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______________________________ Current Auction Hat The Derby Hat Collection by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® ______________________________
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Please join us once for
The
First Annual The “Hidden Lake” Hat For the fourth consecutive year, MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® and Old Friends are teaming up for an unparalleled online shopping experience: "Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to the Derby". This unique Derby hat fundraiser features one-of-a-kind couture Derby hats created by MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® to benefit the retired racehorses of Old Friends. To learn more about Old Friends at Dream Chase Farm and bid on the hats, please visit the Old Friends website, or call them at 502-863-1775. The fifth hat up for bid in March honors 20-year-old Kentucky-bred Hidden Lake whose three Grade 1 victories in the 1997 Hempstead, Go For Wand and Beldame Stakes races helped earn her that year's Eclipse award for Older Female Champion. Cape Cod milliner Sally Faith Steinmann of MAGGIE MAE DESIGNS® has created this stunning one-of-a-kind couture Derby hat to honor this gutsy mare who was donated to Old Friends in 2009 by her owner, Robert S. Evans.
People often ask what makes a champion racehorse. The 1997 Go For Wand Stakes may be the race that best sums up the courageous spirit of Hidden Lake. Just when it looked as if she had been defeated with only 1/16th of a mile remaining in the race, Hidden Lake did what her jockey, Richard Migliore, described in the following way: “She reached down and found something that wasn't there.” And that's what champions do; they dig down and find a little something extra that can only be described as heart. Hidden Lake went on to have a stellar year with two more Grade 1 wins in the Hempstead Stakes and the Beldame Stakes along with a Grade 2 victory in the Shuvee Stakes at Belmont. To read about this magnificent Thoroughbred athlete, please click on the photo of Hidden Lake.
_______________________________________________________________________________ To honor Hidden Lake with a chapeau befitting a true champion, a dramatic design was created with a unique blend of colors and textures that showcases the mare's bay coloring and the Robert Clay & Tracy Farmer racing silk colors of yellow, green and white. A hat foundation was created using a deep yellow dupioni silk with a chocolate brown and white polka dot underbrim.
Layers of deep chocolate organza were used to create a ruffled brim edge trim that literally dances and moves and frames the face when the brim is upturned. This ruffled brim edge was then embellished with an elegant swirling green and yellow braiding which was top stitched in place to give it a finished look.
The brim was created to reflect the smooth, fluid action of the Thoroughbred athlete rolling forward at full gallop. The finished design measures nearly 24 inches, end to end, and is stunning from any angle!
The centerpiece of the trim design is a single large rose curl created out of two swirling layers of yellow dupioni silk and chocolate brown organza. This rose curl centerpiece is framed with variegated leaves created out of spring green taffeta, emerald green taffeta and celery green organza. Bow loops created out of chocolate polka dot French ribbon were stitched in place behind the leaves, and layers of black tulle frame the entire centerpiece to symbolize Hidden Lake's beautiful flowing black mane and tail.
A chocolate brown taffeta sash was fashioned for around the crown and then folded to give it a neat, layered look.
Three brassy buttons adorn the back seam to represent Hidden Lake's three Grade 1 stakes victories in 1997 that helped her gain Eclipse honors that year for her victories in the Hempstead Stakes (G1), the Go For Wand Stakes (G1) and the Beldame Stakes (G1).
As a physical remembrance of Hidden Lake, several strands of the great mare's tail hairs were braided and woven into the trim of the hat itself, creating a unique, one-of-a-kind Derby chapeau that captures Hidden Lake not only in spirit but in substance as well. The purpose of this amazing millinery delight is to honor the life of Hidden Lakes and all of the horses who, thanks to the generosity of those who support their aftercare, now graze in the warm sunshine of Dream Chase Farm for the rest of their lives. ”We ask of the thoroughbreds, and they give, they serve us with dignity and satisfy our needs to compete - we owe it to them to provide the retirement they so justly have earned.” - Fred Stone Hats Off to Hidden Lake!
__________________________________________________________________________ The “Hidden Lake” is the fifth hat in our “Hats Off to the Horses” Derby hat auction series this season, and it will be up for bid from March 1st through the 11th, 2013. At the end of the month, the winning bidder's name will be announced (unless they prefer to remain anonymous). To read more about Hidden Lake, the horse, please click on the following link - Featured Horse. _____________________________________________________________ Bid as many times and on as many hats as you like during this running auction. For further information about the eBay bidding process, please contact Old Friends at 502-863-1775. If you don't desire to place a bid on a hat, please contact Old Friends to see about what other ways you might be able to help out at Dream Chase Farm. Freight charges will be at the expense of the winning bidder. Winning bidders, please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery of your hat in order to ensure proper sizing. To view the couture Derby hats from previous auctions, please click on the following - Old Friends Hat Auction Portfolio.
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