Show Report: BVG Live! 2026

🩵🩷 BVG Live! 2026 🩷🩵

This past weekend, I returned to BVG Live, held in Jackson, Michigan. The show is sponsored by the Breyer Value Guide website, and is held annually in April. I've attended this show once before, in 2023, but I had conflicts in 2024 and 2025 that prevented me from coming back again until this year. It's a lovely show, with a nicely broken down class list that splits traditional and classic Breyers based on run type: Regular Run, Special Run, and BreyerFest Special Run, just like BreyerFest does. Additionally, none of the Breyer classes are double judged for collectability, that is split out into its own division. This makes the class sizes much more manageable for the judges!

I actually ended up with a rare organizational mistake this year - I totally forgot my collectability documentation! Luckily, because the classes were double judged and I was only showing two horses in the actual collectability section, I really only needed to jot down the type of run each horse was on their card, and only for the traditionals since all the minis showed together. If I had to forget my collectability doc, this was definitely the show to do it! 

Part of the draw for attending BVG Live this year was that all of the judging spots were filled, and I wouldn't have to judge. This meant I could get more of my own models out on the table without worrying about my judging commitments. Another part of the draw was getting to see some of my Canadian model horse friends - one is very good at persuasion! I had also fully planned on making the trek to Michigan by myself, but then roughly two weeks before the show my friend Amanda (of Riker's Den) posted in a group chat that she was also looking for a show this spring where she wasn't judging. The conversation went a little something like: 

Me: You should come to BVG with me 

Amanda: When and where

Me: Two weeks, in Michigan 

Amanda: Sold 

We are very easily persuaded! So I swung by her house on my way Friday night, we loaded her ponies in my car, and off we went to Michigan! Our hotel was across the street from a Culvers, so we hustled to get there in time for dessert, since neither of us took additional time off work to make the trip. 

The show went well! A couple of horses got their second NAN card (which qualifies them for NAN to me personally), and I even came home with a rosette for a reserve sectional. The classes were tough, and I got quite a few lower placings, so I'm happy with how the herd did. I was more excited to cheer on my friends, who had a few horses go overall reserve champion! After the show we headed to Olive Garden with our Canadian friends for dinner, which was such a fun time. I know I say it every time, but the sense of community around the model horse hobby is one of the things I value most about it. 

Speaking of, I'd be remiss to not shout out a good hobby deed I found myself a part of. My wonderful friend Heather B. contacted me a few months ago asking if I'd be going to BVG this year. At this point, I was still on the fence. She was looking for someone to be part of a driving leg to transport a few large chinas from a seller to a buyer. The chinas were huge, and neither wanted them to ship lest they get damaged. Heather was part of the chain to get them there, and was looking for someone to get them to Michigan. A few weeks later, I told Heather I'd be going to BVG and could take the chinas with me. Heather picked them up from the seller, met me the Thursday before BVG for dinner and hobby talk to drop off the chinas, and I loaded them in my car the next day. I passed them off to friends at BVG who were the next leg, and they dropped them off with the buyer the next day. It was really fulfilling to see how this hobby rallies to help each other. 

Overall, I had a wonderful time at BVG Live. I'd definitely like to go back again, but we'll see how the schedule works out next year! 

The Champions and NAN Qualifiers:

Hansel - OF BreyerFest Special Run Draft Type Foals

Key to My Skies - OF BreyerFest Special Run Pony Type Foals

Shake It Out - OF Breyer Mini Appaloosa Stallions and Geldings

Little Bird - OF Breyer Mini Paint Stallions and Geldings

My Tears Ricochet - OF Breyer Mini North American Warmbloods

Alone in My Tower - OF Breyer Regular Run Stock Breed Foals

Summer Stain - OF BreyerFest Special Run Thoroughbred Stallions & Geldings

Orpheus - OF Breyer Mini Solid Stock Foals

Shangri-La - OF Breyer Mini Gaited and Spanish Foals

Be My NY - OF BreyerFest Special Run Sport and WB Foals

Unhinged - OF Breyer Mini Stock Section Reserve Champ

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Breed: Andalusian/Lusitano

It's a mini breed judging clinic this week! I wanted to do something fun, so I pulled some models that may look familiar! My very first post was a mini collectability class with the premise of the class being double judged for breed. As we close out our third cycle of the judging clinics, I wanted to return to the other side of that class and judge it based on breed. I thought it would be interesting to illustrate how placings can change in a single class depending on what it is judged for. 

As always, my personal judging history and credentials can be found on my About Me page. 

This week, we're looking at an Andalusian/Lusitano breed class. This is a pretty typical breed class found on a standard class list. Some shows might split them out, but typically they're shown together. Andalusians and Lusitanos are pretty similar, as both hail from the Iberian peninsula. Andalusians are from Spain, while Lusitanos are from Portugal. Let's look at the breed standards for both so we know what we're looking for. 

Andalusian:

• Baroque style - noble and proud look with compact and elegant body 
• Straight or slightly convex profile, nicely shaped ears and slightly arched and muscular neck
• Long sloping and muscular shoulders, round and slightly sloping croup 

Standard taken from Rousseau, Élise. Horses of the World. Princeton University Press, 2017, p 94. 

Lusitano:

• Noble head with convex profile, wide forehead, and large eyes 
• Arched and high set neck, deep chest, long and muscular shoulders
• Short back, sloping croup, small feet, low set tail 

Standard taken from Rousseau, Élise. Horses of the World. Princeton University Press, 2017, p 82. 

Andalusian stallion

Horse A: G3 Rearing Andalusian

Lusitano stallion

Horse B: Cantering Andalusian

Andalusian stallion

Horse C: Mini Alborozo

Evaluate each horse against their assigned breed standard. Make sure you're paying attention to which is a Lusitano and which is an Andalusian! When you have your placings in mind, mine are under the jump. ↓

Monthly Round Up! March Additions

 March brought show season back with the River City Classic two weeks ago, and with that my plastic pony acquisitions went up. I have a tendency to buy from friends who I see regularly, and rather than shipping them I agree to pick them up when I see them next to save on the shipping cost. 

I started off March by visiting one of the local dealers to check out the 2026 offerings. It was a bit of good fortune -  I have family who live 15 minutes from one of the major Breyer dealers, and I would be visiting them anyways. A perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. I picked up four of the new 2026 single Stablemates. I'll be snagging the Warmblood and the Thoroughbred at some point, but I didn't like the eyes on the Thoroughbreds they had in stock, and the Warmblood will just be a conga filler, so she doesn't need to be perfect. 

When the Valentine's and Villaintines sale was announced at Stone, I looked at the Chips that would be available (because of course I did!) I ended up eyeing two Chips that I absolutely loved. My philosophy with my Stone collection is that I have either absolutely love the model or it needs to fill a spot in my Mini Stone show string, simply because of the cost of the models. My first choice for the sale was a stunning dapple gray Cutting chip, but by the time the page showed him to me he was snapped up. Luckily my second choice was Cherry Soda, and he was still available! I chose to give him a glossy finish because all bays look better glossed. 

We all know I'm a Cleveland Bay fan. When I saw Beau' N Arrow was a BreyerFest Limited Edition last year, I knew there was a good chance he'd be glossed for Breyer Midwest. I thought about (finally!) attending this year, but the cost of the flight to Kansas deterred me (it's a NAN year, I have to save for that entry fee!). I knew I'd have friends attending who wouldn't want theirs, and I also had a friend attending who could pick him up at the event and hold him for me until we saw each other! I made a quick post on my Facebook wall, and within an hour I had one prepaid, and a handoff planned and coordinated for the event. I picked him up at River City, and I'm so glad to have him in my collection! 

My friend Kelly M. is one of those friends who will hold onto items for months for me until we see each other in person - I have a spot on one of her shelves known affectionately as "the pile." I see Kelly a few times a year - for all that she's stupid far from me, she's on the right coast and we're often able to meet in the middle at shows. This time I picked up my Calista (who she snagged for me in fall of 2024 and kept forgetting to bring with the rest of my things) and the last few Tractor Supply blind bags I was missing (she makes it to more TSCs than I do). I think I still have things in my pile that we both forgot about, so look for that in a few months when I see Kelly again! 

This was an unexpected addition! I conga the Paso Fino a bit more casually, so when he was announced as the latest in the Exotic Destinations series, I put in my entries on my two accounts, but didn't ask for my friends to enter on my behalf. And yet, in the first round of picks, who should get an email but little ole me? He's absolutely gorgeous, and I gave him a little pinto friend to ride along so he'd be double boxed. Maybe now I should put more effort into finally tracking down a matte Cancion! 

Two Stones in one post! I wasn't sure he'd arrive in time for this post, but he met my expectations. I actually wasn't planning on another Stone for a bit, and then the March GemStones collection was announced. I was planning on picking up a Tegan piece the next time she painted for Stone, and here was my opportunity! I was ready to buy right when they dropped and came away with my first choice - Schmutz, a darling chestnut Morgan Chip. He's so nicely done, and I love when I can get pieces by my artist friends in OF, particularly as a person who doesn't collect customs or artist resins! 

Stablemate Sunday: April Fools Blind Bag Series 1

Happy Stablemate Sunday everyone! It's nearly April, so let's prepare for the day of fools. Breyer has often played April Fools pranks on their social media pages. In 2024, they turned that prank into blind bags. This set featured recreations of Breyer's most notoriously bad paint jobs from their history (mostly the 90s). The original models were attempts at innovating color to be more realistic, but often were not executed well. 

These blind bags were not super popular, and they were available on the website for a while. The price probably had to do with it - they were the same price as the other specialty holiday blind bags at $25 each. This is kind of a tough sell for colorways that weren't liked the first time around, although there are people (like me!) who liked them for the novelty. That being said, they must have sold enough to justify the second set in 2025. We'll know soon enough if we'll get a third set for 2026! 

First up, let's look at Cloud. Marking the first use of the Stablemate scale Swaps mold since the original licensing agreement expired in the mid-2000s, Cloud is a miniature version of the 1995-1996 Classic Cloud, done on the Classic scale version of the Swaps mold. I'd actually say the blind bag version pulls off the color better. The Classic scale Cloud's dapples are more patchy, while this guy is more akin to a light handed resist dapple. I was just glad to see Swaps in use again! 

On the mini Zafirah mold, we have Cinnamon, who is probably the most (in)famous of the Breyer 90s paint jobs. Whenever I see people complaining about the currently quality of Breyer models, I like to remind them of Cinnamon and her pinking shears blanket. Her Ritz cracker Appaloosa blanket. I went back through my records and she was the only one I didn't receive in my initial order - I had doubles of the Overo Stock Horse instead. I must have done a straight trade with one of my friends for her, but for the life of me I can't remember who! 

On the Twist mold, we have another particularly infamous 90s Breyer paint job: the green Sham from the 1994 Arabian Stallion and Foal set. In theory, this color was supposed to be bay going gray. Unfortunately, the whole run ended up this shade of green, with the odd circle every so often for dapples. You know I'm a Sham lover, but I'm definitely putting off adding the original to my herd! For now, this fellow will do!  

The final model in this set was the Overo Paint on the G4 Stock Horse, as a miniature of the 1979 Overo Paint on Stud Spider. Compared to the others in the set, the original paint job on this guy is not the worst! The finishwork on the blind bag version incorporates intentional overspray on the pinto markings. He'd be almost show worthy if it wasn't there - almost. 

The thing I like most about these sets is Breyer's ability to essentially poke fun at themselves, and own the cringe from their past. Are there any infamous Breyer paint jobs you'd like to see if they bring these back for a third year? Personally, I'm partial to the polka dot leopard appaloosas, like the Riddle Passing Through Times on Hobo, or the original Pony of the Americas run!  

Show Report: River City Classic 2026

 🔷 River City Classic 2026 🔷

Like last year, I kicked off my show season with the River City Classic, held annually in Evansville, IN. This year marked the eighth year of the show! It's also one of my farthest drives, being a whopping eight hours without stops. This year I didn't do it alone! I carpooled with Sarah, and we picked up Amanda B. (of Riker's Den) along the way. Having friends makes the time in the car fly! We drove down Friday, and arrived with plenty of time to set up our models in the show hall and grab dinner with the other hobbyists who were in town for the show. 

My favorite part about River City is it's hosted by one of my best hobby friends Angela. She's a gem in the hobby, and she's willing to open her home to her friends to stay. We had six of us there! It's wonderful to get to talk ponies all weekend (even if it never seems like enough time!) 

The show kicked off on Saturday, and the string proved themselves well! I had models across four divisions, and I took champions in three of those. The Stone mini subdivision was stupid competitive, and I was pleased that I had placings and NAN cards in that division at all. The Breyers performed better - I was especially proud that my rares held their own! Angela splits out Breyer traditional and classic runs of 350 or less and minis runs of 200 or less into their own division. 

I was also judging at this show. It was a very rare case where I was able to judge Breyer while showing Breyer! Angela not only splits out rare Breyers, but she splits out classics from the non-rare Breyers into their own division as well. I was pleased to not only judge classics, but to have some pretty decently sized classes! The Classics collectors showed up! I'm happy with the models I pinned, and I loved getting to stretch my Breyer collectability muscles outside of my judging clinics! It's more fun when I didn't make the class myself. 

River City also gave out several awards for fun this year for entrants - one of which was the Road Warrior Award for the furthest distance traveled "as the crow flies." I figured it was probably going to be Sarah or me who got it. Well, Sarah was second and I got the award. It's funny because Sarah had to drive a half hour to get to my house. Best we can figure is I'm slightly further east, and it was specifically "as the crow flies." 

I would be remiss if I didn't once again sing the praises of my hobby friends. River City is one of those shows where I get to see friends who I don't get to see as often due to distance. A special shout out to my friend Kelsey B., who realized after lunch that I had lost track of the OF Breyer Trad ring, and started running my entries for me without being asked. Most of my stock horses would not have made it on the table without her, and it shows how incredibly kind the people in this hobby are. 

Picture courtesy my friend Kati S. - we swept three of the four overalls in Breyer Rares! I was very excited to see Kati, because for all that we live in the same state, I never get to see them!

One thing I love about River City is Angela and her husband Dave are always striving to make the show better and easier for entrants and staff. They already have a number tag system for the show, which I find annoying when making my tags and appreciate when I'm judging and checking results (nationwide tag system WHEN). This year Angela not only had the mini rings on risers, but also added a stable center riser down the middle of the table, eliminating the need for acrylic risers. I loved this change as a shower, as it made sure everyone had plenty of space to place models down and make sure they were seen. I'd love to see more shows adopt it in the future!  

Hyacinth on the elevated center of the OF Breyer Mini table - I LOVE this as a shower, and I'd love it as a judge too!

The Champions: 

Party Animal - OF Breyer Pony Breed Champion

Riker Horse - OF Breyer Spanish/Gaited Breed Champion

Tiniest Typhoon - OF Breyer Mini Foals Collectability Reserve

Grumpy Gills - OF Breyer Mini Sport Breed Reserve

It Ain't Me - OF Breyer Mini Sport Collectability Reserve

Psychotic Love Theme - OF Breyer Mini Spanish/Gaited Collectability Champ

Greek Tragedy - OF Breyer Mini Stock Collectability Reserve

Dream Girl Evil - OF Breyer Mini Draft/Pony/Other Collectability Champ (I forgot to get her photo on the table!)

Friendship is Magic - OF Breyer Rares Mini 1-200 Breed Champ

Romanticized Elegies - OF Breyer Rares Mini 1-200 Breed Reserve

Golden Child - OF Breyer Rares Collectability Reserve Champion and Mini 1-200 Collectability Champion

Surreptitious Gloss Deal - OF Breyer Rares Overall Breed Reserve Champion and 201-350 Breed Champion

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Traditional Collectability #4

It's time for another Friday judging clinic! This week is a Traditional collectability class. 

As always, my personal judging history and credentials can be found on my About Me page. 

It has to be said - I love my decorators. I love horses in fun, unnatural colors. I love unicorns and other fantasy models. They're just fun, and I love fun. Not to mention, they are usually solely judged on my favorite thing - collectability! Or, at least they should be. I've attended the occasional show where the judge disregards the collectability information provided and places the models on color/workmanship. It can be frustrating when you've brought your rarities for them to get overlooked. I think it's important to remember that in most OF shows, the default criteria for the decorator and fantasy classes is usually collectability. Decorator/fantasy collectability is judged on the same criteria as realistic model collectability - age, rarity, desirability, and condition. Let's look at our class. 

Horse A: Pollock - BreyerFest Special Run - 2021 - Gold variation - 200 made

Horse B: Under the Sea - BreyerFest Special Run - 2011 - 1,100 made

Horse C: Gabriel - Breyer Christmas Day Gamblers Web Special - 2022 - Purple colorway - 500 made

Think about what to look for in a collectability entry - who is the rarest? Who is the oldest? Who is the most desirable? When you have your placings, mine can be found under the jump. ↓ 

Collection Spotlight: Paddy

Happy belated Saint Patrick's Day! This week's collection spotlight is almost intentionally on theme! As I've mentioned, I like to ask my friends who I should talk about. My friend Angela picked Paddy, and at the time I was planning my February and March posts. It worked out that the March Collection Spotlight would fall right after the holiday. True serendipity! 

Paddy was a Collector Club Web Special in 2012. At that point, I was on a break in the hobby, so I had no idea this guy existed until a couple years later. As with most of the Collector Club Web Specials, Paddy was available through a random drawing. 

There were 222 Paddys produced. In addition, there was one buckskin variation produced as a "Pot O' Gold." I don't recall ever seeing him in person, and IDYB only has the promotional photo of him on the website. I'd never be able to afford him, but I'd love to see what he looks like in hand!

The regular version of Paddy is brown with a hunter clip with shamrocks, a blaze, right front coronet, and a right hind stocking. The amount of shading on him is phenomenal. The hunter clip does look very stark against him, but it's one of those cases where paint (especially on an original finish model) cannot accurately represent what it looks like in real life. 

I want to say Paddy was one of the last ones I tracked down for my Cleveland Bay conga before the Rotating Draft Surprise had me screaming, crying and throwing up (it was very much an "RIP my obtainables complete conga" moment). My ages old Cleveland Bay Conga Time post says that the WEG signing model was the last one I needed and that I tracked him down in 2021. So I'm thinking I must have bought Paddy in 2020, which sounds right. It was definitely pandemic times. 

When I bought him, he came with a single ribbon from a live show. While he doesn't get out very often for me, I show him under the name "Lucko Thee Irish" and he has at least one NAN card in collectability under that name. If anything, I think that name helps date when I bought him - he was definitely named with Megan Thee Stallion in mind, and WAP was released in 2020. 

We'll end with a little close up on his stenciled shamrocks. For how intricate the design is, the masking is really well done! It is a little blurry on some spots, but for the most part the shamrocks are nice and crisp. He's definitely an underrated favorite of my collection.