Vintage Custom Model Equine Center

Vintage custom model horse in top photo: Chirin's Bell (by Judy Renee Pope).


VCMEC, THE EVENT!

​​Evolving since the 1960s, the hobby of model horse showing has been the impetus for a good many customized models to come into the world.


Model horse shows nowadays are usually held either in person, as "live" shows, or through photographs, as "photo" shows--and VCMEC offers vintage customs the opportunity to participate in both types of shows! 


  • VCMEC's Vintage Custom Model Equine Congress is a bi-annual live show--held for the first time in May 2016, again in May 2018, and, after having to cancel in 2020, back on track for October 1, 2022--that brings enthusiasts together as their vintage custom models compete for prizes. From the people's-choice Vintage Custom Showcase contest to the judged showrings of the Breed Challenge, it's a day full of ways to celebrate these survivors from the 1960s to the 1990s!

  • The VCMEC Online World Championships is an online photo show series that spans 18 months. With its 2016-17 first edition and 2018-19 edition each attracting horses from seven countries, and from six countries for the 2020-21 edition, it's designed to determine the world's top vintage custom equines through competitions focusing on conformation and breed type, color and workmanship, judged by an array of respected hobbyists.

  • On July 16, 2022, we'll also be holding a once-in-a-century event: the Spark Plug Cup model horse show and swap meet, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of Barney Google's wayward racehorse Spark Plug in the newspaper funnies on July 17, 1922! All kinds of model horses are welcome, not just vintage customs!


News and announcements are available on each of their linked pages above, as well as on our Vintage Custom Model Equine Congress group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vcmecongress/