Breckenridge selections are out!

 Hark, readers! The selections for Breckenridge have been made! If you entered for him, check your email to see if you were drawn (or go straight to the website and see if you have the option to purchase him). I didn't enter for this one, but congrats to all the winners! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2015

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! We've finished the original commemorative program and are now moving on to the one published in 2025, starting with 2015, so let's get started! 

Notable events of 2015:

• Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-serving monarch (of any country) in history
• Rubella is declared eradicated in North and South America
• Liquid water is found on Mars
• Hurricane Patricia becomes the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere
  

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2015 took place! 

Dates: July 17-19, 2015
Theme: Vive la France! 
Celebration Horse: Simba du Pont de Tournay
Number of Celebration Models produced: 6,500

Here's the first 2015 page from the new commemorative program:

The real Simba is/was an Ardennes stallion who was one of only a handful of Ardennes horses in the USA at that time. I couldn't find any recent information about what Simba has been up to lately or whether he's still alive. I believe his hitch mate in the above photo was in foal to him at the time. I remember being relieved that I didn't want any of the raffle or prize models. I was also a volunteer this year, though I ended up selling my volunteer model afterward (the color is pretty, but I'm just not a fan of SCO). 



Importantly, 2015 was the first year of the Best Customs Contest! The prize models for the inaugural year were Anahi and Agueda - the runner-up Stablemates weren't introduced until a few years later. This has led to some amazing customs being created over the years! I love looking at the entries every year. Other store specials were the still-popular Caves of Lascaux, Frenchie the plush, Joie de Vivre the crystal, Fontainebleau the "Connoisseur" release (which didn't sell well and led to the end of that little experiment) and Art Noveau the Classic. I can't remember if this was the year the pop-up tent was introduced, or if that happened earlier, but I know Caves of Lascaux (among the other store specials) was sold in the pop-up tent, because there were a lot of references to the "Tent of Despair" due to how quickly things sold out. 

Special runs for 2015 were Giverny, La Taureau (derided at the time for his coat pattern resembling mold growth), Enchante (who was well-received when unveiled, but later some buyers were disappointed by his yellow legs), Haute Couture (the hot item for 2015), Ganache (my personal favorite of the group), Chanel and Versailles, along with the Quelle Surprise models on Lonesome Glory. I can't remember who I thought the surprise model was going to be, but it wasn't Lonesome Glory. The colors were great! I think I like the perlino the best. Side note: we went on our year-delayed honeymoon in September of 2015 and saw Oration at the Arabian and Half-Arabian Sport Horse Nationals, which was pretty cool. 

And now, here are the relevant pages from the 2015 annual JAH! 

Page 2:

And page 3:

And now, here are some of my on-the-ground photos! 

Auction models on display

Horse and rider at the evening show

Paddyngton's Mark of Distinction and Holly Armstrong

Some of the costume contest competitors, including Andrea Gurdon in light green/yellow (RIP Andrea, we miss you!)

The craziness of the Stablemate painting tent

Now, let's take a look at some auction models! 

Weather Girl was still in the "Breyer Vault" at this time, so it was nice to get an auction model on her. Can't help but wonder if this one ended up being the inspiration for Picante? She certainly is pretty. 

This auction model was one of the ones involved in the Great Program Fail of 2015 - Breyer released the Breyerfest program a few weeks before Breyerfest 2015, but there was a software oops - the auction model pages in the program were covered up with an easily-removed white box, revealing all of the auction models! The file was quickly edited to remove the auction models completely, but you know how it goes - once it's on the internet, it's there forever. 

I love the intricate pattern on this Carrick! And the color, too. He's so handsome! 

And lastly, look at this pretty sorrel Othello! Pretty sure I was really hoping he would turn out to be the volunteer model for 2015, but that turned out not to be the case, as the volunteer model stopped being in the live auction starting in 2014. 

And that's it for this week! Check back next week for 2016. 

Oct. Collector Club Newsletter and 2026 Retired List

 Greetings, readers! Two points of interest today: firstly, the October Collector Club newsletter is out in the wild! CC members, check your email to read it. This month's feature story explains Cryptid, there's a racehorse giveaway in honor of the Breeder's Cup, and there's this sneak peek! 

No idea what it is, although I'm thinking Five Gaiter for some reason (I'm probably wrong). I don't think it's the Longhorn Bull pictured in this year's JAH, since he's black and not glossy. I also don't think it's the Christmas model since they don't usually tease those ahead of time. Hope we find out what it is soon! 

And today's other piece of news is the 2026 Retired List! Peruse it here and see which models have been retired to make room for new releases. Brookside Pink Magnum sure got a long production run, huh? Well, now I'm excited to see the new stuff for 2027! 

2027 Vintage Club is open for renewals

 Attention, Vintage Club members! The 2027 club is now open for renewals! If you're wanting to continue your VC membership next year, log on now and renew your membership. Here's one of the releases, Lady Grey!

From the website:

One of our very special releases this year is Lady Grey. Lady Grey is the first of her kind – a factory-painted model inspired by customized models! Two of the model horse hobby’s most accomplished and foundational artists, Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig and Julie Froelich, collaborated to bring Lady Grey to life. She was inspired by “Lady Angelina,” a custom Proud Arabian Mare created by Julie Froelich and Nancy Strowger in 1981. As a nod to Breyer’s original Proud Arabian Mare gift sets, Lady Grey will include a braided black Arabian horse halter.

Lady Grey is so pretty! I love her subtle dapples. She looks really good with that black halter, too. 

Once you join the club, you'll see a welcome letter containing a hint about one of the other releases - "for example, one release completes a family nearly 70 years later!" Prevailing opinion on the Internets is that this is referring to a woodgrain Proud Arabian Stallion, which would be really exciting! Time will tell, I guess. But don't miss your chance to renew your membership - you only have until 11/5 at 10am EST. 

Breckenridge!

 Attention again, Collector Club members! This year's holiday decorator, Breckenridge, has been officially revealed and entries are open! 

From the website:

Breyer’s Breckenridge is a beautiful homage to this stunning winter destination. With a holographic metallic purple coat that is reminiscent of the purple mountains at night, he’s stunning to view in any light. His unique filigree markings and high-gloss finish make this athletic stallion appear as if he’s racing through the snow down the slopes! He comes on a glittering snowy base, and features “Breckenridge 2026” on his belly in silver.

What a beauty! I hadn't realized he's holographic. The color is great! Too bad I sold off all my Smarty Jones models. There are 1200 of these guys, so I'd say people's odds of getting one are probably pretty decent. Good luck to everyone entering!  

2027 Stablemates Club is open!

 Attention, Collector Club members! The 2027 Stablemates Club is now open for enrollment! You have to join the 2027 Collector Club first...but here's the new mold for next year! 

I honestly thought this model was a shrunken-down Bristol, but fortunately I wasn't the only one. I thought he was a mini version of this auction model! I guess Breyer wasn't being as clever with the releases as I thought they were. Anyway, he's a new sculpt by Maggie Jenner-Bennett. 

His front half really looks like Newsworthy, while the back half looks like Bristol. I'm undecided about this one, but he's definitely a cutie! But I'm not going to join this club until I see the rest of the releases. Must...wait...until...all...is...revealed! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2014

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! We're covering 2014 this week, so let's get started! 

Notable events of 2014:

• Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears over the Indian Ocean, launching a thousand conspiracy theories
• Microsoft buys Mojang Studios (creators of Minecraft) for $2.5 billion
• Ebola breaks out in West Africa, eventually infecting more than 28,000 people and killing more than 11,000
• The McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 flies its last passenger flight, but commercial flights continue

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2014 happened! 

Dates: July 11-13, 2014
Theme: Silver Jubilee
Celebration Horse: Gooitzen fan Teakesyl
Number of Celebration Models produced: 7,000

Here's the first 2014 page from the commemorative program:

Breyerfest 2014 feels like the definitive Breyerfest for me. There were a lot of milestones happening; it was the 25th anniversary of the event, and the first time Breyer included micro-runs in every special run; it was also the only time the Alborozo mold has been used for a run of more than just one (aside from the original release), and the first (and so far only) time the Celebration Model was issued in a glossy finish (although it doesn't appear to have been the plan from the start, as the model used when "Gootz" was first announced was matte black). It was also the inaugural year of the Celebration of Horses evening show and the Collector Club tent! It was a great Breyerfest and remains one of my favorites to this day. 2014 was also the first time I got to be a volunteer! That was a great time as well and I really liked being "behind the scenes" of Breyerfest.

The real Gooitzen fan Teakesyl was a world champion Friesian show horse, presented at Breyerfest by Carson Kressley. He died in 2015. Other guests were Knights of Valour, Knights of Iceland, Behind the Mask Friesians, Tommie Turvey and equine guests Novelisto D, RJ (one of the horses that played Hidalgo), Magic and Hamlet, Lil Ricky Rocker, GVF Sjokolade and Cedarlane Gretchen. 

Breyer had done micro runs at Breyerfest before, but like I said earlier, this was the first time they'd done it for every special run. Each special run had 25 silver charm models on the same mold randomly distributed through each special run (the commemorative program doesn't mention this because it's from 2014 and they didn't want this little surprise to be known in advance). So there was a lot of excitement when unwrapping models to see what treasures you might have gotten! I wasn't lucky enough to get any of the silver charms, but I've had a lot of luck with other models, so I'm not complaining. As for other models, I think Champagne Wishes was the first release in what was apparently intended to be a Connoisseur replacement series - she had a Connoisseur-level paint job, was a run of 350 and was priced a bit higher, but didn't sell very well. She was followed up by another run of 350 on Salinero the following year, which also didn't sell well, and then that little experiment ended. Come to think of it, that experiment was kinda revived years later with Midas and Ambrose, but it seems to have been abandoned again. 

Special runs for 2014 were Celebration, Kodiak and Denali, Pop the Cork!, which turned out to be on the Nokota, Gossamer, Bonne Fete, Platinum Star (the most sought-after special run that year), Jubilee and Champagne Toast. I bought a lot of Champagne Toasts while trying to get that darn silver Adios, with no luck. Oh, and since the Celebration Models were glossy, the costume contest prizes for this year were a run of 25 glossy Harley D Zip models. 

Here's the first page of the JAH recap:

Page 2:

Page 3:

Page 4:

Page 5:

And page 6:

And here are some photos by yours truly! 

Above: some of the auction models

Test Smarty Jones in the silent auction

A cool display in the Visitor Center of all the previous Celebration Models

Carson Kressley with Gootz 

And now let's take a look at some auction models! 

I think this model is one a lot of people regret letting slip through their fingers - he's so beautiful, and sold for a comparatively low price ($1,000), when he would almost certainly sell for much more than that now. I think he's changed hands a couple of times since the auction, actually, but I don't remember how much he sold for. Probably a lot more than $1,000. 

This Silver is noteworthy because a lot of people (myself included) thought Pop the Cork would be on the Silver mold, only to have our predictions dashed when this one was revealed ahead of time. Also, markings are in the shape of a "25" on his side. Super cool! 

This Moody ASB is cool because he has custom hair! He looks like his mane and tail are blowing in the breeze. He's a beautiful color, too. I love him! 

Lastly, though I'm not the biggest fan of the PAM, I always thought this color looks amazing on her. It's so pretty! I hope they bring it back for another release sometime. Maybe on the mini PAM? I hope so; that color is too pretty not to ever use again. 

Well, that's it for today! Check back next week for Breyerfest 2015!