Featured JAH: 8/12/23, Summer II 1993

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! In this issue, we see some pretty horses (as usual), learn about Peter Stone the Breyer Man, and more! Let's get started.

On the front cover, a guy gives a thumbs-up on a strutting park horse. On the back cover is the same horse from the opposite side (you can see the back of the ribbon in the first picture). Curiously, the back cover photo appears to have been cropped to just show the horse's head, as the photo credit on the table of contents page shows the entire photo (the guy sitting on the horse bareback again). Interesting. The credit says the horse is Countess Vanessa, but no information on the rider's identity. 

On the Editor's Desk page we see a stallion being goofy on a visit with Megan. They visited a stud farm for a photo shoot for a new model for 1994 - ooh, a mystery! Who could it have been? I guess we'll find out in a couple of months when I get to that issue. I also liked the bit at the bottom about things coming in the next issue, including "the Clubs listing, really!" They must have had some trouble with that. 

On the opposite page are some announcements and the Pen Pals for this issue. Apparently advertising was free? Seems kind of counterproductive. 

Next we have an article about National Show Horses, the next big thing in the showing world. Ahh, so Countess Vanessa is a NSH and her rider was Jim Stachowski. Mystery solved! 

And on this page we discover that Vanessa ended up being a six-time national champion park horse. Pretty impressive! Aww, the article is continued (again; that's awkward). Anyway, on the opposite page is an article about the one, the only, Peter Stone! Yes, Peter Stone (now of Stone Horses, the main competitor to Breyer) was once the head honcho at Breyer. 

Feast your eyes on Peter Stone's life story. 

I think that article may have been longer than the one about Countess Vanessa. Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for more of Peter's antics. On the opposite page, there's a Blast from the Past about the Open Top Buggy with flocked PAS. Breyer flockies are kind of the stuff of legend and tend to command high prices whenever they show up for sale. 

Here's the rest of the article about Countess Vanessa. Maybe the Stone article wasn't longer than this one. In any case, it's interesting that Breyer would make this horse the cover model for the issue, do a huge article about her and then not make a Breyer model of her. Maybe they just didn't think they had a mold that could do her justice? Heck, the Saddlebred Weanling probably would have worked, if nothing else. And it ended up taking another five years for Breyer's NSH mold to debut. 

Hey look, the Vintage Point for this issue is about the Saddlebred Weanling! It could have been perfect...oh well. I guess Countess Vanessa's article helped set the stage for Rejoice down the line. Edit: on further contemplation, the Saddlebred Weanling appears to have a set tail, which isn't allowed with the NSH breed. But they could have put her on an Arabian or something, I guess.

Other things appearing in this article: a death notice for Dixie Blue Devil, subject of the "A Pony for Keeps" book and gift set (issued in 1990); an update on the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation; a how-to article on photo shows; a sneak preview of the Rowland Cheney illustration that became "The Challenger" gift set; and a how-to article on indoor photography. 

Check back next week for the Fall 1993 issue!