Featured Breyerfest - 1998

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Breyerfest 1998. This week we're traveling back in time to 1998. Here are some notable things that happened in 1998 (not an exhaustive list): 

• Google is officially founded
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is released, the first 3D game in the series
• Titanic becomes the first film to earn $1 billion at the box office, and also wins a billion Oscars
• The Winter Olympics are held in Nagano, Japan
  

And of course, Breyerfest 1998 happened! Notably, this was the first year a new mold made its debut as the Celebration Model. 
Date: July 24-26, 1998
Celebration Horse: Rejoice
Number of Celebration Models produced: 3, 900 
Attendance: No solid numbers, but the JAH recap says the event drew "one of the largest crowds since its debut nine years ago." Speaking of attendance, I received this statement from a reader: 

1995 was the first year that I attended the whole weekend (just one day in 1994).  The attendance of 3000 is correct as Breyer served a buffet type dinner to the attendees which would have been impossible if the attendance was 15,000 as stated for 1994.  The buffet type dinner went on for several years.  The earliest attendances was 3000 or under.  I attended every year from 1994-2016.  It wasn’t until later years that it started to grow to over 10,000. 

So, I think the attendance records from those early years are, well, spotty to say the least. But anyways, here's the first 1998 page from the commemorative program:

 
















The real Rejoice was a National Show Horse who, as the breed suggests, excelled in the show ring, but I haven't been able to find much information about her. Special runs this year included more keychains, as well as Shannon, the glossy charcoal Clydesdale Mare who ended up being the inspiration for the timed tickets in the special run line starting in 1999. The special runs were sold first-come first-served, and people stood in line in the burning sun for hours to get a Shannon, only to have her sell out. So, the special run tickets were introduced, and each ticket had a number from 1-450 and an assigned time every hour. 15 minutes before that time, a random number between 1-450 was drawn, and that was where the line started. Much better than the old system, and still in use today at the collector events. 

The volunteer model for this year was the gold charm pinto Fighting Stallion, and the raffle model (still only one) was Serengeti, the beautiful Copenhagen Big Ben. Still highly sought after today! 

These pages are from the Sept/Oct 1998 issue of JAH. Those auction models are beautiful! Hmm, I think I know who owns that smoke Marabella...

Here's the Breyerfest recap from the same issue of JAH. 

And here are some other auction models on IDYB:

That blue roan PAM is beautiful! I'm surprised there isn't a matching PAS/PAF to go with her. 

This buckskin Sham is sort of like a prototype for this one a few years later.

I love the color on this Jumping Horse. Very similar to Royale Te! 

And lastly, another handsome Pluto! I'm a sucker for a light gray with the black mane and tail, though. 

That's it for today - check back next week for 1999! 

June Collector Club newsletter and auction models!

 Greetings, readers! Well, it's been kind of a slow week, but at least we got the Collector Club newsletter for June. If you're a collector club member, check your email for more. This month's feature story details the life and accomplishments of Chief of Fourmile, and the giveaway for this month is a Harley - a descendant of Chief of Fourmile! Cool stuff. There's also this sneak peek: 

Is it a web special? It's supposed to be released in July, but I don't know what it would be. Maybe the fall Classic unicorn? They're not usually released that early, though.

And in other news, we got the last batch of auction models today! Let's start with the Semi-Rearing Mustang:

That color is amazing! I bet he'll sell for a lot. And another glossy one! Our cup runneth over. 

More gloss! Hooray! Nothing I need, but she's definitely pretty.

Now this one is interesting - the mane from the Cleveland Bay, and a tail from Roxy that was apparently modified to look wrapped. Never would have expected to see Bandalero as a polo pony, but it fits him pretty well. Wonder if we'll see this combination again at some point? 

Ooh, this one is my favorite! I think we have our top seller. What a pretty color! I love him. 

And that's it for auction models we get to see in advance! The blog post notes that there are two hidden lots, and two lots that are only available to in-person bidders...so, four hidden lots. Fortunately, we'll find out what they are in less than two weeks! Huzzah! 

Gloss does exist!

 Greetings, readers! More exciting auction reveals on the blog today - check them out! 

Wow, I'm not usually a fan of the Western Prancing Horse (despite having had one as a kid), but this guy is super cute! I love his blue eyes and the details on the saddle. And his color! What a beauty. 

The next lot is hidden, predictably. On to the next one! 

Whoa. Is this the first glossy model for this Breyerfest?! Wait, no, there's the glossy Oseburg and the live show sectional prizes, plus the single day Stablemates. Well, whatever. Gloss seems like it's been pretty rare at this Breyerfest for some reason, so I'm glad to see at least one glossy auction model (it does exist!)! And this guy is really handsome. He's like an updated version of the old regular run Saddlebred from back in the day. 

Pretty, but nothing I need. She looks good in tobiano palomino, though. 

That's it for today. I hope we get to see more auction models soon! Less than two weeks until I leave for Kentucky! 

Featured Breyerfest - 1997

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! This week we're covering 1997, so settle in and get comfortable! 

Breyerfest 1997
Date: July 25-27, 1997
Celebration Horse: Bold
Number of Celebration Models produced: 3,850
Attendance: Apparently just under 4,000. There must be some confusion about the attendance somewhere, because going from 10,000 some years to less than 4,000 in others is a pretty wild swing. Anyway, here's the first 1997 page from the commemorative program: 

Looking at all the pictures of Bold, he really was a beautiful horse. The Stud Spider mold is, well, less-so. But I digress. The real Bold was a police horse (and 1995 Police Horse of the Year) who excelled at his job and was beloved by his family. He died in 2000. 

This first page also reveals the first non-keychain Breyerfest special run! It was Excalibur, the black Hackney, whose run at least partially consisted of painted-over Giltedge models. There was still only one raffle model (Cactus the Balking Mule), plus the volunteer model (Moccasin, on San Domingo) and there was also a surprise raffle! 16 Small Poodles were produced after the mold was discovered in storage earlier that year. I wonder where those Poodles are now? 

On page 2 for 1997 we see Karma Gypsy and SS Morning Star again (all grown up this time), along with several of the other guest horses. Docs Keepin Time was the equine star of Black Beauty, Runaway Bride and (my personal favorite) Adventures of the Black Stallion! I'll always remember hurrying home from school on Wednesday afternoons to watch it. Toby the Vaulting Horse was also beautiful - if his model was reissued on something more modern like Georg, I'd probably buy it. 

Here's the Breyerfest 1997 recap that appeared in the Sept/Oct 1997 JAH! 



And here's the centerfold from that same issue, featuring some of the same photos that were later used in the commemorative program.



I've noted this before, but waiting in that line in the Kentucky heat must have been horrible. 

Now, let's take a look at some of the auction models! The high seller for the year, the red roan Five Gaiter, is pictured above. 

This is the first auction model that caught my eye - a chestnut-going-gray Sham. I wish there were more photos of this one! 

I swear I've seen this Adios for sale at some point, but I might be thinking of something else. 

Check out this Copenhagen Hackney! What a cutie. 

I had to include this one, because he's a palomino version of Art Deco, one of my favorite carpet herd models! 

That's it for this week. Check back next week for Breyerfest 1998! 

Another batch of auction models!

 Good news, readers! We've got more auction models to admire, courtesy of the latest Breyerfest Blog post. Behold: 

Beautiful paint job on this guy! I wonder how much he'll sell for...

At first the color reminded me of this Huck test color, but it's not really a match. I guess it sort of matches on his head, though. Interesting! 

Kind of meh about this one, honestly. The pattern is super complicated, but I've never been that much of a fan of the puzzle-piece look. 

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout! We need more Susecion and Le Fire releases. This is only the fifth time in 23 years that they've been in the live auction! We need more! I love the color on the mare, too. 

Program and Clarion update!

 Greetings, readers! Well, I'll get the biggest news out of the way first. This message was posted to various Facebook groups today:

It appears that room sales at the Clarion will end after this year. I can't say I'm completely surprised by this news - the hotel has been dealing with people's trash, stolen items, damage to the building, etc. for years, and allowing that many people into the building at once has to be a fire code violation. It's a pretty huge change, though - many of us can't imagine Breyerfest without room sales. I don't know if I want to get my hopes up about room sales anywhere else, either - I doubt there are many hotels/convention centers in Lexington that would want the hassle of room sales. It looks like this may be the end, sadly. But let's hope Breyer can figure something out with another host hotel; many people depend on those sales to pay for the trip, myself included, so maybe someone will come up with an alternative.

Anyway, now that that unfortunate news is out of the way...the Breyerfest program was released today! Feast your eyes here. And with the program comes the reveal of the raffle models!

So that means Bobby Jo won't be the surprise. I still think it's going to be Vermeer unless he shows up as an auction model. The colors on these are pretty, but I don't need either of them, luckily. Maybe I'll win one and then be able to trade it for something? 

Also, the silent auction lots were revealed! Well, some of them, anyway:

Looks like our bird-loving friend at Breyer has struck again - that Fireheart is a cassowary-themed custom. Looks interesting, though the tail is a bit confusing. I'll have to take a close-up look at it. I screenshotted the whole list of models because one of the lots is a "Test Jumbo Horatio" - which mean it's this guy! The full-size version of Horatio that was used for the photo shoots. We knew it was him because he has the normal tail, not the altered tail that the actual mini has. And just below that is a test Springtime Filly! I've never been a fan of Camilla, but I'll be interested to see this one. 

And the last of the program reveals is the next Collector Club special run! Behold, Guillermo: 

Nothing I need, but the color is pretty! 

That's it for today! Hope we get some more auction reveals soon! There were a few pages missing from the program PDF...

Featured Breyerfest - 1996

 Hello and welcome to yet another edition of Featured Breyerfest! We're covering Breyerfest 1996 today. Wow, it's been (almost) 30 years! Let's get started. 

Breyerfest 1996
July 26-28, 1996
Celebration Horse: Tseminole Wind
Number of Celebration Models produced: 3800
Attendees: Unknown

The real Tseminole Wind was a Half-Arabian owned by Maddy Winer. He, his dam Karma Gypsy, and sister SS Morning Star all had their own portrait models. Maddy Winer is a singer and would perform while riding Karma Gypsy. She still owns and shows Arabians so presumably they all had show careers, but I wasn't able to find much more information about them. 

Other guest horses included Dover the dressage horse; Clue II the trick horse (I had his Breyer model!); Misty II, Black Mist and Twister, all Misty descendants; and Bonnie Shields, sculptor of the then-new Brown Sunshine model. 

There was still only one raffle model (Malibu), plus the volunteer model (black dapple Semi-Rearing Mustang), and the keychain special runs returned! This time we got clearware G1 Standing and Lying Foals and blue Standing and Lying Foals. 

Here's the wrap-up from JAH that year: 

Looking at these pictures is making me miss Kentucky. Here's the rest of the wrap-up:

There's one auction model in the wrap-up there, but here are some other interesting ones - I'll start with this dapple gray Khemosabi: 

I wonder where this model is now? I'd like to see some more photos of it. It's a pretty paint job, even for a subpar sculpt like Khemo. 

I also like this brindle Bolya. It's interesting to look at Breyer's early attempts at paint jobs like this. 

I love this black version of Yellow Mount! Which reminds me - is the Vintage Club ever going to get an alternate color of Yellow Mount? Seems like something that should have happened by now. 

And before I forget, here's a photo of Stephanie Macejko with Misty II: 

That's it for this week, but check back next week for Breyerfest 1997! There's a surprise raffle, the first non-keychain special run and more!