Breyer Horse Events: Breyerfest Wrap-up!

Breyerfest 2009 has come and gone in a flurry of good times. Breyer as always puts on a wonderful show making sure that collectors of all ages are catered to with workshops and activities not only designed for collectors new but also old.

The welcome gates were happy to greet new and old friends alike

The theme for this year’s Breyerfest was “Birthday Bash” celebrating the 20th anniversary of Breyerfest. I’ve had the honor of attending 14 of those 20 Breyerfests, but missing the previous two years (2007 and 2008) proved to be beneficial this year making the 20th anniversary bigger and better in my eyes than any other in recent history.

Fans from all over wrote birthday wishes to Breyer

Friday morning began early for me, getting to the park at 8:30am for opening ceremonies and to get the first chance at the Breyer store. A pleasant surprise to this current New Englander was the temperatures! Friday began with a high in the high 70’s and the rest of the weekend followed suit! Normally weather in Kentucky in July is in the mid to high 90’s with high humidity. Other activities of the day on Friday was dropping off my Cake Topper contest entry (Which I sadly didn’t win) as well as participating in a workshop (Flockies, stay tuned for a How-to! It was a blast!) and watching Tommy Turvey perform. If you have not seen him perform yet, you should, his DVD comes with the Breyer Poker Joe, his whole act is just too much fun and he is truly a talented horseman!

After activities at the park, the party moved over to the Holiday Inn North, which is the official hotel of Breyerfest. The Holiday Inn North (Or HIN as its abbreviated by most hobbiests) is the host hotel to many attendees as well as the Artisans Gallery which is a showcase and sale of customizers and sculptors, and the Swap Meet which takes place on Friday night. As well as hosting those events, the Holiday Inn North allows their guests to open their rooms for sales, and walking the halls of the HIN becomes a great way to meet other folks and browse. The Swap Meet was a popular event as it always is with a long line and wait to get in, and the hotel was buzzing with conversation well into the night.

Some of the wonderful Cake Toppers

Saturday brought another early day at the Kentucky Horse Park for myself. Arriving at around 9:30am I spent the morning doing Breyer’s scavenger hunt and visiting all of the sections of the park, including the new indoor arena that the Kentucky Horse Park has built for the World Equestrian Games in 2010. The park is under major construction in preparation for the World Equestrian games and has changed largely from the park I remember it, but it is just beautiful! Later in the day included meeting Roxy, the celebration horse owned by Stacy Westfall and taking the time to visit the park and its attractions, including the Hall of Champions and the ever wonderful International Museum of the Horse.

Meeting the wonderful Roxy

Near the end of the day most visitors congregated in the indoor arena to participate in Breyer’s charity raffle, sadly I was not a winner there, but many others went home happy with their exclusive models. Directly after the raffle the crowds made the long trek over to the new indoor arena for the annual dinner and benefit auction. The dinner also hosted a birthday hat contest, which I’m ecstatic to report that I was a winner there! Hundreds of people attended, most in fanciful, hand made hats to show their support for Breyer and their 20 years of bringing together people who might never have gotten to meet.

Dinner and hat contest in the new arena

Breyerfest is to me as it is to many people, a way to get together with people who understand me. Its an opportunity to meet new friends and see the ones I don’t see often enough. One thing that I do every Breyerfest without fail is to pay attention to people who are new to Breyerfest, especially parents with their young, horse loving children. The most impressive thing about Breyerfest is just how nice people are and how willing to help out the next person, and its my goal to do that for as many people as I can. After all, this is a hobby, and we all should be having a wonderful time with it. I know that the most fun of Breyerfest was simply meeting new people with a smile on my face and receiving one back, and isn’t being happy really what’s important in life?

Till next time Kentucky!

~Stacy

Real Breyer Horses: Stacy Westfall and Roxy!

It is officially two days before the start of Breyerfest 2009, the 20th anniversary of the world’s largest model horse convention. This Wednesday I’d like to tell you about the wonderful horse and rider that Breyer has given the honor of being the guest of honor for Breyerfest 2009.

Stacy Westfall and Roxy are a pair that have become a quick favorite or horse people all over. Stacy began riding at an early age in Maine, loving horses from the get go. She entered college at the University of Findlay which provided her the ability to use horses in her college studies. She met her husband in 1994 while competing at Quarter Horse Congress and the two of them have three sons together. In the next few years she made it her passion to pursue reining, without reins. In 2003 her hard work paid off and she competed and won the National Reining Horse Association’s Freestyle Reining competition while riding without a bridle. After winning in 2003 she went on to be champion until 2006. She expanded her bridleless riding to include bareback riding as well and has become a popular rider and trainer for riders all over!

Roxy, AKA: Whizards Baby Doll, her faithful mount, is a Quarter Horse mare that has entered retirement as of 2008 but has a long history with Stacy. Roxy holds the only horse to have been shown bridleless and bareback. She is a black mare, with minimal markings; a star and a small white marking on her rear leg. This beautiful, feminine Quarter Horse mare has become a famous little gal stirring up attention wherever she goes with Stacy! The two of them even had the opportunity to visit the Ellen Show where Roxy was the star of the show!

The model Roxy is sure to be a smash at Breyerfest 2009 as well as in the future for Breyer collectors everywhere. She’s sculpted in an extended gait looking happy and calm. She’s sure to be a great performance mare! She is painted just like the real Roxy, with a star and a small rear leg marking. She has thick, full, mane and tail and a cute little forelock too! Breyer has only released Roxy as the portrait of Stacy Westfall’s faithful mount for Breyerfest 2009,but who knows what the future holds for the Roxy model? The Breyer Roxy appears to be an excellent representation of the Quarter Horse breed having a bit of stock on her with sturdy legs and stocky body. Roxy could also make a good representation of many stock breeds depending on color, and will make an excellent performance horse in Western, and perhaps with a lot of creativity English as well!

For more information on the real Roxy and Stacy you can check out her website here, and stay tuned to Stable News for more Breyerfest coverage this coming weekend, including more on Stacy and Roxy!

Breyer Horses Tips: Breyerfest First Timers!

Breyerfest Tips for First Timers

I’ve had the privilege of attending 13 Breyerfests. I grew up in Cincinnati Ohio, which is a quick 90 minute ride down I-75 to Lexington, KY. The first year I went in 1994 it was much smaller than today’s Breyerfest, and it was needless to say a very overwhelming experience for a 9 year old, with her baby brother and two parents that knew nothing of the world of Breyer. This was also before the internet, when we didn’t have the ability to simply go to Google and type in the word “Breyerfest”, so purely on a one paragraph description I had the luck of attending what would be one of many trips to Lexington in the late weeks of July.

In the years to come I learned more and more about Breyerfest, the ins and outs, the places to go, the things to see, how to dress, what to bring, and I think its important to share this with others so that they might not be as overwhelmed as I was at my first Breyerfest, and so that they can have the most fun possible! So here’s my lists of tips for Breyerfest 2009!

·    Wear comfortable shoes. This is the SINGLE most important thing to do. I also advise bringing a change of shoes and a change of socks to leave in your car. Kentucky is VERY hot in the summer and is also prone to random rain storms, and the Kentucky Horse Park often has minor flooding problems. You will be much happier with a pair of dry shoes and socks than a pair of wet ones.
·    Don’t pick up your celebration model on Friday morning. Breyer has never run out of celebration models, and standing in line Friday morning will take up more time than its worth, there is plenty of time all weekend to grab them, and normally there is little to no line.
·    Make time to see the Kentucky Horse Park museum. I went to Breyerfest 7 or so times before I finally took the time to see the museum. The museum is absolutely fantastic, especially for a horse lover. There are beautiful pieces from racing history along with pieces from the entire history of the horse. Make time to see it! Plus its air conditioned!
·    Don’t miss your Special Run Ticket time. With your three day ticket you will get a ticket that entitles you to purchase two special runs at a certain time, be in the back of the indoor arena 15 minutes prior to your time.
·    If you didn’t get all of the Special Runs that you wanted from the Breyer store, get in line for the Breyer store at 9am on Sunday, Sunday morning they put all the unsold Special Run horses up for sale without a ticket! So you can have another chance.
·    Go visit Cigar, he’s one of the top earning race horses of our lifetime! He’s at the park in the Hall of Champions, along with all kinds of other famous beautiful horses, they are definitely worth your time.
·    Leave your pets at the hotel or at home. The park does allow you to bring Fido, but he’ll be much happier in air conditioning. Its very stressful to bring your animals and its very hot,  and humidity is very high in Kentucky during the summer.
·    You can also pack a cooler and bring your own lunch and drinks to the park. Its a good idea to keep it in your car. The park only sells typical “Faire” type foods, so packing a lunch is not only healthier but also saves you pennies for more ponies!
·    Read the Breyerfest program. Its got all the info and times for the weekend.
·    If you are in Lexington on Thursday head over to the Holiday Inn North around 5pm. The Artisans Gallery opens and features tons of talented equine artists. Breyer also holds a reception with light fare. They also have a table in the Artisans gallery where you can pick up a Breyerfest program early, to plan out your weekend and you can also see new unreleased products and special runs!
·    Visit the Holiday Inn North for room sales. Starting early in the week, sometimes as early as Tuesday night, people will open their hotel rooms and sell their models out of them. Just roam the halls, any hotel rooms with the door open is open for business, be sure to bring cash, most people will only deal in cash for individual sales.
·    Take a horseback ride of the park. The Kentucky Horse Park offers hourly trail rides over sections of the park that aren’t normally open to the public, including the Rolex 3- Day Cross Country course! You can sign up for the ride at the Kentucky Horse Park main gate. They sell out quick,  so you want to sign up first thing in the morning.
·    Take some time to watch the performances in the main arena. The main arena is where Breyerfest is. Take some time to sit down in the seats and enjoy the show! There will be demonstrations going on all day, all weekend long.

Hope to see you at Breyerfest 2009!

~Stacy

Breyer Horses Spring Release – Sheik af Hallundbaek

One of the most striking models that Breyer has introduced in a long while is Sheik af Hallundbaek. Sheik is a portrait model of a 5 year old Knabstrupper stallion bred out LaRen Stables in Ocala, FL. The honor of being produced into a Breyer model that will enter the lives of tens of thousands of people all over the world is held for exceptional horses only, and Sheik is no exception. Bred in 2003 Shiek has gone on to become an exceptional stallion representing the Knabstrupper breed proudly. In 2007 Sheik was the first Danish bred Knabstrupper to pass the Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International 30 day stallion test in North America, in which a horse is tested rigorously to determine early stallion admission into the prestigious Rheinland Pfalz-Saar International of North America.

Knabstruppers are a European breed that are most distinctively known for their spotted coats and for their excellence in Dressage among other sports. Coat colors for the breed include bay, black and chestnut and can be any form of the appaloosa pattern, including solid or “No Spot”. The most desirable coat color is a leopard appaloosa, like Shiek. Originally bred as carriage horses in the 1800’s, the Knabstrupper has been cross bred with European Warmbloods to create a sport type horse that can compete at the highest levels. There is also a classic type Knabstrupper that is similar to a Cob that is used for carriage pulling and a pony type which is under 14.2 hands high.

Breyer’s Sheik is spot for spot an exact copy of the real Sheik right down to his stable brand, and is on the Hanovarian mold. The model Sheik makes a great representation of not only the breed but also of Sheik himself. This mold is preforming a dressage movement, the extended trot. The Hanovarian mold which was introduced in 1980 is not new to honoring great sport horses. The mold has also honored horses such as Art Deco, Borodino II, Gifted and Pay and Go, all of which are retired and no longer available.

In addition to being honored as a Breyer Horse, Sheik also has the honor of being a Guest of Honor at Breyerfest 2009, the 20th anniversary. Fans from all over the world will have a chance to meet Sheik and his owners and have a chance to have their models signed at what will be the biggest birthday party the horse park has ever seen! Stay tuned to Stable News for live coverage from Breyerfest 2009 coming in just two weeks! Even if you can’t attend and meet Sheik, we’ll be there to keep you in the front seat!

~ Stacy