Featured Breyerfest - 2013

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! We're going back in time to 2013 this year, so let's get started! 

Notable events of 2013:

• The "zombie apocalypse hoax" involving emergency broadcast systems across five different states takes place
• Pope Benedict becomes the first pope to resign his office voluntarily, leading to the election of Pope Francis
• El Reno, OK is hit by the largest tornado ever recorded, resulting in 8 deaths
• Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is deposed in a military coup d'etat

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2013 took place! This was the first year we drove (16 hours) to Kentucky, rather than fly there. Our Breyerfest road trip became an annual tradition! 

Dates: July 19-21
Theme: Denim and Diamonds
Celebration Horse: Smart and Shiney
Number of Celebration Models produced: 5,000

Here's the first 2013 page from the commemorative program:

The real Smart and Shiney is still alive at 23 (at least, he's still listed as available for breeding on Tom McCutcheon Reining). As you might have guessed, he's a reining horse who was owned by Lyle Lovett in 2013, though I'm not sure if that's still the case. Smart and Shiney is also a grandson of superstar stallion Shining Spark, great-grandson of Breyer portrait model Diamonds Sparkle, and great-great-grandson of legendary stallion and Breyer portrait model Doc Bar. 

Other equine guests in 2013 included Lady C (formerly owned by Sheryl Crow), Tennessee Titan, Brookside Pink Magnum, Lil Ricky Rocker and Topsails Rien Maker. Other guests were Dan James of Double Dan Horsemanship and Mary Miller-Jordan. Splash Dogs was added to the event list this year, and after the costume contest was a performance by Alabama tribute band Tennessee River. 

As pictured, the raffle models were Bluebird and Boot Scootin' Boogie, while the Single Day Stablemates were all brand-new molds! 

The list of Breyerfest models seems to be ever-growing, huh? Special runs included Twill, Short Ribs the pig, Two Step, Ryman (whose run seemed to suffer many bent front legs from the July heat), Buckaroo, Laredo (a "Spanish" version of the Vanner which was much-derided due to his noodly legs - I love him anyway!), Naomi and Wynonna, and the CC Shuffle on Roxy. Live show prize models were the beautiful Minnie Pearl and Music Row, while the diorama contest prize was Walk of Fame and the early bird model was Honky Tonk. I remember hearing a secondhand story about one of the Honky Tonk winners having no idea what they'd just won or how much it was worth. I hope they figured it out! 

Store specials included Lady C (formerly owned by Sheryl Crow), Tennessee Titan, Somerset (a resin to replace the poorly-selling porcelains), Belle Meade the crystal, Stitch the plush and four western-themed models on the Rearing Stallion and Bucking Bronco. 

Here's the recap from the 2013 annual JAH:

Page 2:

Page 3:

Page 4:

Page 5:

And page 6:

Now, here are some on-the-ground photos by yours truly! 

Tennessee Titan outside the Covered Arena

A smattering of auction models in the visitor center

An extremely rare and valuable In-Between Mare at the Open Show (I didn't show at the time, but we went there to check things out)

Smart and Shiney showing off his luscious locks (and reining talent)

I just realized I didn't cover any of the 2012 auction models last week! Oops. Oh well. Here's some auction models from 2013:

I love this one! Breyer does a great bay roan, and this Carrick is no exception. So pretty! 

This Moody Andalusian is beautiful too! I can't tell if he has any peacock spots, but presumably he does? More photos are needed (my others from the visitor center don't show anything either). 

I like the blingy crystals on this QHY. I wish Breyer would do stuff like this more often! 

I've never been a big fan of the Appaloosa Performance Horse, but with this paint job (and custom tail) he looks so much better. All he needs is a better head and he'd be great! 

That's it for the auction models, but here's a bonus photo:

This trio was for sale at one of the booths in the Covered Arena. That's the silver filigree PAM volunteer model, raffle model Born to Run and raffle model Saturday Night Fever. It was amazing to see them all together! 

And that's it for this week. Check back next week for Breyerfest 2014! 

2027 Clubs!

 Exciting news, everyone! The 2027 Deluxe Collector Club (and regular Collector Club) are now open for memberships! Check out the Deluxe Stablemate! 

Just like the accidental leak from a few weeks ago said, his name is Petrichor and we can choose whether he has wings or not! I'm so glad we can choose instead of being stuck with a gambler's choice again. I definitely need both of them! 

Tip: when joining the club, make sure you select "Horse" or "Pegasus" (right above the "add to cart" button) before you add it to the cart. 

And check out this British Spotted Pony (named Felicity) for the Collector Club! Presumably she'll be the spring Collector Club model. 

She's so pretty! Looks like I'll have to get her too. 

And, here's a preview of a Premier Club release for next year, from the Collector Club join page! 

At a glance he looks like an Arabian, because of the pose and the way his hair is arranged, but if he is an Arabian he must be some kind of cross, because he doesn't look like a pure Arabian. Either way, I want him too! Very pretty. His name is Fresco. Looks like 2027 is going to be an expensive year for me...

Featured Breyerfest - 2012

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! We're covering 2012 today, so let's get going! 

Notable events of 2012:

• Costa Concordia runs aground off the coast of Italy, resulting in the deaths of 32 people
• Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee (60 years on the throne)
• Voyager 1 becomes the first man-made object to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space
• "Gangnam Style" is released, and the video for it eventually becomes YouTube's most-watched video of all time

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2012 took place! This was the first year I was able to attend, after wanting to go since I was a kid. And it was a blast! Breyerfest became my happy place and quickly overtook Christmas as my favorite holiday. 

Dates: July 20-22, 2012
Theme: British Invasion
Celebration Horse: Mariah's Boon
Number of Celebration Models produced: 4,400

Here's the first 2012 page from the commemorative program:

The real Mariah's Boon was an American Drum Horse who overcame major surgeries for a perforated stomach and went on to be a champion show horse and breeding stallion. He died in 2023, may he RIP. Other equine guests included Lil Ricky Rocker, Heartland High Tech, CH Sprinkles, and Taskin along with the Knights of Valour, Tommie Turvey with Odd Job Bob and Pokerjoe and Villa Vanners. The raffle models and store specials are pictured on this page as well - still sad I didn't win the mare and foal set. Interestingly, at one point Breyer ran out of Mariah's Boon models to hand out to three-day ticket holders, so they ended up giving out Taskin models instead. There was also a small quantity (about 250?) of Mariah's Boon models that were handed out in blue velvet bags rather than boxes (I don't remember exactly why - they ran out of time to box them up, I think). 

The single-day Stablemates were (I thought) a clever idea, with all of them being draft molds named after various types of drinks, and they all had nice paint jobs, but they didn't seem to sell well for whatever reason. Plenty of them to be found in the Breyer store in 2013, which is when I got mine. Special runs included Prince of Chintz (which wasn't very well-received), Bowland, Killarney (the porcelain), the Stoneleigh Surprise on Flash, Cheerio, Aintree, Sixes and Sevens, Bees Knees and Tunbridge Wells. At this time, the special run line was still part of the Breyer Store on the concourse, so there were two lines going up into the store from the back of the Covered Arena. Celebration Models were handed out from the small ticket/office window on the opposite end of the Covered Arena, near where the Breyer Booth is located now (and the Breyer Booth was located on the concourse on the opposite side of the arena from the Breyer Store). 

This was the first year the live auction was held in the Hall of Champions. Seems like it's been working out well since then, although the crowd is now starting to get too big (or was; I didn't go this year). We flew to Kentucky for the first time to get there (most of the subsequent years we drove), and I remember it was dark and stormy in Lexington when the plane landed. We didn't stay at the Clarion; our hotel was in Lexington a few minutes away from the KHP. It was my first year attending Breyerfest and doing all the activities I'd previously only read about, like shopping at the Clarion, going through the special run line, attending the live auction, participating in (but not winning) the raffles, and seeing people I'd been reading about in JAH for years, like Stephanie. It was great! We even did the costume contest, and saw some pretty amazing entries (didn't win that either, but that was another controversy). This was also prior to the evening Celebration of Horses being a thing - instead the costume contest took place prior to the BritBeat tribute band concert. 

Here's the first page of the JAH recap/photo album:

And page 2:

And page 3:

And page 4:

And here's Mariah's Boon and Taskin courtesy of Lea R:

And here's another Taskin photo courtesy of...me! 

Next, Sylvia Zerbini with some of her Arabians:

And lastly, the mighty Cigar prior to his passing:

That's it for this week, but check back next week for Breyerfest 2013! 

Bijou is available!

 Attention, Stablemates Club members! Bijou, the hotly anticipated gambler's choice for this year, is available for purchase! 

They're so cute! I definitely like the decorator the best, but I'm hoping I can get my hands on all of them. Can't wait to see what colors I get! 

A new test model!

 Greetings, readers! Well, there's a new test model for Collector Club members to enter to purchase - check her out! 

This model is absolutely beautiful! I'm almost sad I sold my Giselles. She has so much detail in her paint job! Good luck to everyone entering! The entry deadline is 10/8, and she costs $1500 if you're drawn. Better get those entries in before the deadline! 

In other news, it looks like the 2027 Breyerfest Celebration Horse may be announced soon- Kimber Goodwin recently posted about flying to Italy for something Breyerfest-related, as did another Breyer employee shortly afterward. Exciting! 

And lastly, the Deluxe Collector Club Stablemate was briefly revealed yesterday - it's apparently a dapple gray mini Brishen, with an option to add purple-tipped wings. Must have been an accidental release, as it disappeared shortly afterward (according to the Blabber who posted about it). His name is Petrichor. Can't wait to see him! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2011

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Breyerfest! Next up is Breyerfest 2011, so let's get going! 

Notable events of 2011:

• Prince William marries Kate Middleton
• An EF5 tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri, and kills 158 people
• The NASA space shuttle program ends with the completion of STS-135 with the shuttle Atlantis
• The video game Minecraft is released, and eventually becomes the best-selling video game of all time (I've never played it)

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2011 happened! 

Dates: July 15-17, 2011
Theme: FairyTails
Celebration Horse: Pecos
Number of Celebration Models produced: 4,400

Here's the first 2011 page from the commemorative program:

The real Pecos is an Andalusian owned by Matt McLaughlin. As the program states, Pecos does dressage and is a descendant of Legionario III - if he's still alive; the website says he was born in 1996 and doesn't look like it's been updated lately, so he'd be 30 years old if still alive. Anyway, other equine guests that year were Sato, TS Black Tie Affaire, Kripton Seni II, Kong, and Grand Central (son of Prince Jester). 

The number of single-day Stablemates increased to four this year, and that's where it's stayed ever since. The surprise model was brought back as the "Spun Gold Surprise" this year, and this was the first year that everything about it was a surprise. At the event it was revealed to be three standard colors on the Ethereal mold, with a rare variant (29 distributed in the special run line and one sold in the live auction). Other special runs included Aurora the porcelain, Gruff the goat, Hansel and Gretel (New molds! And this might be the last time a Classic has appeared in the special run line rather than as a store special/Limited Edition), Jasmine, Once Upon a Time, Under the Sea and Wish on a Star. Store specials were Dusty and the three resins - Avalon, Prince Charming and Sorcerer's Apprentice. I seem to remember that those three were announced at the last minute, and then when Breyerfest actually took place, they were all stocked in the store on the first day and sold out pretty much immediately, much to the consternation of people that couldn't get there in time (I wasn't there, so anything I've heard is secondhand). Those resins are still a bit of a mystery - I don't think it was ever announced who sculpted them, what the story was behind them (if any) and Prince Charming is the only mold that's been used since then, as a Stablemate. Sorcerer's Apprentice is still a pretty hot commodity on the secondary market. 

On the third page we can see some prize models, including Tom Thumb. Be still, my heart. 

Here's page 1 of the JAH recap:

And page 2:

On to page 3:

And page 4:

And here are more on-the-ground photos, courtesy of Lea R.! 

Pecos with a smol friend.

TS Black Tie Affaire in his stall

Sato

Now, let's look at some auction models! 

This legendary Esprit was one of the most expensive models sold that day, but it's not hard to see why; his color is beautiful. The color made an appearance as Arosa on the MFT later on.

I love the color on this Zebra! I wish they'd use the Zebra for a wider release, although I guess they did use it for Breyerfest 2024. We need another one, though! 

Here we have the PAM and PAF in the Appaloosa Performance Horse color scheme, which begs the question; is there a matching PAS? I'm reasonably sure there's a photo of one on the Breyer History Diva blog, but I'm not going to search through every post to find it. But it looks nice on this set! They were the high sellers of the auction at $5,000. 

I wish I had a better photo of this one, but it represents a missed opportunity (in my opinion). I always thought Swirling Sky (one of the last Connoisseur releases) should have been on the Weather Girl, since it was 2011 and she was going back into the "Breyer Vault" at the end of the year. And it's not like they couldn't have done it, since this auction model exists! Sheesh. It would have made that Connoisseur release way more desirable than it was (the reaction to him was pretty ho-hum at the time, though prices seem to have recovered since then). So it just seems like a huge missed opportunity to me. Oh well. 

That's it for this week! Check back next week for Breyerfest 2012! 

Featured Breyerfest - 2010

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! We're moving right along and covering Breyerfest 2010 this week, so let's get going! 

Notable events of 2010:

• The first iPad is released, spawning many feminine hygiene-related jokes
• The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes and sinks, leading to the largest oil spill in US history
• Christchurch, NZ is hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, a precursor to the 2011 quake that would kill 185 people
• The Hale-Bopp comet is discovered and becomes the most-observed comet of all time

And in Kentucky, Breyerfest 2010 rolled out the red carpet! 

Dates: July 23-25, 2010
Theme: Lights, Camera, Breyerfest!
Celebration Horse: All Glory
Number of Celebration Models produced: 4,800

Here's the first 2010 page from the commemorative program:

The real All Glory is a Standardbred owned by William Shatner (or at least formerly owned by William Shatner - I couldn't find any information about whether All Glory is still alive or if Shatner still owns him). All Glory appeared at Breyerfest with Shatner's then-wife Elizabeth Shatner, but Bill himself did make an appearance on day 3 that year! Other guests included Priscilla Presley, the Priefert Hitch, Radar, O'Leary's Irish Diamond, Fleetstreet Max, Isadora-Cruce and more. The KHP was finishing up major construction to facilitate hosting the 2010 World Equestrian Games, leading to many changes around the park and to various Breyerfest activities. 

Special runs this year were Beethoven the Saint Bernard, Dances with Wolves the porcelain, Stage Mom and Child Star, Star-Studded (Silver's last appearance for a few years), Technicolor, Tinseltown, Red Carpet Royalty and Stunt Double (a particularly clever design/name - the pattern and color are the same as the earlier Hidalgo model). Prize models were Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, along with Cameo, glossy All Glories awarded to the costume contest winners, the beautiful Hollywood Glamour and You Oughta Be in Pictures raffle models, Opening Night the early bird raffle, and Quiet on the Set, the volunteer model. 

William Shatner himself appears on page 3 above! I wish I'd been there to see it. 

Here's the first page of the JAH recap (more of a photo album):

And page 2:

Notice the costume contest participant in white in the bottom right corner - that's Andrea Gurdon, the Breyer History Diva! Gone but not forgotten.

Here's page 3:

And page 4:

Here's a bonus photo of All Glory from Lea R.: 

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

This Hanoverian is so handsome! He reminds me of Art Deco, one of my favorite childhood models. I wouldn't mind getting that one back, honestly. 

This Gem Twist has a customized mane and tail, and I feel like I should recognize them, but I don't. Is the tail from a Huck? And the mane from the Cleveland Bay? 

This is the first Esprit auction model, following his 2010 debut as the official WEG model. So pretty! 

I love this Western Horse! Usually I'm not crazy about the molded on/plastic tack, but it's great when Breyer paints the tack fun colors. The Western Horse looks great in wedgewood blue and white! I love the silver accents, too. 

That's all I've got for today - check back next week for Breyerfest 2011!