2017 Sneak Peek - Fantasia Del C

It was announced on the cover of this year's JAH that we would be getting a model on Bridgett Eberl's Andalusian mare mold... but no details about the said model were featured anywhere in the issue. Weird, right? I thought so, too.

So I did some digging, and here's what I found-

Looks like a big story, but looks can be deceiving.

Fantasia Del C is a PRE mare from Peet Equestrian (which is actually based at the very top of Illinois,) known for their Andalusians and Spanish-bred horses. Fantasia is the only mare in history to win Champion Senior Mare titles in front of each of the Andalusian associations.

Talk about impressive!

Here's a list of some of her other titles and awards:

• 2011 Designated Qualified mare
• 2011 IALHA Reserve National Champion (Dressage Training Level)
• 2011 IALHA Reserve National Champion Versatility
• 2011 IALHA National Champion Spanish Specialty Senior Mare
• 2011 ANCCE Champion Mare
• 2011-2012 IALHA Top 5 Best Movement
• 2011-2012 PRE National Champion Mare (FPSH)
• 2012 Purebred Andalusian Horse of the Year

You go, girl! 

Look for Fantasia Del C to be on our shelves (hopefully) by late January! 

*Update!: This is Emma from the future speaking. Well, technically still the PAST by the time you all read it, but there's an exciting announcement on this front. 

The model of Fantasia Del C will not be alone; she will actually come with a foal to complete the set!

Isn't he sweet?

As someone who already owns a pair of these molds, trust me when I say this is a set you won't want to miss. 

2017 Sneak Peeks - Heroes of the West

Now this is a set that I'm super excited about, partly because I love all of these molds and never thought I'd see them together and also because, well, it's just a really darn cool set.

These Classic sets are always awesome.

The three molds we see here are #657 Standing Thoroughbred, Harper, and... (in a rather odd move) #653 Haflinger Foal. Definitely a strange call matching a pony foal with a two sport-type molds, but hey, whatever works. Plus I'm loving the coloring on them all.

Anyone remember the original releases of these molds?

The original release of #657 was as a Gallery piece from 2006 called "Tally Ho," which depicted a fox hunting scene. Breyer actually made replica decals of this scene for a 2012 BreyerFest Special Run, Fox Hunt.

Though we still don't know the actual mold name, Harper's original release is, well... Harper, the 2016 Horse of the Year.

And last, but not least, the original release of the Haflinger foal was actually not a Haflinger. We first saw mold #653 back in 2011 as a BreyerFest Special Run, part of a set with his mother called "Hansel and Gretel."

Here's Hansel...

...and Gretel!

I don't know about you, but I, for one, am super excited for this set. Look for them soon!

2017 Sneak Peek - A New Spotty Baby

I keep finding these Breyer "leaks," and we don't even have the new catalog yet! Someone over there must be busy letting out some secrets. Either way, it just makes for an even more interesting holiday season.

The next horse on my list for you all is on... (dun, dun, duuuun) FOALZILLA! Okay, so the mold is technically called "Camilla," but I think you all know who I'm talking about here.

Wasn't a fan of Camilla, but I'm in love with this one. <3

Something about the combination of color and markings on this baby is just absolutely precious. I'm a sucker for horses with a diamond-shaped star and a large snip. But seriously, she is adorable. Hopefully Breyer continues down this path with the rest of their Foalzilla series.

To recap, have a look at the three versions of Camilla:

Frame overo

Minimal white sabino

Minimal overo

And for anyone wondering why the model horse world has dubbed this baby "Foalzilla," I'm going to remind you that she's approximately 10 inches tall. Wow!

Look for one or two of the new Appaloosa coming soon!

2016 Breyer Holiday Horse

Since 1997, Breyer has offered a Holiday Horse every year. These Holiday Horses are Traditional-Sized models with winter or Holiday themes that usually feature an elaborate costume.

This year's Holiday Horse is #700119 - Woodland Splendor. He is an apricot dun on the Lonesome Glory mold with a small star on his forehead. Quite the looker, he comes dressed in a furred plaid blanket with a beautiful plumed headpiece and gold bridle.

We are all sold out of Woodland Splendor for the year, but we can't wait to see what next year's Holiday Horse will be!

2017 Sneak Peek - Forthwind

We had Xavier for 2016, and now here comes Forthwind for 2017! Forthwind is on the Classics Morgan Stallion mold, sporting an icy blue coat, a gold horn, and gold hooves.  Here's what Breyer has to say about their newest Fantasy sculpt:

"Forthwind is a young unicorn with a pale icy blue coat, white mane and a golden horn and hooves. He hails from the frosty northern climates where the Aurora Borealis begins. Forthwind and his herd all share an icy, frosty tinge to their coats, that comes from living in the arctic tundras. But Forthwind is a young prince of his land and is known to all the creatures of the North as a kindly and warm leader with a keen intelligence and a merry sense of fun. Like many of the young unicorns in his herd, the young prince is a trusted member of the Borean Guards whose job it is to keep their lands safe and secret from the humans that visit. But every so often, young visitors report the sound of thundering hooves, great gusts of icy blue wind and white hoofprints in the snow… a sign that Forthwind has galloped by and marked their presence during his patrols!" 

- Breyer's official product description.

Pretty cool, huh? A must-have for any Classics collector and Fantasy lover, Forthwind should be coming to our shelves in January with the rest of these newbies. But hold on- there's one more sneak preview for you all.

Check back soon for more sneak peeks!

2017 Sneak Peek - Hwin & Moondance

Seeing as these two are on the same mold, I figured I would lump their announcements together. New for 2017 are two horses on the Mustang Mare (or "Forever Sage") mold, sculpted by Kristina Lucas Francis.

The first is Hwin. Anyone familiar with either the Mustang world or Eventing world (or BOTH) may know this mare's name.

Photo by Amy Wright.

This little mare packs a real punch in the Eventing world. The team of Elisa Wallace and Hwin originally started back in 2015 when they gave an absolutely stunning performance at the finals of the Mustang Magic competition.

They managed to take home a fourth place, the Fan Favorite award, and Elisa was successfully able to adopt this little gray mare for the second-highest price of the competition- $2,100!

For 2017, Breyer has created a model in Hwin's likeness using the Forever Sage mold.

The "leaked" in-box picture.

A bit better look at those dapples. I think Breyer knocked it out of the park on this one. 

If you're a fan of dapple grays, eventing, or kick-butt Mustangs, she is certainly the one for you!

The other new release on this mold for the year is Moondance.

Moondance is a red dun frame overo who will only be available to Collector Club members, but don't worry- we may be coming home with one! Let us know if you're interested, and we'll be sure to mark you down for her.

2017 is sure to bring more awesome Breyers, and we're not even done with our sneak peeks yet! There's a couple more coming- hang in there!

2017 Sneak Peek - Bandera

Introducing "Bandera!"

A copper decorator covered in brands!

This 2017 release on the Geronimo mold, sculpted by Kitty Cantrell, looks to bear the brands of the many ranches of the American West. People who received Breyer's 2017 calendar got his picture at the end- a little surprise from Breyer.

The original release of this mold was for the 2016 Premier Club.

A grulla extreme overo paint.

This mold was then released twice for BreyerFest. One was as the BreyerFest Best Customs Contest prize:

"Gerreiro" - run of 5

And the other was for the Sunday Raffle and Live Auction:

"Areia" - run of 26

Maybe Breyer will also be releasing a run on this mold for 2017 that isn't a decorator. Who knows? Stay tuned for more 2017 sneak peeks!

2017 Sneak Peek - 2017 Horse of the Year

Breyer has been so kind as to "leak" their 2017 Classics Horse of the Year, and, boy is she a looker!

A new sculpture, too!

Meet "Bella!" Bella is an Appendix Quarter horse, which seems like an odd move for Breyer's Horse of the Year series given that two of the previous HoY's were also Appendix Quarter Horses.

2014 Horse of the Year - Amelia

2015 Horse of the Year - Liam

Loving the new sculpture, and I can't wait to see what other colors come with it! Stay tuned for more sneak peeks as we move ever closer to 2017.

2017 Sneak Peek - Black Beauty

Seeing as we have access to a few special "sneak previews" of 2017 horses, we thought we'd let you guys all in on the secret, too!

To start off, Breyer is releasing a brand new edition of the famous Black Beauty for their 2017 Classics line. This new Black Beauty is on the Sir Buckingham mold, which was originally a porcelain Gallery piece from 2002-2003. (This mold is also called the Classic Stock Horse Gelding.)

This mold sure looks good in black!

Breyer has actually made (as far as I know) a total of six different Black Beauty models. Wow!

The first Black Beauty actually came out in 1979 with a brand new mold specific to him. Given #89, this was actually the first ever model produced in Breyer's New Jersey and was sculpted by Chris Hess.
There were technically three different releases of Black Beauty on this mold (all still with the number #89):

Release #1 - this version had all four stockings. (1979 - 1980)

Release #2 - only one hind stocking. (1981)

Release #3 - the "correct" version with one front stocking. (1982 - 1988)

During the run of this last release, Breyer came out with a Classics set of Black Beauty and all of his friends. This was the first introduction of these four Classics molds (Black Beauty, Duchess, Ginger, and Merrylegs) all of whom were made brand new for the set, numbered #3040.

(L-R) Black Beauty, Ginger, Merrylegs, & Duchess

The original Classics release of Black Beauty.

The next release of Black Beauty was #847 on the Morganglanz mold. This release ran from 1991 to 1995.

Following this release came the QVC Exclusive that made its debut in 2002. #501201 (my personal favorite) is on the Silver mold - a fitting tribute to a horse from classic literature.

A more recent release from the early 2000s (2008-2009) is #1317 on the Foundation Stallion mold.

And the final release (up until the New for 2017 release) is #711988 on the Classics Warmblood Stallion mold. This is the "current" run of Black Beauty, originally making his debut in 2012. 

This version of Black Beauty was also released in gloss as a part of the 2013 Live Show Benefit program. Only 23 were made in this glossy version.

Well, we hope you've enjoyed this little trip back in time. Tune in next week for another 2017 sneak preview, and don't forget to message us if you're interested in ordering any of these newbies for the new year!

M&T 4H Holiday Party

We know that the county's annual End of Year celebration was in November, but Manes & Tails just finished our year off with a bang at our own little Christmas party.

Each member brought in a few cans for the TV6 Cantathon along with a dozen cookies to share with the group. Between everyone, we came up with 13 pounds of food- great job!

Missing a few in this shot, but still a great group nonetheless!

Members were divided off into teams for our last horse judging exercise of the year. Emma brought a few tricky-to-place horses and breed cards to match. There were no wrong answers as long as the teams were able to defend their choices to the judge, which all of them did! The parents even pulled a team together and did very well.

Minds at work.

When not working on breeds, everyone played a few rounds of bingo for some prizes. We prepared a version of the "Right/Left Game" for the kids, too.

Bingo!

Can't wait to see you all in January for our next meeting! We'll be judging Arabians and preparing for our next model horse show.

Xavier - Mystical Unicorn

Introducing one of Breyer's special Fall 2016 Releases, Xavier!

This unicorn is a must-have for those who conga the Othello mold or collect only fantasy models. Xavier is a beautifully shaded medium gray with lavender undertones and darkened points. He has a slight metallic sheen to his coat, and there is a light layer of glitter in his mane and tail.

As of right now, all of our Xaviers currently in stock are already sold. We are not sure when or if we will be able to get any more, but we thought we would share this magnificent new horse with you all.

Stay tuned for more new items and exciting adventures!

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Pony Tale friends and families. Paint Pony Studios is very thankful this year for all our family, friends and customers, for making our first year a HUGE success, we couldn't have done it with out your support for our new adventure.

We look forward to sharing more adventures and opportunities with you for years to come.


Thank you all, your business is greatly appreciated and your friendship is dear to our hearts.

Tess & Emma

Double-Judged? No problem!

Double-judged shows - what are they? A double-judged show means that each division in the show has TWO judges, essentially making it like two different shows. The judges work side-by-side on the same tables, looking at the same horses, but that doesn't always mean that their placings match exactly.

One judge could give a first while the other gives a third, so on and so forth.

Good morning selfie!

Emma's table. A couple newbies hit the show ring today.

Our view of the hall.

This wasn't a performance show - just halter - so, despite the double-judging, the show flew by. There were CM/AR divisions for both breed and workmanship, China classes, Hartland, Northlight, Stone, Breyer, and Collectability. Lots of options!

Check out these cool decorators we found:

Emma's favorite - the Riddler!

Pisces (not OUR Pisces, though)

I definitely want those lucky charms!

And some sweet fantasy models!

The tiniest of Pegasi!

Also, a special treat- the rare "four-eyed Misty!" This version of Misty, released in 1972, is the first and the rarest version of Misty, but it actually looks nothing like the real horse. In fact, all of Breyer's versions of Misty are not true to the real pony. 

The real Misty did not have this odd white patch around her left eye, nor did she actually have a bald face with a patch around her left eye. When the original Misty was first produced in 1972 with in this "four-eyed" version, Marguerite Henry actually requested that it be changed as it was not accurate. Same with the "three-eyed" version that debuted in 1973. 

Here's a picture of the actual Misty:

Definitely doesn't look like her model, does she? 

Anyway- the show this weekend was fun, and we're working on plans for both our Black Friday/Small Business Saturday event and our January show. Stay tuned, there's lots in store!