted/customized yourself, or that you purchased already customized/painted, in this division. If the entry was a collaboration between you and another artist (for example, if you bought a customized body and painted it yourself) then you will enter your Customized miniatures under your own name and in the Division that best suits your abilities (see the next section for Division information).
• Scene. This is for entire setups including miniatures, tack, accessories, etc. Entries in this Arena will be judged as a whole scene - how well tack fits, how well the horse is "performing" in the scene, as well as the fit, adjustment, and quailty of any miniature accessories used. In this Arena, your ability to set up a realistic "snapshot" display of real horse performance is being judged. Therefore, you do not have to have created any of the components used, but you must be the person who thought up and set up the scene being exhibited. You will enter the Division that best suits your level of experience with Scenes. (See the next section for Division information.)
• Tack and Accessories. This is for pieces of tack and other Scene miniatures to be judged on their own merits. Entries are judged on their quality and realism, not on how well they fit a miniature or what the miniature is "doing." This Arena is for saddles/bridles, harnesses, costumes, carriages and other vehicles, jumps, trail props, rider dolls, and other Scene accessories.
• Decor. This is for items that serve a decorative purpose, such as medallions, plaques, tiles, ornaments, and busts. Entries in this Arena are judged on beauty, creativity, and suitability to decorative purposes.
• Custom China. This Arena is for full-body china sculptures that have been finished with a one-of-a-kind/custom glaze. Entries in this Arena are judged on anatomy, biomechanics, glaze finishwork, and realism.

Next, choose your Division. Within each Arena of competition, three Divisions are offered. You should choose which one best described your experience or your history with the individual piece you are entering. This will assure that you are competing against others who have similar levels of experience and will eliminate the necessity of showing your own work against "The Big Names" if you are still relatively new to miniature art.

• Novice. Novice Division is for those who have been creating miniature equine art for less than two years. Novices must show their own work in the Novice division - any purchased miniatures will be shown in the Open Division.
• Amateur. Amateur Division is for those who have been creating miniature equine art for two years or more, and who create art on a non-professional basis. Amateurs may sell their work, but they do so primarily to fund further participation in the equine miniatures world and not as a means of supporting themselves. Persons qualifying for the Amateur Division may choose to show an individual entry in the Amateur Division or in the Open Division (but not both Divisions at the same show). Amateurs may only show their own work in the Amateur Division, not any other artist's work except in the case of collaborations.
• Open. Open Division is for artists who create equine miniature work on a professional basis. It is also for any miniatures, owned by those qualifying for Novice, Amateur, or Open Divisions, that was purchased by the owner/shower.

So what does all that mean? It means that you may be very flexible with your entries at a MECAA qualifying show. Our goal is to allow you to enter each individual piece of your collection wherever it fits best, rather than retraining you as an exhibitor to a single division.

When you attend a MECAA show, you may have entries in several different Arenas and Divisions. For example, let's pretend your collection consists of the miniatures listed below. Let's assume that you have been painting equine miniatures for more than two years, but you don't sell them often and you don't support yourself from the sales of your miniatures. Your entry in a MECAA qualifier show might be like this:

• "Rocky," a Sarah Rose Lonestar resin painted by you. Entered in Artist Resin Arena, Amateur Division.
• "Bob," a Mel Miller Sanskrit resin painted by you. Entered in Artist Resin Arena, Open Division. (Remember, you can choose to enter individual miniatures in Open as you see fit, if you are an Amateur Division shower.)
• "Sam," a Sarah Minkiewicz Dafydd resin painted by Sheila Anderson. Entered in Artist Resin Arena, Open Division. (If you purchased or commissioned a miniature, you may only show it in Open, even if you otherwise qualify for the Amateur or Novice Divisions.)
• "Susie," a Peter Stone ISH model repainted by you. Entered in Customized Arena, Amateur Division.
• "Lightning," a Breyer Wixom model customized and painted by you. Entered in Customized Arena, Open Division.
• "Vicky," a Breyer PAM model customized and painted by Sarah Minkiewicz. Entered in Customized Arena, Open Division. (can only enter in Open because it was purchased and not created by you).

You can see how flexible the entry process is. As an Amateur who produces art on a non-pro basis, but also collects miniatures by other artists, you may choose where to enter each piece of your collection based on several factors. As long as you do not cross-enter a piece in two different Divisions (Open and Amateur at the same show) you are within the rules of MECAA.

A person who fits the description of Novice (creating miniature art for less than two years) might enter their collection in the following way:

• "Deuce," a Breyer Stablemate Drafter painted by you. Entered in Customized Arena, Novice Division.
• "Mike," a Breyer Zippo painted by you. Entered in Customized Arena, Novice Division.
• "Thunder," a Kitty Cantrell Nitro resin, painted by you. Entered in Artist Resin Arena, Novice Division.
• "Zap," a Sarah Rose Mephisto resin, painted by Melissa Mistretta. Entered in Artist Resin Arena, Open Division. (Because you purchased or commissioned this piece from another artist, it must show in Open, even though your own experience with painting qualifies you for the Novice Divisions.)
  
  If you are a person who has been creating miniature equine art for greater than two years, AND you do so on a professional basis - OR if you are a person who does not do any equine miniature art yourself but only buys/collects miniatures, all of your miniatures should be entered in the Open Divisions.
  
  

Okay. Now I'm confused. Hang in there! Once you attend a single MECAA show and see how it works, you will not be confused anymore. In fact, we think you'll love it so much that you will have a hard time going back to "the old way." This is admittedly very different from how most of us have shown our collections in the past. But we truly feel that the MECAA system will give you a much more fair chance at shows, and will allow you to have much more fun. You can always ask us for clarification - just check out the Contact link at the top of the page. :)

All right - I'm confused, but I'll try it anyway. Now, how are awards and placings done? At a MECAA show, the judge of your Arena and Division will provide each entry with a scorecard that gives a percentage score. On the scorecard, you will see five criteria for excellence with a 1-10 scale, where 1 is very poor and 10 is excellent. The entry with the highest overall score will be the first-place winner; the entry with the next-highest score will get second place, and so on down the placings. In the event of a tie, the judge will use her own criteria as a "tie-breaker." First- and second-place entries may or may not go on to be judged in a Champion judge-off, at the discretion of the showholder.

Once the judge records her placings for the showholder's records, you will get your scorecard to keep. We hope that you will be able to use the feedback on the scorecard to help refine your artwork, or to help you refine your competitive collection.

If my entry wins first or second place, do I get to take it to the National Show? No. Although winning first or second place may allow your horse to win Champion and Reserve awards at your MECAA qualifier show, your entry will only be admitted to the MECAA National Show if it scores 90% or better on its scorecard. It is possible that there will be some MECAA qualifier shows in which no entries at all will qualify for the Nationals. We want to make qualification for the Nationals an exciting and very special event, not a commonplace occurrence.

My entry scored 90% at a MECAA show! What should I do next? First, you should celebrate! MECAA aims to make National qualification a difficult and meaningful accomplishment, so you should be very proud of your entry.

Next, file that scorecard away somewhere safe. At the present time, MECAA scorecards will be good for National Show entry forever - there is no expiration date. But in order to get your entry into the National Show, you will need to present your 90%+ scorecard. The scorecard will be the ONLY acceptable proof of qualification, so keep it safe until you're ready to attend the National Show (or until you're ready to send your entry there with a proxy shower). What will the MECAA National Show be like? We intend to make the MECAA National Convention, and the National Show, a truly exciting event. Because entries must score so very high on their scorecards to qualify for the National Show, we think that it will be an event full of nonstop thrills and the world's most beautiful equine miniature art. We think each year's National Show will be an event worth attending and worth talking about!

There will be one judge per class at MECAA Nationals. We will again use the scorecard system but instead of First, Second, Third, etc. placings we will offer Awards of Merit to half the entries in the class, and select a National Champion and Reserve from each class as well, based on percentage scores.

There will be separate competition at the Nationals for Open, Amateur, and Novice exhibitors in each Arena.

Class lists in each Arena and Division will be assembled based on entries, so that we can be sure you will be competing against a reasonable number of entries - which will assure you of a meaningful win!

I like this idea! What can I do to help? Encourage your local show holders to host MECAA qualifier shows. Or, host one yourself! They're not as hard as they seem, and we have resources in place to help showholders have successful MECAA qualifiers.

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