Real Life Breyer Horses: Kentucky Derby 2010

Arguably the most popular horse event in America is the famous Kentucky Derby. This Run for the Roses captures the hearts of millions each year as they tune their televisions to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports! Breyer has immortalized some of the Derby’s most prolific winners of the race, will there be a stand out star this year?

2010 marks the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville Kentucky, this race for three year old’s is considered to be the most prestigious horse race in the world. Each year horses from around the country and around the world make the journey to the Bluegrass State to compete in a mile and a quarter race around a dirt track to see just who is the stand out star of the year. From the Kentucky Derby, winners and favorites often go on to run in the Preakness and the Belmont where the Kentucky Derby winner fights to come across the finish line first and win the prestigious Triple Crown. Few and far between are horses who are great enough to win all three races, we haven’t seen a Triple Crown winner since 1978 when Affirmed claimed the title!

The Kentucky Derby isn’t just two minutes of fun though, it tops off a week of world class racing which takes place during Derby Week. It also is the climax to a week of derby culture. One of the most interesting part of the derby is the cross section of attendees. From millionaires to average Joes there’s a place at the derby for everyone. The prestigious Millionaire’s Row is full of the rich and famous where much of the derby is about fashion and celebrity. In a stark opposite is the infield which is general admission and turns into a huge party for the day of the race!

Breyer has of course produced a myriad of Kentucky Derby winners along with famous race horses.Golden Oak Stables has many race hroses to add to your stable including a few of the most famous! Secretariat is arguably one of the most famous race horses ever. Running the fastest Kentucky Derby ever, he’s found his way into the history books and will never be forgotten. Similarly, Smarty Jones is one of the most remembered winners from our generation. This headstrong colt came painfully close to winning the Triple Crown but fell short winning second in the Belmont, which was his only loss. His success wasn’t in vain though. He is still regarded as a wonderful race horse and a true champion!

Many horses have run the derby and many have win, but only a few are truly regarded as champions. Will we have another champion this year?

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Spring Showers Bring… New Breyer Horse Releases!

Spring always brings warm weather, rain storms and new Breyer Horse releases! This spring is no different with a lineup of three exciting new horses to add to your stable!

First up is Fleetstreet Max, a chestnut pinto done on the Zippo Pine Bar mold. His bright white markings stand out in a crowd and his interesting, wide facial marking really accent the mold beautifully. This Zippo Pine Bar mold is a performance favorite; his light walk makes him one of the best molds for many Western events including Western Pleasure where he really excels! The real Fleetstreet Max is an unbeatable champion himself, this homebred horse has won more paint horse World Championships than any other horse ever, 20!

Isadora Cruce is a portrait with a cause. The portrait of a real life wild horse, Isadora is a special horse that is a direct decedent from Spanish Colonial Mustangs. Most of these historic horses have been bred into extinction, but Isadora’s line lives and thrives at the Return to Freedom Sanctuary which is home to over 200 wild horses. Breyer’s Isadora is done on the ever popular Nakota model and is just about as flashy as the come! This chestnut pinto has the fabled Medicine Hat markings which is distinguished by a spot of dark color surrounding the ear and head area of a horse. This is said to be granted to special horses.

Last, but certainly not least is the incredible mare Rachel Alexandria. Rachel is proving to be one of the most powerful and amazing fillies that Thoroughbred racing has ever seen. She found her way into America’s hearts last year when she took on all the boys at the Preakness. This big bay filly took on the field of colts and beat them in a big way. Horses like Rachel don’t come up often; this filly is truly something special! Breyer has perfectly captured her spirit in their portrait, on the Ruffian mold. Portraying her in full stride, Rachel is full of spirit and energy, just like you’d expect from a top class race horse!

Three exceptional horses makeup the spring lineup, why not visit Golden Oak Stables today and add a champion to your stable today! Even better, for those of you headed to Breyerfest, you can meet the real life Fleetstreet Max and Isadora Cruce there! What could be better than that!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Real Life Breyer Horses: Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event

Kentucky Horse Park has its plate full this year between a star studded Breyerfest, America’s first World Equestrian Games and this weekend’s event: the Rolex Three Day Event one of the country’s biggest horse events.

As model horse hobbyists, many of us have had the privilege of visiting the Kentucky Horse Park for Breyerfest. Those that have been can attest to the fact that it is truly the horse capital of the country. Over a thousand acres of Kentucky countryside make up a park that is filled with horses from far and wide. On any one day there you can see a world champion race horse and an exotic breed from the Far East. The park also is home to museums, theaters, demonstrations, and dozens of other exclusive horse information and events. One of the largest events at the Kentucky Horse Park and in the United States is the Rolex Three Day Event.

This event is comprised of three days of different events. The first event is a Dressage event where a rider and horse must perform a precise routine with the most grace and with the highest level of perfection possible. The second day in the event is a favorite of many, Cross Country. This event requires a rider to ride through an outdoor course with 30 obstacles that a rider must negotiate with their horse.  For those of you going to Breyerfest, the Kentucky Horse Park offers trail rides throughout the day and while there are a couple different trails they take you on, one of them includes walking through the cross country course. I highly recommend it! The last day is Show Jumping where a rider and horse needs to ride a course of jumps in the fastest time possible and with the least amount of faults possible. Faults are added when a rail is knocked down or the time limit gone over.

This event is the premier event of the year for many riders and the United States has held the top place on the podium several times recently. Many of these riders have also had their horses featured by Breyer in the past! Breyer, the premier model horse maker, has always been a supporter of not only the Equestrian sport, but also of the United States Equestrian Team! You can watch a little bit of the Rolex before the Preakness in May. Until then, visit Golden Oak Stables to fill your stable up with your own Dressage, Cross Country and Show Jumping champions!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: What Makes Up Your Collection?

Whether you know it or not, all collectors have trends of some sort in their collections. Some people do it instinctively and some have strict standards for what they collect; but nearly everyone will notice at some point, that they have distinct standards for their collection.

I, as many people do, began collecting Breyer horses as toys. I would get them for holidays, birthdays, and for good report cards and they made up my stable of every dream horse that I had ever dreamed of. As I got older, I began to be a “Have it all” collector, where I purchased everything I could have. In recent years I’ve refined my collecting habits substantially and I only collect molds I like. Sticking to a few dozen molds has helped me refine the direction of my collection, but it doesn’t stop me. I always have exceptions for my collection including hundreds of Stablemates and Breyer Fun Day horses.

Many people choose to collect only a certain type of breeds, such as ponies, or sport horses, and many people do this without thinking! If you take a look at your collection, you’re probably going to notice some trends. What is your favorite breed of horse? You probably have quite a few models that represent that breed. Scale is also an easy and common way to focus your collection. Stablemates can save on space and are inexpensive to collect, but they can be a bit difficult to display. Traditionals are packed full of detail and life, and there are thousands of them to collect, but you might need a bit of space as your collection grows. A creative thing to do would be to collect only one color of models, or what about models that are all in one position, rearing, walking, galloping. The possibilities are endless.

So take a look at your colleciton, how does it reflect you? How has your collection grown over the years? Has it changed directions or does it remain similar to your original collection? What does your collection say about you?

All of these are of course, rhetorical questions, and your collection might say nothing about you! No matter what, Golden Oak Stables has horses to fill your stable how ever you please!

Just keep collecting!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Events: Breyerfest 2010

Spring is warming up and summer is just around the corner. Along with summer comes the largest Breyer horse event of the year, Breyerfest in Lexington, Kentucky! This year, the theme is “A Red Carpet Affair” and Breyer has truly rolled out the red carpet for celebrities, including many equine celebrities!

Stable News first told you about the staring guest horse, All Glory, owned Elizabeth and William Shatner, but Breyer has since added quite a few fantastic guests to their lineup. Here’s a bit more about a few of the new guests!

O’Leary’s Irish Diamond, the famous Irish Draught stallion recently created by Breyer. This large grey stallion that has excelled in many disciplines will be on hand to show off both the Irish Draught breed as well as his amazing career as a competition horse! His owner, Melissa Cason-Kinney will be on hand to introduce you to Irish and may just sign a few autographs on your very own O’Leary’s Irish Diamond model.

The Return to Freedom: Wild Horse Sanctuary will be on hand this year with their exceptional mare, Isadora Cruce. This rare Spanish Colonial Mustang has a deep history in both America and Europe. Her history runs deep but she’s also exceptional because of her coloration. Medicine Hat mustangs are thought to possess characteristics which make her a truly spiritual and special animal. Isadora was foaled in 2002 on the sanctuary and she makes a wonderful ambassador for the cause of Wild Horses as well as the sanctuary. Founder Neda DeMayo will be on hand for Breyerfest as an ambassador to the world of wild horses and why they are such an important piece of our national history as well as our world.

The latest guest addition is none other than the iconic Priscilla Presley! She will be on hand to promote a series of Breyer models immortalizing her father’s famous horses. The first release of this series will be available later this year in the form of Rising Sun, Elvis’ palomino Quarter Horse stallion. She will also be on hand to autograph a small number of models! If you will be there, you better get in line early!

Even if you can’t make it to Breyerfest, Golden Oak Stables and Stable News will keep you up to date with all of the Breyerfest activities and bring you coverage, and if you will be there hope you have a blast!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Showing: Secrets of Collectibility Judging

One of my favorite divisions to both show and judge is the Collectibility division, in which the  judge ranks horses in rank of what horse is the most collectible. But what does that mean? Many people find this division not only the hardest to judge, but also the hardest to understand. What makes a horse place first and what makes a horse place sixth? Why didn’t my horse get a ribbon at all? Here’s a bit of the secrets behind Collectibility judging!

Golden Oak Stables’ shows have the most extensive novice show lists in the nation, including collectiblity classes, and for those of you who’ve attended, you know it is my favorite division! I also get the most questions on this division. “Why did I get first?”, “Why did I get last?”, “That horse looks exactly like mine, why did it win?”, “How do you know what all of these horses are?”. These are all very valid questions that many people have, and its also important to remember that all judges will judge a little differently, but here are the things that I look for.

1. Rarity/Desirability

2. Age

3. Color/Variations/Ect

4. Number Produced

Now, this list may seem a little ambiguous (and it is), but this is the running list in my head of how certain Breyers rank on my scale of Collectability. I don’t use this list all the time and I’m not going to give it to you in full (it’s far too long) but here’s a generalized version:

1. Vintage Extremely Rare Horses

2. Test Run and Very Limited Run Horses (Age indiscriminate)

3. Special Run Horses

4. Variation Vintage Horses

5. Variation Newer Horses

6. Regular Runs

This is *NOT* an absolute list; each and every horse deserves individual consideration, which it will get when I judge. There are times when a regular run horse is rarer than a hard to find vintage horse, or that a hard to find vintage horse is just not a good example of the model due to condition or just poor painting at the Breyer factory. It truly all comes down to what is on the table at the time.

An easy way to think about it is that I pick the model that is the most desirable on the table, or the one which most people want. This becomes convoluted when there are dozens of models on the table, but as a collectibility judge, I try very hard to place your rare models properly and honor them with the honor of having a good day at the show!  Keep on bringing out your rare, hard to find, special run, regular run and vintage pieces!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Real Life Breyer Horses: O’Leary’s Irish Diamond

A striking dapple grey stallion from Ireland , O’Leary’s Irish Diamond is not only a striking horse in real life but also a striking horse in Breyer form. This fantastic Irish Draught stallion is full of talent and beauty!

O’Leary’s Irish Diamond was imported from Ireland in 1997 shortly after the first round of inspections from the Irish Horse Board and received some of the highest scores of any stallion that round of inspections! He went on into the sport of dressage so that he could achieve his status as a breeding stallion from the Irish Horse Board. Without question Irish succeeded with flying colors. The Irish Horse Board took their first ever trip to America to approve this stallion, and after inspection Irish became the first American Irish Draught Horse to be approved for breeding. Irish didn’t stop there; he went on to compete in both high level dressage and jumping. In addition to this he has gone on to have some of the highest confirmation scores for any stallion, despite not being a halter competitor! He is truly a world class all around horse! He has also gone on to have over 150 offspring, many of which are known for their amazing temperament.

Among the new horses for 2010 that Golden Oak Stables offers for 2010 is O’Leary’s Irish Diamond done on the Cleveland Bay mold. This mold is a favorite for many and comes in both a loose mane version like Irish and a braided mane version with other releases. Irish is a beautiful soft dapple grey stallion with beautiful painted light grey dapples. He features soft grey shading in all the right places as well as a wide blaze and a pinked nose. One of his most striking features is his beautifully painted stripped hooves which really make him stand out!

A stand out in real life and a stand out in the Breyer world, O’Leary’s Irish Diamond is truly one not to miss! The perfect combination of strength, power and beauty!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Show: Golden Oak Stables’ Summer Break Live 2010

April is here and thoughts of summer aren’t far away, for me this also means thoughts of summer horse shows, Breyerfest and of course, Golden Oak Stables’ Summer Break Live!

Golden Oak Stables is proud to offer the largest novice and youth Breyer horse events in the nation. If you are just getting into Breyer horses, or have been involved for a long while but haven’t gotten a chance to show yet, this is the event for you! With dozens of participants and attendance numbers well over 100 at every event, this is a great place to be showing, or just to stop by to chat with other hobbyists, learn a little bit, and do some shopping!

Summer Break Live offers five divisions at the show, something you will not find at any other novice show in the nation, as well as many open shows! Original Finish Halter is the largest division which are breed classes specifically for your Breyer horses straight from the factory with no alterations. These classes are judged on how much your horse looks like the corresponding real horse breed. These are judged on the same standards that a real horse would be judged on. Collectibility is the class for those rare and hard to find Breyers. These classes are judged on the rarity of the horse as well as the desirability. Vintage, current, special run and hard to find classes are all offered. These are divided up by the place you would have originally bought your horse, or by the years produced so that they can be judged accurately. Performance are classes for the miniaturist at heart. In this class you use miniature tack and accessories to create the most realistic scene possible.  There are also two custom divisions offered, an owner custom division and a professional custom division. The owner custom division is the place for all of you amateur artists! These classes are especially for those of you that are begining to create your own custom horses. There are no professional customs in the classes so that the competition is even. Professional custom classes are for horses you may have bought from other artists.

Whatever your fancy, there’s a class for your horse. Showing is a blast and its great to meet others with similar interests! If you are in the New England area visit Golden Oak Stables today and check out Summer Break Live!

Hope to see you there!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horses: Customizing All On Your Own

It can be a little intimidating to show off your own art work to the world, no matter what kind of art it is, or where you are showing it off. As model horse hobbyists we have a whole section of our hobby that caters to the large amounts of creativity that we have, through customizing. Many find it difficult to gain confidence in this through showing simply because there are so many talented creative people in the hobby, but here are a few things to remember and to look for!

Customizing is the big word that model horse hobbyists use for altering a model horse in any way. Whether it be painting, resculpting, hairing, pastelling or any other of the hundreds of different things you can do to a Breyer horse to make it your own. Many people strive to create the most realistic model possible, others create models that remind them of horses that they know in real life, and others create fantasy or decorator models. Whatever you want to create, you have a place in the hobby!

With the internet as prevalent as it is today,  Breyer horse artists have a big advantage than others may have had in the past. There are dozens of professional model horse artists’ blogs which you can read on a regular basis. These are often filled with ideas, tips, and tricks to help you with your projects. Learning from another artist is truly a wonderful way to learn the trade and a wonderful way to meet other artists! Another great thing about the internet is that there are dozens of Breyer horse forums that are available to everyone! These websites often have specific areas for hobbyists to post their creations to get either support or a friendly critique. Sometimes support is one of the hardest things to get, and the support of other hobbyists can help you gain the confidence to move forward.

If you have desire to show your creations, forums are also excellent for helping you understand what many judges look for in models, which can help you place in the ribbons. Speaking of live shows, there are shows out there that have special classes just for customizers. At Golden Oak Stables‘ shows, we hold “Owner Custom” classes which are open only to the showers which attend the shows, and their creations. These classes were very full at our spring show and we have high expectations for future shows. These classes were truly the highlight of the day. Most shows which you will find these will be novice shows or shows with an extensive custom class list. In New England we even have an Amateur Owner Club starting up specifically for these classes, so keep your eyes out!

The Breyer horse hobby is amazing for fostering creativity so keep on creating, no matter where you are in the country or the world!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com