Chasing the Chesapeake models!

Now that my Chasing the Chesapeake goodies have finally arrived - and I got some time to unpack and photograph them - here they are! First, Chesapeake herself:

This model is gorgeous. Chestnut fits the Giselle mold well, and the gloss is just the icing on the cake. Her gloss is nice and thick, and I really like the chestnuts the company has been doing lately. Sadly, she leaves a little to be desired quality-wise; she has quite a few small bits of debris in her gloss. We needed to get back to the airport as soon as possible after the boutique ended, however, so we couldn't take the time to wait in line and get her exchanged. Fortunately, I don't show, so it's more an annoyance than anything else.

Next on our list is Raven!

This model is also gorgeous. He has lots of subtle dapples and I really like the contrast of the white of his tail. And I couldn't find a thing wrong with him, quality-wise. Just really well-done...although I am left wondering what a Missouri Fox Trotter has to do with a Chesapeake (Bay?) theme - although I'm guessing his name, Raven, is a reference to the Baltimore Ravens.

The next model is...Mason!

I really like this model's paint job. The last palomino Goffert we got was Noelle, and she was on the light side. This guy is typical of the palomino paint jobs we've seen from Breyer lately, with the darker points. I really like the metallic sheen in his paint and his creamy white mane and tail. The two we got were mostly okay, quality-wise, but the one I'm selling has some grayish debris around the edge of one of his pinto markings, and the one I kept has some dark smudges on his mane/tail that look like you could take them off with a white eraser. All of the pinto markings' edges were crisp on both models, though; I would have been disappointed to see smeared edges on a run this small. Both of my Masons are stallions; evidently 24 gelding versions were scattered into the mix. Again, though, I'm questioning the mold and color choice for a Chesapeake theme. "Mason" probably refers to...Freemasonry? Maybe? Or perhaps to Dixon - more on that below.

Third on the list is... Black-Eyed Susan!

I felt really lucky to get this one - she sold out faster than anything else other than Sagamore Rye (who I will get someday! *shakes fist*). Her color could have been boring, what with her lack of white markings, but she has so much depth and shading to her paint job that it's hard to fault her. And I couldn't find any flaws on this one either. The black-eyed Susan is the state flower of Maryland, so I can see where they got that from (although I'd probably have given it to a buckskin horse). I think the name works with her color, though. And they finally used the Fell Pony for something! I thought it was really odd that she was a brand-new mold and they hadn't yet used her for anything other than her first release. Fingers crossed for a silver filigree in December!

And lastly...Dixon!

This model is really, really nice. Her paint job has tons of dapples, but none of them have that unfortunate chicken-wire effect. Her eyes are nicely painted and her color is basically a more-shaded, mealy version of Chesapeake's. She's gorgeous, and if I still had room to collect Halla, I'd keep her. As it is, I sold my three Halla/Bolya models ages ago because I just didn't have room for them. Her name, Dixon, brings me back to my confusion regarding Mason's name - I'm wondering if the two are simply a reference to the Mason-Dixon line.

As for the other two models I didn't acquire, some Googling reveals that Testudo is the (turtle) mascot of the University of Maryland, and Sagamore Rye is a type of whiskey made in Maryland.

So, I think we mostly have a case of Breyer only loosely adhering to the theme of the event, with regard to the mold choices - which is typical. We should probably be happy that they at least used Maryland-themed names. At this point I'm mostly just relieved that there wasn't an Othello mold in the mix, or I would have been losing my mind trying to get my hands on it.

As for the next one of this type of event? Apparently it was announced that the next event will take place in spring 2018 - that works for me. The less last-minute shift trading with coworkers I have to do, the better.

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 3: Success! (Mostly)

Whew! We're home from Chasing the Chesapeake. It's been a long day - but totally worth it!

After we finished having breakfast in the restaurant, we packed up our stuff and then headed downstairs to wait for our time to go through the boutique line. I'd been fretting for the past two days that we would get another terrible draw and end up with four Masons like last year...but that didn't happen! I ended up being toward the middle of the line, and my husband was 10 people behind me. He did get stuck with two Masons, but one of them will stay here, so...yay! More importantly, I was able to grab a Black-Eyed Susan and Raven. Sagamore Rye was #1 on my list, so I was sad not to get him, but definitely happy I was able to get the other two.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take individual photos of my models before we packed them back up and gave them (happily) to the UPS people who were in residence. Very handy of Breyer to have them there, as it saved us the bother of finding an open UPS location to ship everything back before we went to the airport. So, anyways...here are some group photos I took of the special runs that were on display. Firstly, the two I didn't get:

I used to collect the Shire Mare mold, but sold my three examples of her last year needing more space.

Next, the three SRs I did get:

And lastly, a moderately-better photo of Dixon, my centerpiece raffle model:

While we were buying models today, a Breyer staffer confirmed that these models were made from the last of the old Halla whiteware they dug up in the warehouse. So, that makes her pretty special! I don't collect Halla/Bolya anymore either (again, needed more space), so she will probably be for sale at some point.

After we were done buying ponies and having them shipped home, we headed back to the airport and our two flights home. So, it was definitely worth the trip! I hope I can attend the next one of these events!

More detailed analysis of the event models will come when they arrive here and I can provide better photos. Stay tuned!

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 2 Part Deux: Chestnut Boogaloo

Day 2 of Chasing the Chesapeake is over, with amazing results! First off, the centerpiece raffle model was a mealy chestnut Halla, whose name I forgot to ask them (all photos by me):

She's one of 20. She more or less fits the theme! And I may have won one...

We also got a few sneak peeks at some 2017 releases. Here's the first model in the 2017 Premier Club, sculpted by Morgen Kilbourne:

Nice, but not my cup of tea. It actually kind of looks like the Copperfox Fabio in a different stride. 

The other reveal was the first model in the 2017 Stablemate Club!

Again, it's nice, but I don't collect the G1 molds, so she'll get thrown on the sale pile.

The last peek was the Clydesdale Mare and Foal from the 2017 Vintage Club:

I had not realized they were glossy. Fun! I'm not going to join the 2017 Vintage Club, though, so I'm not too excited. (Edit: I guess I did know they were glossy and forgot. My bad!) Maybe next year will be a year I can finally cut back on model horse spending. 

...

HAHAHA! Oh, I really do make myself laugh sometimes. Oh well, I try.

Costume contest prizes ended up being leftover VC Lucky models - congrats to the winners, none of whom I got photos of! Oh well. There were a ton of amazing costumes, though!

Lastly, the silent auction lots consisted of:

Design Your Own Breyer

Caipirinha (2016 Breyerfest Volunteer)

Pack of 6 autographed Trad portrait models

Breyerfest 2016 vendor pack

Glossy Imperador das Aguas JM

I did not catch how much any of these ended for, but the last I heard, the Design Your Own Breyer was at $3000, the glossy Imperador was at $450 and Caipirinha was at $250 (presumably he went up). 

So, all that's left of the event is tomorrow's shopping extravaganza at the Breyer Boutique! Here's hoping one of us gets a good spot in the line!

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 2: Eventing, "Craft" Beer and Cornboxes, Oh My!

Well, the first part of Chasing the Chesapeake  Day 2 is over! Currently we're in the hotel waiting for the costume contest and related activities to start. So, I thought I'd type up a quick update!

Firstly, last night's raffle models were as follows (from Blab):

Sugarloaf
My Kind of Town
Tortuga
Copenhagen Sailor
Glossy Perlino Quelle Surprise
Chesterfield (resin).

So, I don't feel as bad about missing yesterday, although I wouldn't mind getting a Tortuga or glossy perlino. Oh well!

Cross country at Fair Hill was quite fun - we saw lots of horses, walked most of the course, and saw both Philip Dutton and Buck Davidson in action, which was pretty cool. All photos by me:

We were bemused by the sight of the "craft" beer tent with a Bud Lite truck parked next to it:

We didn't go inside, so I can't testify as to how crafty the beers were. 

Lastly, I was amused by the "corn sandbox" they had in the kids' play area. I've probably seen similar things before, but it amused me for some reason. Definitely less messy than a sandbox, for sure:

I'd totally play in that if I were still 5 years old. 

So, that's a quick recap of how our day went. Apparently a mockup of this year's JAH is floating around out there, featuring a photo of a mostly-white Hermosa (portrait of a real horse and RR for 2017), but I don't have a photo I can use, so that will have to wait until later. I'll update later with the centerpiece raffle model and other fun stuff!

Chasing the Chesapeake Day 1 - Special Runs are Revealed!

Hello all! The first day of Chasing the Chesapeake has arrived, although I've been spending it on planes. Currently we're in traffic trying to get to the hotel, but never fear! The word is out about the special runs for this event! Photos courtesy of Julia on Blab:

Writing a blog post on a cell phone is maddeningly frustrating, so if the formatting on this post ends up weird, that's why. So our special runs are not at all what I thought they would be; I don't think a single one really relates to the theme other than Chesapeake and the Stablemate. Speaking of the Stablemate, here he is (his name is Cecil):

While he does somewhat fit the theme, I don't collect this mold, so both of ours will be for sale. 

So, of the available special run options, I will be after Mason, Sagamore Rye, Raven and Black-Eyed Susan. If I'm remembering correctly, the quantities of these models are the same as the ones at Sweet Home Chicago this year. I really, really hope Breyer limits people from buying all the rare ones first, because if we get bad line draws again and end up with four Masons like last year, I am NOT going to be pleased. Maybe I'm just grumpy because I haven't really slept in the last 24 hours? Who knows. 

So those are the only updates I currently have. I will try to update again when I hear what tonight's raffle models are, if I don't suffer a rage-induced coronary from Blogger's total failure to make its software work on the mobile site. Argh!

Only 4 days until Chasing the Chesapeake!

Greetings, readers! Today I bring tidings of...well, irritation (for me, anyway). Chasing the Chesapeake is a bare four days away, and an updated schedule/itinerary for it was sent out today. New to the schedule is a raffle of "unique Breyer models, yet to be revealed" at Friday night's dinner. Except we aren't going to be able to attend any of Friday's events due to the earliest flight I could get arriving at 4:45pm. Sigh...

So, I'm going to have to track down somebody to keep me updated on Friday's events. It just irks me because all of the raffles took place on Saturday night at last year's event. Bleh. We'll be busy flying and then picking up our rental car, making our way to the hotel and checking into our room. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much; these are all some real First World Problems (tm).

In other news, there will be a silent auction in addition to the Halloween costume contest on Saturday night. If it's anything like the silent auction at last year's Chicago event, there'll be a Breyerfest vendor pack, a Design Your Own Breyer, some type of test model, and a couple of other things - one of last year's lots was an early release of American Pharoah and the fifth lot was a 2015 Breyerfest Volunteer Model, Parfait. So perhaps there'll be a Caipirinha in the auction this year and an early release of something else - though, we don't even know of very many new releases for next year.

The Halloween costume contest will have three categories, much like the Breyerfest costume contest - Individual Adult, Individual Child and Group. Should be interesting to see, although we aren't participating in the costume contest anyway - too much to bring on the flight with us. We'll have to be content with being wallflowers (something I have a lot of experience with). No word on what the costume contest prizes are.

Ah, well. I'm sure it will be a fun time for all! I'm looking forward to Saturday's activities - I've never seen a three-day event, or cross-country, before. Should be exciting! I'll be counting down the days for sure.

Chasing the Chesapeake Update and Speculation

Chasing the Chesapeake is only about a month away, and I'm starting to get excited! Our flight leaves late Friday morning for the event. Sadly, I wasn't able to rearrange my work schedule quite to the extent I wanted, so I'm going to have to work all night Thursday night and take a later flight to Philadelphia to the event - which means we're going to miss all or most of Friday's festivities. Our flight to Philadelphia isn't scheduled to arrive until 4:45 pm, which doesn't leave much time for the evening's events. Oh well! I'm sure Saturday will be a blast. We aren't doing the Halloween contest either, so we'll have to be content to be "flies on the wall" as it were.

On to speculation about the special run models! Since three-day eventing is the theme, I'm expecting to mostly see Thoroughbred or warmblood molds used for this event. So, I wouldn't be surprised to see Ruffian, Smarty Jones, Lonesome Glory, Valegro, Salinero, Carrick, Totilas and more make appearances here. Lonesome Glory, Carrick and Totilas might be slightly less likely to be used since they were all used for the 2014 Big Easy Bash, and Salinero has been used for these types of events twice before, so I don't know if he would show up again.

Other molds I could see them using, in no particular order: Big Ben, Show Jumping Warmblood, Bolya (ugh), Cigar, Flash, Gem Twist, Strapless, maybe some of the old Herrick molds (double ugh), Idocus, and possibly some of the less popular Hess molds (Hanoverian, Touch of Class, Trakehner).

Ruffian stays first on my list of possible molds here, because she fits the theme and has never been used for this type of event. I'll just have to hope she isn't the centerpiece model. Ideally she'll be this year's version of last year's Four Stars, but that might be too much to hope for. Valegro is also high on the list due to how he's been used so far: regular run release, then raffle model: i.e. very similar to how Totilas was used in 2013. Totilas then was used as the 12-piece run Zydeco at the Big Easy Bash, so I would not be surprised if Valegro shows up in the same capacity (maybe larger than a 12-piece run since the upper price range at the event is $185).

As for the ticket Stablemate we'll presumably all get with Chesapeake, I'm going to go with the safe option and say we'll probably get a G2 Thoroughbred or Warmblood, either of which would be fine with me.

To close, all I can say is that it's going to be a long month's wait to find out what we're getting. I hope they throw us a bone and reveal at least one of the SRs beforehand to tide us over.

Chesapeake!

Tickets for Chasing the Chesapeake went up for sale today, and boy howdy, Chesapeake is a winner!



I had been thinking just the other day that Breyer needed to use Giselle for something, and they came through with this! I love her. While I was hoping the ticket model would be on a Ruffian, I am not disappointed with this one at all. Though I am a little less than impressed with that Photoshop job, but that's nothing new.


I did snag two tickets to the event, as I was (more or less) able to figure out how to rearrange my work schedule so we could attend. Barring any unforeseen disasters, I should be able to travel to Delaware in two months and, ideally, report from the event as it unfolds! I'm excited to see what the special runs are. I'm still hoping for a Ruffian, Totilas, Smarty, maybe a Carrick. I'm not really sure what other models they would use, with the eventing theme. Maybe Salinero, though I don't collect him. So many possibilities! Maybe this year they'll announce the special runs in advance. It's so cruel to make us wait all the way up to the event itself to find out what they are!

Chasing the Chesapeake: Update!

Breyer has updated their club news to add that the tickets for Chasing the Chesapeake will go up for sale on Thursday, Aug. 25! No time, though; hopefully they add that in later. No word on the Chesapeake model, or what the host hotel is either! I'm hoping the tickets will have more info with them. I'm still working on whether or not we can go; hopefully I can get that straightened out by the time tickets go on sale.

Chasing the Chesapeake!

One of the news items released earlier this week was news of the "Chasing the Chesapeake" event coming in mid-October. From the Breyer website:

Breyer is off to Maryland this fall for our annual Collectors' event! To kick-off the weekend, we'll head to Elkton for a tour of Vintage Farm at the Fair Hill Training Center featuring Michael Matz, show jumping legend and trainer of the beloved Barbaro and Belmont winner Union Rags.  Following the tour, we'll head over to the Fair Hill International Cross Country Course for a course - walk hosted by some of Saturday's competing riders. The night will conclude with a Maryland inspired dinner in the exclusive Fair Hill VIP tent! On Saturday morning, we're headed back to Fair Hill to spend the day on course with some of the biggest names in eventing. After an exciting day of competition, we'll return to our host hotel for fun dinner and early Halloween Costume Contest.  Cap off the weekend with exclusive models created specifically for Chasing the Chesapeake.
Entries are limited to 200 Collector Club members. Not a member? You can sign up here!

Tickets to the event will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Stay tuned to Collector Club News for the date and time.  Please note that participation in this event will require a significant amount of walking outdoors and cross country over uneven ground and gravel surfaces.  Please take this into consideration when deciding to purchase your ticket to attend.

Itinerary*

Friday

Tour of Vintage Farm @ the Fair Hill Training Center, Elkton, MD

• Tour the farm where champions like Union Rags got their start and meet Olympian, show jumping Hall of Famer, and esteemed trainer Michael Matz.

Fair Hill International Cross Country Course Walk, Elkton, MD

• Get a behind the scenes look at how riders prepare for competition day as you accompany them on a course walk.

• Dinner in the Fair Hill International VIP tent

Saturday

The Dutta Corp Fair Hill International 3-Day Event, Elkton, MD

• A day out at the cross country portion of the 3-Day competition and watch the riders compete the course you got to walk first hand!
• In true cross country style, lunch will be served at our very own tailgate tent.

Dinner and Halloween Costume Contest at host hotel, Wilmington, DE

• Bring your favorite costume for an early Halloween bash!

Sunday

STORE DAY - exclusive Special Run Models featuring 2016 "Chasing the Chesapeake" Celebration Model, Chesapeake.
*Subject to change.


Exciting stuff! I'm still investigating whether we'll be able to attend. I'm scheduled to work that weekend, but I might be able to pull some shenanigans and make a whirlwind trip out East. The itinerary already looks like the event is being planned better than Sweet Home Chicago was. The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, of course, and this IS Breyer we're talking about, so something will be bungled. Let's just hope it's only minor things.

On to special run speculation! Where to start? With an eventing theme, I'm guessing many of the SRs will be on Breyer's Thoroughbred and/or Warmblood models; Ruffian, Smarty, Carrick, Cigar, Show Jumping Warmblood, Lonesome Glory, maybe a Flash, Totilas, Valegro, Salinero, etc. It would have been nice if they'd revealed what Chesapeake is right away like they did with My Kind of Town last year, but maybe next week we'll get more info.

It's disheartening that they would wait until 2 months before the event (again) to reveal any information about it. We get it, guys, you like to play your cards close to the chest, as it were, but it makes it hard to plan anything with such short notice!

It's also interesting that they went back to the first-come, first-served system with the tickets. I personally liked the random draw better, simply because it avoided any issues with the tickets going up for sale and then selling out before I even got a chance to see them. The tradeoff, of course, was the nerve-wracking wait until the first draw, not getting picked (but hubby was), then another nerve-wracking wait to be picked from the wait list. So, maybe first-come first-served will work better. The tickets to Passage to the Pacific took a while to sell out, so maybe that will be the case with these, too. Especially if they're priced at $295 or higher.

I am really excited for this event and hope I get to go! I'll be eagerly awaiting more details from Breyer. Gimme my pony crack now!