This is just a fun post I decided to make while we (im)patiently wait for Breyerfest. In the earliest days of Breyerfest, store specials were limited to mostly resins. It wasn't until 2009 when the first store special based on a real horse was made as a store special. This model was based on a young lady and her Pony of the Americas named Toby. This year was the 20th anniversary of Breyerfest. The next year, in 2010 for the hollywood theme, the store special was based on the tallest horse in the world at the time, Priefert's Radar. This chestnut Belgian stood 19.3 HH and would have been an amazing sight to behold. I wasn't attending Breyerfest back then but I wish I would of, just to see this big boy. The biggest horse I'd ever seen was my neighbor's 19 HH Percheron and I thought he'd barely fit into the barn when I saw him, so Radar had to have been massive! I've seen this model pop up now and then but I never purchased him just because I'm not big on vintage molds. I had actually owned Dusty at one point, the store special from the Fairy Tails theme of 2011. However, when I was selling off my vintage molds, I ended up selling him off, but his dappled palomino coat was super lovely. The next year, in 2012 for the British theme, the store special was Taskin, a stallion that was used for breeding Gypsy Vanners. I've actually seen a baby from this guy show up at an auction I attended once. He wasn't a kill pen baby but was actually the highest sell, going for $10,000. Nevertheless, Taskin is a grail that has been on my wish list for years now. The tide turned a bit in 2013 when Breyer released not just one, but TWO traditional store specials for their Denim and Diamonds theme, both based on guest horses that were very American. Tennessee Titan was a miniature spotted donkey who Breyer made on Brighty. Anyone who has Tennessee Titan, Oliver and Peanutine from this year will have an adorable little spotted donkey herd that anyone would be envious to own. But really... we need a new donkey mold by now, Breyer! The other was Lady C, a very pretty black pinto Tennessee Walker/Spotted Saddle Horse on the Bluegrass Bandit mold. 2014 was an anniversary year, the 25th anniversary of Breyerfest to be exact, and this was a year when Breyer threw in a lot of silver colored micro runs into their special runs, as well as lots of pearly whites in the store specials. This was also the first year that they released THREE store specials that were based off of guest horses. Athos was a faded grey Percheron/Friesian cross gelding that was used for jousting demonstrations. Paddyngton's Mark of Distinction was a pinto Saddlebred gelding and Novelisto D, who was an actor horse used in "Winter's Tale" that was a purebred Andalusian. I guess Breyer wasn't anticipating the same amount of people showing up for Breyerfest for 2015 as they did for their anniversary year because the number of store specials went back to two models, but technically only one was a guest horse. Oration was the real horse, based off of a real life Arabian, and Caves of Lascaux was the store special that wasn't a real horse but was based off a real place in France (hence the theme) with cave man drawings. In 2016 for the Brazil theme, we also saw two traditional store specials. We saw another movie horse, Dag Dia, who was a purebred black Friesian that starred in Albion: The Enchanted Stallion. The other store special was of Diablo DC, a Lusitano stallion. We saw the return of Bluegrass Bandit as a store special with the year 2017 for the Indian theme with Repeat the Beat, a black roan Tennessee Walker. She was joined by Dally and Spanky, a miniature horse and dog duo that performed tricks together. The racehorse theme in 2018 brought about two interesting guest horses: Icabad Crane, who was an ex-racehorse that went on to a secondary career after he ran in the Preakness Stakes, and the return of the Strapless mold with Old Ironsides, owned by jockey Rosie Napravnik. Breyer has consistently been having three guest horses since 2019, when they had their heroes theme. This year they had Hal, a chestnut Quarter Horse owned by Jonathan Field, a Liberty trainer (remember the first BF store special, Toby, who did this before it became so popular?) that used Hal in bridleless demonstrations; Rico, one of Sylvia Zerbini's horses who is an Arabian/Andalusian cross that also performs bridleless for the Celebration of the Horses show; and Zipped in Black Magic, a show horse that went blind and is now used for therapy riding. Now, we're getting into more recent years. Breyerfest 2020 was the first online Breyerfest, decided last minute by the company. Again, three store specials were offered with each one given a matte or glossy option to choose from. Benelli was a blue roan sabino Clydesdale driving horse; Faugh-A-Ballagh (aka Cheesecake) was a cremello pinto Gypsy Vanner stallion; and W.H. Topgun, a sooty buckskin Connemara Pony jumper. All these were made in honor of the celtic theme. In 2021, we had another trio to add to our collections. It started with Queen of Hearts (aka Josie) who was a Dutch Warmblood with brindling; Apollo who was a PRE stallion of champagne coloring; and Rheverence+ an Arabian cross. This colorful trio were the perfect choices for this rainbow theme, and were all offered in your choice of either matte or glossy. They are still currently part of my personal collection to this day, a rarity for Breyerfest store specials, since usually I only want one or two. Last year, in 2022, we had the German theme that brought about a few different breeds that Breyer hasn't portrayed before. Montanara was a Black Forest horse; Chardonnay was a German Riding Pony; and Chablis was a German Warmblood. It also started a new trend: an online exclusive, so now there are FOUR store specials, the online exclusive being a Rhenish Draft. While the in-person models were not offered as matte/glossy splits, the online exclusive was. Now, we're on to this year, the driving theme. I'm probably going to buy HD Harkness even though he's a plain bay because I conga the mold. I'm teetering on Via Lattea. I love the real horse and her mold, but if she is just chalky, I feel like she is almost as plain as a bay. However, if she ends up being pearly, or if they offer her as a glossy or if she is pearly in person, I may change my mind. Grand Design (aka Tilly) will also be coming home with me, since I also conga Othello. It looks like the online exclusive will also be here to stay, and is a beautiful color, but again I'm going to pass this year because of the tendency for the Shagya Arabian mold to be tippy. Which store specials do you plan to get this year?
Pam N.
4/30/2023 11:17:18 pm
Fascinating story! I love Breyer history, and as I’ve only attended BreyerFest virtually, this was a great read for me.
Ashley
5/1/2023 08:25:32 am
Breyerfest 2021 by far, had the best LE horses!
Alicia B.
5/7/2023 06:44:21 pm
I really need to get the Toby model. I remember learning about him and his owner via an article in the American Girl Doll magazine I used to be subscribed to. Im pre=tty sure I still hav that article and magazine amongst my other magazines somewhere as it was one of the few article I actually liked. Not just because it had horses, but also the way to was written and told the story was one o their better writing pieces. Comments are closed.
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