Real Life Breyer Horses: Zenyatta News

Horse lovers and Thoroughbred racing fans all over the world have fallen in love with Zenyatta, the big bay mare that found a way into our hearts with her incredible winning streak and her personality that can melt the heart of anyone!

The world has watched this incredible mare race into the hearts of millions with her incredible winning streak and her passion for the winner’s circle. This beautiful mare found a way to dance onto the track and into the winner’s circle a total of  19 out of a total of 20 races, an incredible record to say the least! In 2010 she was retired to Lane’s End Farm in Versailles Kentucky to start her life as a broodmare.

It is with a heavy heart that Lane’s End farm announced that on October 29th Zenyatta’s filly, affectionately known as Z Princess was involved in a pasture accident and left the world. Fans from all over the world have already expressed their words of condolences and so many are felling the loss of this little filly already. Zenyatta’s filly was born on Easter to War Front and was the first filly for the mare that seemed to shake up the world of racing so much!

Golden Oak Stables mourns the loss of this incredible filly, along with all of the Zenyatta fans and horse lovers all over the world.

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: The Ones That Got Away

Something all collectors can agree on is that one is never enough and there is always a horse or two (or more!) that we are looking for. No matter if you’ve been collecting for a few months or a few decades, chances are, there’s been a model that’s “gotten away”.

One of the most exciting parts of collecting Breyer horses is that there are not only so many, but the lineup is always changing. Each year Breyer brings out dozens of new horses and with those new horses, some are discontinued. There are also Limited Edition horses, special releases, holiday horses and more that are only available for a short time each year, and you only get one chance as a collector to add them to your collection, once they are gone, they are gone!

This can of course be a little overwhelming for collectors new and old alike, but there’s ways to plan ahead and fill your collection with all of the models you want to add to your collection each and every year. It’s a good first start to plan out which regular runs you’d like to add to your collection each year. This can help you plan for models that should be available most of the year or even several years in some cases. Keeping track of special horses like the Holiday Horses that are regular additions to your collection will help you know what you might buy in the next year. Then, in the fall when the Retired List is announced, cross check it with your wanted list and see what horses you only have a short time to get! This time is critical, because once they are gone, they’re gone! Finally, keeping a little set aside for special releases, mid-year releases and surprises through the year will keep your collection in tip top shape!

The most important thing collectors can do is watch Golden Oak Stables for all of the news, newest releases and info that your collection needs! Check often, you never know when new things might pop up!

 

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Classics: Western Accessory Set

Western riders span the gamut of disciplines while in the saddle. Traditionally, Western riding was reserved for dude ranches and cow working, but today, so many horses and riders find so many exciting things to do while riding Western. You can take your classics along with you on your Western riding journey with a Western Accessory Set for your stable!

A Western saddle will probably always touch off memories of dude ranches and cattle drives, but in today’s world, so much more is done with them! There are of course, many who still ride Western on the home front and it’s the choice saddle for cattle work, but there’s so much more that Western riders do. Competitions of Western riding are as wide and varied as they are old. Barrel Racing is an ever popular sport for riders that matches speed and precision. In the show ring Western riding draws from it’s ranch roots to showcase crafts like cow cutting and calf roping. There’s also reining, which is like dressage for Western riders and takes an extreme amount of precision and talent. That’s not to forget the casual trail riding and pleasure riding that so many do in a Western saddle!

Your Classics can explore the world of Western riding with the Western Accessory Set. This set is the perfect way to get your Classics started with Western riding. The set includes a black and turquoise Western saddle, saddle pad and bridle which will have you on your way. A bag of feed and feeding bucket is sure to keep your horse in tip top shape as he’s riding. The set finishes off with a trunk, turquoise blanket and a black cowboy hat for your rider!

Ready to jump in the saddle? Golden Oak Stables has everything you need, so saddle up!

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Activities: Have you Gotten Creative Lately?

One of the most exciting parts of collecting Breyer horses is all of the creative things you can do with your models. Creativity runs strong through model horse collectors and the possibilities are endless for projects and ideas!

The model horse hobby has been around for as long as Breyer’s have been being made, well over 60 years! It didn’t take long for collectors to start using their creativity to bring a new life to their horses and their collection. Creativity goes hand and hand with a hobby like Breyer horses and many collectors find themselves creating for their Breyers without even knowing it!

Model horse customizing is probably the most obvious way that collectors get creative with their models. Collectors have always found ways to make their models more like the horses of their dreams, and now the possibilities are endless. Repainting and resculpting Breyer horses is an art it’s own, with kits to get you started and artists happy to often to share their knowledge, there’s so much that can be done when you want to make your Breyer horses unique!

Collectors also find ways to be creative using other techniques and methods that you might not think of right away. Photographing Breyers is a fun way to express creativity if you have a good eye. Some collectors also make their own props and create elaborate miniature setups using ingenuity and creativity. Some even venture into the very creative and precise world of performance showing!

There’s also ways for the fine artist to feel creative with their models, painting and drawing Breyers is a wonderful way to create using your models and find joy in your collection! Fine artists also find it an easy transition to take their work onto their models.

Whatever your fancy, there’s a way for you to get creative with your models, and if you don’t know where to start, Golden Oak Stables has a ton of kits to get you started! What have you made for or with your models lately?

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: Collecting For A Cause

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as we remember this disease that effects so many, we can also help the cause along with Golden Oak Stables and Breyer!

Breast Cancer is a disease that touches the lives of so many and the month of October is used to help bring awareness to this disease and to raise funds to find a cure! Breyer has teamed up with Breast Cancer to raise awareness and remember those lost to this terrible disease with a horse that helps fight for a cure!

The Breyer Breast Cancer Awareness Model is the perfect way to not only support the fight for the cure but to also remember those who have fought against it. Created on the Bluegrass Bandit model, this beautiful flat shod Tennessee Walking Horse is calm and placid as she walks ever so gently. Her sweet flowing mane and tail are long and beautiful as is her sweet face that carries the most gentile expression.

What makes her truly special is the translucent pink plastic that she has been created with. Using the signature color of the Breast Cancer Awareness movement, she’s been created in a beautiful and shimmering clear pink plastic. She’s been further adorned with pink ribbons that dance throughout her coat in a whimsical and beautiful way.

Each purchase of the Breyer Breast Cancer Awareness Model benefits Breast Cancer charities and research to find a cure! Remember this the fight that has been fought with this beautiful model that brings attention and awareness to a cause that needs our help!

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horses Classics: English Jumping Accessory Set

Dreaming of riding in the Olympics or maybe just into the winner’s circle to pick up a blue ribbon? Your Classics can take you there!

Breyer has created a whole world for nearly every scale of Breyer horses and one of the most favorite is the Classics. These horses stand approximately 6 inches tall and are the second largest in the Breyer stable. Their size makes them an easy horse to play with, collect and display and they still have all of the detail and beauty of the Traditional scale horses. There’s a myriad of breeds that can stretch the equestrian landscape!

Golden Oak Stables brings you a fun set that will take you from schooling to show ring and will give your horse hours of fun. The English Jumping Accessory Set is a wonderful way to bring your horse into the jumping world and to train or compete for your own blue ribbon. The set starts off with a set of English tack, the first thing any horse an rider need to get started on the jumping course. The tack set also comes with a bold blue blanket that gives it a little pop of color. Next comes a stone wall jump that will give your horse and rider the perfect way to school or to show off their jumping skill. When they’ve mastered the sport there’s a blue ribbon and silver trophy to award all of their hard work with!

You can make your way into the winners circle with a little hard work and some fun with your Classics Breyer horses! What sport do you want to master?

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Real Life Breyer Horses: We Say Goodbye To Cigar

Tuesday, October 7th the world lost one of the greatest living race horses at the age of 24, Cigar. This incredible stallion not only had a racing record that placed him as one of the highest grossing race horses of all time, but he also touched the hearts of so many.

Cigar was a racehorse unlike no other, the big bay stallion that was for many years, the highest winning race horse in the world. Foaled in 1990, Cigar had winning blood in his pedigree, but unlike most race horses, he wouldn’t come into his own until his later racing years. His three year old racing season only netted a total winning of just under $90,000, and in his season as a four year old, he did a little better where he won the G1 NYRA Mile. It was in his five and six year old racing years that Cigar truly shined. As a five and six year old, Cigar won countless races including the prestigious Breeders Cup Classic and the Dubai World Cup which pushed him into super-stardom. At the end of his six year old racing year, Cigar retired with just under $10,000,000 in winnings. This record would go unsurpassed for 12 years!

Full retirement came early for Cigar, when within a few years of coming off the track, it was determined that he was sterile. In 1999 Cigar joined the Kentucky Horse Park Hall of Champions. Many Breyerfest attendees have fond memories of visiting this incredible stallion, just a year before he came to the KHP, Breyer released a new mold and model to celebrate Cigar. That next year Breyerfest attendees were greeted with a chance of a lifetime, the chance to meet Cigar! Each year since then, this kind stallion has held residence at the KHP, greeting visitors every day with a gentle demeanor that no one would expect of a Thoroughbred stallion, all while never seeming to age a day.

Golden Oak Stables celebrates the spectacular life of Cigar, and all of the lives that he has touched!

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Accessories: What Is Your Style?

Every collector has a collecting style of some sort, certain patterns in their collection that makes it unique to only them! As Breyer collectors, we often find unique ways of making our collection our own. Most collectors enjoy adding at least some kind of accessories to their collection, let’s find out what your style is!

For many Breyer collectors, collecting Breyer horses is either an extension of their love for riding and owning a horse or a way for them to have that experience when they can’t have a horse in their life. It’s no surprise that miniature accessories like tack and miniatures are popular in the hobby. These tiny treasures help to create realistic scenes and bring the realism of owning and riding a real horse to your collection.

Some collectors might not even notice the accessories they have collected for their models. A blanket here a rider there, maybe a show halter that shows off a horse well, these are all little things that define your collecting style. Some collectors want to build a world all their own, and set off to create an entire stable or riding academy with their creativity and a few accessories. Sometimes these collections are focused, just like real riding academies that focus on one discipline, or can stretch the gamut of riding styles. There are even some collectors that enjoy being competitive with their accessories and compete in live model horse shows in performance classes. These collectors create intricate miniature scenes that depict real horse life and ask a judge to evaluate them based on their realism!

No matter what your collecting style, Golden Oak Stables has accessories to get you started, or get you into the show ring. What does your accessory style look like?
Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: Have You Seen The Classics Lately?

It’s no surprise to most collectors that the Traditional horses are the most popular and most collected, but all of the other Breyer scales are packed with just as much detail and just as much beauty!

The Classics are the second largest scale in the Breyer lineup at Golden Oak Stables, and stand about 6 inches tall. These lovely horses were first introduced in 1975 as the Classics line, but a few of them have been a part of the Breyer lineup since the early days of the company. The Western Pony and the Rearing Stallion have been around for over 50 years, well before the Classics were officially introduced but are generally considered to be a part due to their size. When the Classics were first introduced, they came in both singles as famous race horses as well as family sets. These family sets and famous race horses were a staple for so many collectors. Today, the Classics have had many new molds added to their stable as well as beautiful new colors, accessories and more!

Some of the more exciting Classics releases have been a myriad of new molds that have come into the Classics line in the last few years. Famous sculptors like Brigitte Eberl has added her touch to the line with the new Halflinger Mare. There’s also the Horse Of The Year which is a new mold this year, a stunning palomino stock horse that stands tall and proud. You can also have fun with the classics in new ways, like taking adventures with your models and their stories, just like the girls at Canterwood Crest. You can even create your very own Stable with every accessory you can imagine!

Ready to explore the world of the Classics? Chances are, you’ll be surprised by how amazing they are!

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com