Breyerfest Closeups: Madonna

 Greetings, readers! Today I bring you another Breyerfest Closeups post - this time featuring Madonna, this year's final Stablemates Club model! Behold: 

As a reminder: while Madonna looks like the PAM, she technically isn't a PAM. She's a scan of the original Hagen-Renaker Zara that the original PAM was based on. With permission from H-R, Breyer scanned a Zara and then shrunk her down to Stablemate size. 

While I do like the PAM, and had a few examples of her at one time, I sold them off for shelf space eventually. So I'm thinking about keeping my Madonna, since shelf space (probably) won't be an issue with her. 

I hope the legs are less warped on my example, though. The PAM is known for having a warped left front leg upon her return to the Breyer line in the 1970s, but I don't think Zara had the same issue (or did she?). But that left rear leg looks wonky too. 

I'm interested to see what other colors Breyer is planning to put on this mold in the future. Just as long as they don't use her or the mini Othello for a best custom prize or something...

That's it for today, but tune in again soon for another Breyerfest Closeup! 

Javier is now available!

 Attention, Stablemates Club members! Javier, the next release, is now available to order! 

They're doing the gambler's choice matte/glossy thing again, so you won't know which finish you got until you open the package! I'll be looking to buy an extra one so I can try to get both of them! I'm going to hold off on ordering mine for a few days though, in case the next Premier Club release pops up too. 

Featured JAH - 8/9/2025, Sept/Oct 2010

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured JAH! We're covering Sept/Oct 2010 this week, so let's get going! 

This issue has the distinction of being the first JAH I received after my post-college return to the hobby, 15 years ago! Fun stuff. 

In the Editor's Desk, Arlene has quietly departed, and while the column isn't attributed to anyone in particular, Stephanie Macejko is listed as the Editorial Advisor, so it was probably her. I wonder what the story behind that was. 

On page 3 we have Letters to the Editor. 

On page 4 we have the first part of the article about Zenyatta. 

The Zenyatta article concludes on page 5 with a reveal of the Zenyatta model and Christmas ornament. 

Moving right along, on page 6 we have the first part of the Horses of Graceland article! 

The Horses of Graceland article wraps up on page 7 with a reveal of the Rising Sun model. 

In lieu of an actual Breyerfest wrap-up article, on page 8 we have a number of photos from Breyerfest! Feast your eyes on all things Breyerfest 2010. 

The Breyerfest photo album continues on page 9. Note the photo of Andrea Gurdon (Breyer History Diva) in the lower right corner. 

The Breyerfest album continues to continue on page 10. Yes, William Shatner did put in an appearance on Sunday! Wish I'd been there to see it. 

The Breyerfest photo album finally wraps up on page 11. 

Moving right along, on page 12 we have another article about the 2010 WEG! 

The WEG article continues on page 13. 

On page 14 we have a preview of all the special runs Breyer made for the WEG, excluding the smaller reissues of various regular runs from the previous many years. I still have Gold Raven, and had Woodburn, Headley Britannia, Cedric and Mandiba at one point, but eventually sold them all off. 

More WEG special runs appear on page 15, along with the kid-size jumps that still (as far as I know) show up at Breyerfest every year. 

After skipping Mailbag and Model Horse Show, on page 18 we have the beautiful JAH special run Melange! Still one of the prettier Gisellse, in my opinion. 

After skipping Artist's Sketch, the rest of Model Horse Show, an ad for some Pony Gals stuff and a how-to article, on page 24 we find Vintage Point, this week featuring Lady Roxana (or "Roxanna" as the title incorrectly spells it)! 

Vintage Point wraps up on page 25. 

After skipping a short article about the Harmony on Horseback resin and the Calendar of Events, on page 28 we have On the Trail with Breyer! 

There was an ad for Cloud Nine on the inside of the back cover, but we all know what he looks like (or can easily look him up), so here's the back cover! The extremely pink Pink Ribbon Horse and Pink Ribbon Stablemates Horse make their debut! The Pink Ribbon Horses had an unfortunate tendency to yellow over time (which is even somewhat apparent in this ad), but the subsequent Pink Ribbon Horse on Bluegrass Bandit doesn't seem to have that issue. 

And with that, we've reached the end of this week's issue! Check back next week for Nov/Dec 2010! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Remaining Stablemates Club Models

 Greetings, readers! It's time for another Breyerfest Closeups post! Small side note: The Breyerfest 2025 second chance sale was today! Congrats to everyone that managed to snag something - I was too slow for a YOLO and the Ties that Bind that was in my cart got yanked out before I could pay for it. Par for the course, I guess. Also, turns out Breyer wanted that extra Shindig back after all, so I sent that back yesterday. Anyways, let's get started with the closeups! 

I'm starting with Javier, because I'm pretty sure he's going to be the next release and he should be available any day now. I can't remember if we knew he's being released in matte and glossy? Probably randomly shipped, as per usual. Anyone want to trade their extra one for a Spencer? 

They look pretty nice, all things considered. 

I can't remember the name of the gambler's choice release, but here they are! I don't want any of them, but the blue Appaloosa one is pretty cool. Maybe we'll see it on something else someday. 

The gambler's choice is usually the second-to-last release, so we'll probably see these guys sometime in October. 

I'm ending things here for now, but make note of that Madonna in the photos (the mini Pam/Zara) - she'll be featured next! Tune in next time for more Breyerfest Closeups! 

The Breyerfest second chance sale is tomorrow!

 Well, readers, it's the moment we've all been waiting for - the Breyerfest second chance sale has been announced! 

It's happening tomorrow at 11am EST, so be ready to fight your way through the digital hordes tomorrow! Anything available will probably sell out pretty quickly. I'm hopeful that there will be some extra YOLO and/or Ties that Bind Us so I (along with everyone else) can have more chances at the rare ones. Good luck, everybody! 

Well, that happened.

 So, you know how I said I wasn't going to enter for Hoofbeats and Maple Treats, because we might be busy that weekend? Like, REALLY busy, though I don't want to go into details just yet. 

Well, the thought of not entering felt really weird. I suppose it was the idea of voluntarily giving up my chance to attend an event? Which would be really odd, considering I've been trying to get back into one of these dang things since 2016. I won't get picked anyway, I told myself. Might as well enter so I'll know I at least tried. So I entered, and earlier this after noon I randomly checked my email at work to find this...

I may have let out a few swear words when I saw it, because part of me really wasn't expecting to be drawn, and yet the other part of me understands Murphy's law all too well. 

The purchase deadline is 8/10, so I'll have to research ways to get there (the hotel is 8.5 hours away from here, which is much closer than the 12.5 hours I was on the road to get to Breyermidwest, so theoretically it's doable...but am I capable of driving to Canada and back?), logistics, etc. But congratulations to everyone who was drawn! I'm excited to be able to (hopefully) report from an event for the first time since Chasing the Chesapeake! 

Breyerfest Closeups: Juriaan

 Hello and welcome to the first of this year's Breyerfest Closeups, today featuring Juriaan! This handsome glossy red Friesian on the Vermeer mold will be the next Collector Club special run. Not gonna lie, I'm still kinda kicking myself for selling my Vermeers. My daughter was pretty sad that I sold my Leif. Oh well - maybe someday I can buy them back. 

Anyway, he sure is a handsome boy! 

It's kinda funny that Breyer managed to come out with a chestnut release on this mold before doing a black one, considering red Friesians are much rarer than the black ones. Maybe they're waiting for just the right black Friesian to come along? 

I don't know, man, I'm going to be resisting ordering this guy pretty hard, but I needed money for Breyerfest...

I do still have my matte Seurat, so I'll have to be happy with him for now. Tune in next time for another Breyerfest Closeup! 

Featured JAH - 8/2/2025, July/Aug 2010

 Hello and welcome to Featured JAH! This week we're moving right along and covering July/Aug 2010, so let's get going! 

On the front cover we have another beautiful diorama by Robin Briscoe, this time featuring All Glory, the 2010 Breyerfest Celebration Horse. 

In the Editor's Desk, Arlene talks about various Breyerfest guests and features of the magazine, as usual. There's also another Who Am I? and a Find the Hidden Objects contest. 

Letters to the Editor appears on page 3. 

On page 4 we have an article about Elizabeth Shatner and All Glory as part of the Breyerfest preview. 

The Breyerfest preview continues on page 5. 

On page 6 we have a reveal of many Breyerfest 2010 models, including raffle models, live show prizes and more. Sorry they're slightly cut off - this magazine is super thick and hard to fold for scanning! 

On page 7 we have the mini version of Big Lex that was produced for the WEG, as well as some sneak previews of upcoming products, and an information blurb about the costume contest for Breyerfest 2010 - interestingly, it notes that Star Trek and Elvis costumes won't be judged, probably because of the connections to William Shatner and Priscilla Presley at the event. 

On page 8 is the first page of the article about Sapphire. 

The Sapphire article concludes on page 9 with a reveal of the model. 

On page 10 is a preview of the 2010 WEG. 

The WEG preview continues on page 11. 

On page 12 we have the next Connoisseur model, Taima! This was the second and final time a non-horse mold was used for the Connoisseur series. 

After skipping Artist's Sketch, Mailbag, Model Horse Show, a how-to article, ads for various Breyer products and another how-to article, on page 24 is the first page of Vintage Point, featuring Rejoice! 

Vintage Point concludes on page 25. 

After skipping Winners' Circle and the Calendar of Events, on page 28 we have On the Trail with Breyer and a Breyer Canada update. 

On the back cover of the magazine we have the handsome Enchanted Forest, and that brings us to the end of this week's issue. Check back next week for Sept/Oct 2010!