Autumn Leaf show report and 2025 Vintage Club

 Greetings, readers! I have another show report for you - I was able to get into Autumn Leaf Live at the last minute, so that's how I spent my Saturday. And I had a great time! There were many pretty ponies to drool over, including a number of auction and test models. And there was a certified Good Doggo at the table next to mine! He was a service dog, so I didn't get to pet him, but he was very good at begging for treats (alas, without success). Anyways, here's how I did at the show! 

That's right, I managed to get a rosette this time! Huzzah! And I didn't do too badly in the breed department either, which is mildly humorous considering my show string didn't really change between Coalfield Classic and this show. Sadly, my Via Lattea didn't get a ribbon this time, but I'm not giving up yet - maybe next time she'll finally do better than third. 

It was a little close, but I did manage to get one of every placing in breed and collectibility! Behold: 

Other notes: I decided to give up on showing my matte Namid and my two 7 Arts Surprise pintos, because it was their fifth show and they hadn't really done much. But that gave me room for other stuff! We'll see how they do next time out. Which will be on Saturday at Buckeye's Bluegrass Bonanza! As usual, feel free to say hello if you spot Geralt and Roach. This will be my last show for the year, so I'm not looking forward to waiting until at least March for the next one. Although it'll be nice to have a break after prepping for shows for the last 3 weeks. So feelings are mixed, I guess. But anyway, I'm looking forward to a grand finale on Saturday! 

In other news, the Vintage Club will open to new members tomorrow at 1pm EST! If you’re wanting to join, don’t wait - this club tends to sell out fast. Of course, they did up the membership limit to 1200, and there’s the economy to think of…so maybe it won’t sell out too fast after all. Who knows? I won’t be joining, so at least you won’t have competition from me. 

Freshly Baked!

 Good news, everyone! The Freshly Baked Stablemates are out of the oven and ready to fly into your mouths mailboxes! Behold: 

The four colors are: Linzer Cookie (G4 Arabian), Crinkle Cookie (mini Georg), Peppermint Bark (G2 Saddlebred) and Gingerbread (G3 Mustang). I ordered two of them, because I want the Georg and the Saddlebred. Hey, I may be slightly irritated that they used molds I collect, but at the same time, at least they didn't use tired molds like the G2 Clydesdale, Alborozo, Magnolia, etc. 

Seems like most people only want the mini Georg, so I'm wondering if I'll be able to trade for it if I don't get him. Pondering going back and ordering more of them...

Holiday blind bags!

 Get ready, everybody - the latest batch of holiday blind bags is coming out of the oven tomorrow!

Since Breyer didn’t show us the models this time, we’ll all be waiting in suspense until 1pm EST tomorrow to find out what they are. The cynical part of me is hoping they use all molds I don’t collect - guess we’ll find out tomorrow!

Featured JAH - 11/9/2024, May/June 2004

 Hello and welcome to another edition of Featured Model! We're moving right along through 2004 with this week's issue, so let's get started! 

On the front cover, Royal Kaliber (RIP) and Chris Kappler take a jump, and there's a small preview of the new Royal Kaliber model. 

In the Editor's Desk, Natasha talks about JAH's achievements and plugs Breyerfest as usual. 

There's a small news roundup on page 3, along with Letters to the Editor. 

On page 4 is the beginning of an article about Breyer portrait horse Smart Little Lena. 

The Smart Little Lena article concludes on page 5. Interesting (but fitting) that the portrait was on the Classic Cutting Horse. We need more portraits on Classic models - maybe they would sell/resell better. 

On page 6 we have an article about horse-drawn fire wagons. 

The fire wagon article concludes on page 7 with a reveal of the Vintage Fire Hose Wagon set. Why can't we get sets like this anymore? I mean, besides the fact that they'd probably cost $400. 

After skipping a how-to article, on page 10 we have a preview of Breyerfest 2004, including three droolworthy test models that were given away in the Early Bird drawing that year. Why hasn't the Early Bird come back post-covid? I miss it...well, not the "constantly losing" part. More so the "pretty model" part. 

The Breyerfest preview continues on page 11, showing raffle models and special run line models. 

On page 12, the beautiful Inconspicuous makes his debut! He's still one of the more popular Connoisseur releases. 

After skipping Breyer jr., on page 17 we have an article about artist Karen Williams. She no longer works for Breyer but I do see updates from her studio page on Facebook occasionally. 

On page 18 we have an article about the Tricked Out Pony Contest, which used to be held at the West Coast Model Horse Collector's Jamboree. Some really cool models were produced in this contest, including the model which eventually became Merlin, the dragon horse raffle model. I think the puzzle piece Clydesdale Stallion is pretty cool. 

After skipping more How-To articles and Horse Trader, on page 26 we have this week's Vintage Point: the Classics Andalusian Mare and Stallion! Not the foal, though. That would be too many. 

Vintage Point concludes on page 27. 

On page 28 we have some photos from the 2004 Equine Affair, where Breyer hosted a Fun Day at their booth. 

After skipping the Calendar of Events, we've come to the end of this week's issue! On the back cover is the reveal of Romance, a model that was much-scorned at the time (or at least, I heaped a lot of scorn on it, because I didn't/don't like pink things). I have one in my collection though, so I must have gotten over that...more or less...

Anyways, that concludes May/June 2004! Check back next week for July/Aug 2004. 

Blue Zeus shipping!

 Something I forgot to mention yesterday - the backordered Blue Zeus models from Breyerfest are in stock and shipping! An email went out to people still waiting on their models. So keep an eye on your mailbox if you're still waiting on a Blue Zeus! It should be arriving soon. They had originally said the models would ship in December, so this is a welcome surprise. And he's coming with a special pin, too! 

Also, I managed to get into Autumn Leaf Model Horse Show last-minute, so if you're there tomorrow and spot Geralt and Roach, say hi! I'd love to hear from you. 

2025 Vintage Club is open for signups!

 Vintage Club members, the 2025 club is now open for renewal! If you want to be a member of next year’s VC, you can rejoin now. The deadline is 11/13, so if you do want to rejoin, don’t wait - you’ll lose your spot if you don’t renew now. The preview model for the club is the clock Western Pony from yesterday, but I’m not sure if that’ll be the first release for next year or not. 

2025 Stablemates Club is now open, and 2025 JAH!

 Good news, readers! Well...some good news...anyways...the 2025 Stablemates Club is now open for enrollment! Behold, a full-body photo of the shrunken HR Zara! 

I don't think I've seen such extensive bloody shoulder marks on a horse before, but I'll assume Lesli Kathman knows what she's doing. Nothing I need to buy, but at least she'll be easy to sell! I'd hold off on joining the club just yet, though - Breyer needs some encouragement to show us the rest of the releases in the club. 

Also, the 2025 JAH is showing up in the wild! If you're a Collector Club member for this year, keep an eye on your mailbox! Here's some pertinent info from it (Photos from Facebook.) 

Clues about the 75th Anniversary Traditional Assortment. I'm assuming this is in the same vein as the 70th Anniversary assortment, with four common models and one chase piece. I'll think about it more later, but I'm going to guess the five molds in question are the Western Horse, Moody ASB, Lonesome Glory, SCO and Esprit. Esprit will be the chase piece, naturally. 

There’s also an ad for next year's Vintage Club! They're getting an actual Clock Horse! This makes a lot of sense. That's a nice color on the...Western Pony? Hmm. Aww, the Fireheart family is on the clock. 

We finally get to see the Premier Club Stablemate! Another matte/gloss split, groan. Apparently the sculpt is a Mindy Berg resin called Dewdrop (or Doolittle?) It’s cool that we’re getting a lying-down model, but doesn’t look like anything I need. It looks like she has Tigerlily’s coat color with Firestorm’s pattern. Neat!