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!

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!

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!

Up-Close and Personal: Dances with Wolves

I don't want to risk taking Champagne Toast out for a photo shoot (as he is for sale), but I took my new little porcelain Nez Perce mare outside for a bit of time in front of the camera. She certainly can show off--

There is so much detail packed into this horse that it's hard to capture from just a few full-body shots. I absolutely had to get closer, which was a bit hard to do with my giant of a camera.

All of the fabric has texture to it. In photos, it appears that there's very much a weight to it, that the saddle and cloths across her back are actually heavy. But in reality, she's really no heavier than a normal Breyer. I think she weighs about the same as Tashunka (my Medicine Hat Wild Bronc resin), and she's definitely not as heavy as Pisces (my Windstone Editions Hippocampus).

Also, sorry if the photo is a bit dark, but she actually has TEETH. Her lip is drawn up as if she's trying to scratch at the child wrapped up and strapped to her shoulder. Like she's not quite sure what he is and why he's there, but she wants to find out.

Her markings are extremely detailed. A few of her spots are mapped and some are not; her hooves have the typical Appaloosa striping with light coronary bands and just a hint of cracking on the bottom that's been painted on.

I absolutely adore this little mare, and I'm delighted to (FINALLY) have her as a part of my show string. I'm kind of a sucker for spots, and she's just gorgeous all-around. 

Here's a few more detail shots of her that I managed to get while the lighting was still good:

Hopefully you've enjoyed this little peek at a horse that's quickly becoming one of my favorites. If you come to the Halloween Edition of Palooza Live in October, you'll definitely be seeing her.

Well, for now... That's all folks! 

~Emma

More Surprises!

We have two more horsey surprises for everyone! Now I know you may be asking: "But... why?" Well, long story short, Breyer opened up a special section on their website for those who were BreyerFest three-day ticket holders from this year. In this section was an absolute goldmine of special runs from not only this year but previous years.

Seeing as we had already come home with one of almost every special run (minus the Pegasus), I scanned the list for things that I didn't figure anybody in our area would already have. I had to do a lot of thinking about that, though. Back before we started running more complex shows and taking in models to sell, my mom and I were still attending BreyerFest every year. In those days, we were only able to bring models home for ourselves, and sometimes we didn't even get every model we wanted. (No extra tickets, no extra models.)

I took this as an opportunity to see if I could snag some models from 2014 and earlier, and guess what?

I did.

So there you have it. A "Dances with Wolves" from 2010 and a "Champagne Toast" from 2014, but Dances with Wolves will not be for sale. Let me offer a little bit of explanation.

BreyerFest 2010 was my first BreyerFest. I was able to come home with every single model except for two- Beethoven and Dances with Wolves. As a kid who was seriously into collecting and showing my models, I really, REALLY wanted a porcelain piece. But also, as a kid, I did not have the money to afford a $155 porcelain horse- no matter how pretty she was an how much I loved her. My mother told me "Absolutely not. You're not getting that horse. She's too breakable and too expensive." And though miffed, I thought it was a good enough argument.

However, now that I am a legal adult with a job and money of my own, spending money on a horse that was discounted from $155 to something more affordable to me was a no-brainer. So she's mine now, after six years of searching and hoping that I would actually find her at some room sale of on eBay.

Don't give up on your dreams, kids. Eventually, you WILL end up with that expensive grail your parents originally said "no" to.

I hope you enjoyed today's motivational blog. Stick around- I've been making some halters, and I might just to a little tutorial on them.

~Emma

Special Run Sneak Previews

We're finally home from Lexington, and we have a whole herd of BreyerFest horses (and a bull) that came with us.

Here is a little preview of one horse available for sale: Imperador das Aguas JM

This particular Imperador is my personal one and will be customized. The ones that will be for sale are still in their original boxes.

Each has a different color variation - one is dark, one is light. This horse shown has a more medium coloration, with the darkest areas seeming to be concentrated on his joints (knees, hocks, pasterns, etc.).

The mold has a very detailed face with lots of expression, mouth wrinkles, and carved ears. He truly is adorable in person.

Each horse is branded with "JM" on the shoulder and "192" on the haunches.

Make sure you stop by our "BreyerFest 2016 Special Run Event" to get yours!

More previews are coming! 

~Emma

Kentucky 2016 - Day Five

A day of Horse Park browsing, standing in the SR and Store lines, and adventures in 92-degree heat. All this and more during Day 5 of our BreyerFest/Equilocity journey.

That's a looooong walk.

The BreyerFest Carnival 5k was a big success. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go, but here's a collection of pictures that my mom took this morning from her walk. There were over 500 entrants, 75% of which were women.

The race prize table - Ricky Rockers and Harpers for the winners!

Waiting to start at the Alltech Arena.

The starting line.

Now that's a sign I can get behind. (Just kidding, Alec.)

After the 5k was over, our BreyerFest activities started at around 10:30 when we headed to the Special Run line for an 11:00 am ticket time. On the way over there, however, we stopped in to the Collector's Club Tent to get a sneak preview of some special new releases.

Collector's Club members get to vote on a color - I chose the Bay Roan Appaloosa!

This year's Stablemate Club horses.

I can't wait to get my "Django".

Abhdul and Gideon - two of the Collector's Club specials.

It was so cool to see everything in the Collector's Club tents, but the special run line was calling us. You have to be to the line at least 20 minutes before your actual time, just in case they call the number early. We'll show you what we're coming home with tomorrow!

After we got through, we took a little time to hang out around the covered arena. There's always plenty of vendors to shop at, resins to see, silent auction items to drool over, and great entertainment. Our favorite group has to be the Young Guns Drill Team.

The Young Guns getting ready to do their thing,

Seeing as it was incredibly hot today, we took a little detour from the BreyerFest activites and toured the museums. The Kentucky Horse Park has a couple different museums; we snagged some pictures today of the International Museum of the Horse and The Arabian Gallery.

A beautiful Lipizzan display in the Visitor's Center.

A halter from one of the Russian Tersk studs.

A whole section of the museum dedicated to Walter Farley and the Black Stallion.

We stopped and took a selfie with one of the buggies in the Carriage Room:

There was also a section of the Visitor's Center that showed the process of how a Breyer model is made. Check this out:

And we figured we should show you all a little of what the Diorama Contest had to offer this year.

The 20+ winner!

At around three, we were done with all the horse park activities, BreyerFest was wrapping up, and we were exhausted! It was time to head back to the hotel for showers and food and naps.

We had to make sure to say good-bye to Fluffy.

Hanging out around the hotel, we took a final picture of Cowboy Austin and his new plushie.

Aren't they adorable?

And I thought I should take some photos of the Stone Chip set that Pisces helped me buy. $40 in Stone Bucks goes a long way!

Meet Wendy and Michael:

We had an excellent year at BreyerFest and Equilocity, and we are so happy to have shared it all with you. Next year's theme?

"Gateway to India"

Tomorrow, the special runs we're bringing home!

~Emma