BreyerFest 2017 Store Specials

I know I posted some preview pictures of this year's BreyerFest store specials, but I thought it might be nice to take some time to get to know the horses (and dog) behind those models!

First up, we have Repeat the Beat - a Tennessee Walking horse that was formerly a part of the high-stepping breed circuit, but now turned jumper! Pete, as he is known by his family, competes in Jumpers, Handy Hunters, and even Three-Day Eventing. Standing at only 15.1 hands and sporting a flashy black roan sabino coloring, Pete proves that you should never judge a horse by their breed.

Pete's portrait model on the Bluegrass Bandit mold. 

Pete's original owners on the Spotted Saddle Horse circuit believed that the then Two-Year-Old World Champion, and so sold him to Lisa Murray shortly after so that he could have a lovely home being trail ridden with her daughter, Jeren. He never took to trail riding, either, always extremely tense under saddle on the trails.

After one day of some friends of the Murrays' riding Pete over fences on the trails, Lisa and Jeren noticed how calm and focused the gelding seemed to be and it was decided that Pete would begin his career in over fence work.

A photo from Pete's time on the UK Eventing team.
Photo by Rachel Norton.

Next on our list are the "dynamic duo" themselves. No, I don't mean Batman and Robin- I'm talking about Dally and Spanky!

As a two-year-old, Spanky the Miniature Horse was rescued by Francesca and Steve of Rother Horsemanship. Apparently the little gelding was a handful to start with, as all ponies are, but developed into a quick favorite throughout the barn. 

Eventually, Spanky was taught a multitude of tricks, and one day Dally, the Rothers' Jack Russell Terrier, took an interest in those tricks. Hopping atop of Spanky during one of Francesca's training sessions so she could get a better look, Dally has been learning tricks alongside her Miniature Horse friend every since!

Look forward to more Breyerfest Special Run announcements and stick around for the actual event in July!

New Arrivals!

For Christmas this year, I decided I was going to order my mom a Design A Horse from Stone. Originally, I had thought about doing a portrait of her mare, Lilly, that we had to put down last year, but I also wasn't out to break the bank on this one. After deciding that I couldn't design Lilly just yet (I will get there. Some day,) I went with the next best thing: a Palomino.

My mom loves palominos. Personally, so do I. I had been really sneaky the few weeks before I ordered this Christmas pony, going through the DAH color options and asking her what she thought of each color. This is something we do on a regular basis, so she didn't seem to find it suspicious - which was excellent for me. 

Figuring that I wouldn't have this pony in time for Christmas, I drew him on a 4 x 6 piece of Bristol board and gave that to my mother to open instead.

Well, this cute little Christmas pony showed up at our door just a few days before Rainier. In fact, he showed up the exact day that we left for a model horse show. Go figure, right?

His name is Mr. Wonderful (a.k.a. Clarence,) and if anyone understands that reference, good for you. I'm not sure how many people will.

And because it was 50 degrees here in the Upper Peninsula this weekend, I've also got some close-up shots of Rainier for everyone!

Sorry to tease you with this shot in the last blog post preview.
I didn't have these when I wrote the original entry!

Stay tuned for more new ponies and adventures coming soon- we have a Stablemate Club horse on the way along with our most recent order to unbox. There's lots going on in the model horse world right now!

2017 Web Special - Rainier

I'm a big fan of drafters; I'm also a big fan of pintos and roans. So when it was announced that Breyer's first web special of the year was a blue roan pinto drafter, my jaw just about dropped! 

Look at this hunk! <3

Breyer has definitely outdone themselves with this one, and congratulations to those lucky enough to be drawn for him... which includes my mother. He's not a sales piece at this time, and because the both of us are splitting the cost, his show name is "Joint Custody."

Because we really love humorous horse names, and this was just too good of an opportunity. Here's a list of some of the other names we came up with but didn't decide to use:

• Collaboration
• Double Vision
• Two-Steppin'
• Joint Effort
• ...and their were others that I cannot for the life of me remember.

(I asked my mother, too. She wasn't much help.)

After getting lucky enough to be chosen for one of these boys, it takes Breyer a week if not longer to ship to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, so I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival for quite some time now. And here he is! 

The video below is of me unboxing our Rainier, which I did promptly as soon as I got back from class just the other day. Enjoy, and look for more YouTube videos from Paint Pony Studios in the future!

Spotlight - Marwari

Seeing as this year's BreyerFest theme is "Gateway to India" and the Celebration Horse is one of my favorite breeds of all time, I thought I would do a breed spotlight on...

The ever-lovely... Marwari!

The breed first came around in the 12th century and was used as a cavalry horse by the Marwar people. It started to deteriorate in the 1930s, but thanks to a good number of fantastic breeders, the Marwari is back and better than ever!

Marwaris can come in most colors outside of Appaloosa patterns, but some colors are favored. In India, though white horses are usually bred for specific religious reasons, white coats don't often occur in Marwaris. Gray horses are considered to be the most valuable with pintos coming in at a close second. Black horses are said to be unlucky as black is a symbol for death and darkness. 

(Jeez! I like black horses. I like black horses a lot!)

And check out those EARS!

The characteristic that this breed is the most well-known for, Marwaris' ears curve inward at the tips. Isn't that something? I think it makes for some adorable facial expressions.

Might be considered "unlucky," but he is SUPER cute.

Breyer has one Marwari mold, and (like the breed,) it is also one of my favorites. But they haven't used it very often. 

Originally sculpted by Brigitte Eberl for the Premier Club in 2012, the Marwari mold started production as a pinto named Kalahkaari.

Then came a Live Auction lot in a soft palomino pinto.

Then the Regular Run model in a bright palomino that is now discontinued.

A special run for BreyerFest 2015, Haute Couture. However, the mold was changed. Given a new mane, tail, and ears, this mold is no longer a Marwari.

Then there were more Live Auction lots:

And a Collector Club special named Rajah in 2014:

Now, for this year's Celebration Horse... Nadruddin! This was the only image I could find of our 2017 Celebration Horse, but he is a cutie.

I think he makes for a very good portrait horse, and I'm excited to say that we should be coming home with at least one of him! Don't forget to check back for BreyerFest and Equilocity updates come July!

The Corral Pals are Coming!

Some of you may have heard of CollectA sculptures. They're a company similar to Schleich and Safari that sells vinyl horses more geared towards children, but their sculptures are absolutely breathtaking!

One of my favorites - the Fjord!

That is thanks to renowned sculptor Deborah McDermott. She has done some incredible work, and her horses are some of my favorite. I mean, just look at this beautiful bone china Arabian she has for sale on her Etsy store.

Photo (C) Deborah McDermott
This guy is only 3.5" tall!

We're very lucky this year that Breyer has taken over the CollectA lines of Horse Life, Farm Life, and Dogs & Cats. The "Horse Life" line has been renamed "Corral Pals," and we will be getting a few of them in come late January.

Although on our current rule sheet for the Palooza Model Horses says no models other than Breyer, Stone, or CopperFox may compete, we are totally willing to make an exception for these little guys! They really have some great details and paint jobs, and (from what I've seen,) the quality is very good.

Don't forget to check out our website (paintponystudios.weebly.com) to see which Corral Pals are coming in and when.

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!

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!