Show Report: Trails and Tails 2026

🍀 Trails and Tails 2026 🍀

This weekend, I traveled to Trails and Tails, held in Greensburg, PA. This show is hosted by and benefits a local 4-H club. For those who may not know, I was a 4-H kid, and the organization is near and dear to my heart. I think it teaches valuable life skills like responsibility and sportsmanship, so I like to give back to it when I can. 

This year, I judged OF Stone. The show is small but mighty, with several showers bringing fabulous competitive pieces in all divisions. The Performance ring was full all day, and the entries were incredible - I wish I had taken photos of some of them! Alas, I was busy bouncing back and forth between keeping Stone at a nice pace and getting my horses in the ring. I'm proud of myself - I only had one horse miss a class (well, two if we count the one that I straight up forgot to pack). I had just about one horse in every class for OF Breyer and OF Mini, so it's pretty impressive that I managed this while still keeping my judging at a good pace (shout out to the Breyer judge for letting my horses from the previous class sit for a few extra minutes until I had time to run them back to my table). 

One thing I really like about this show is the only class specifically for unrealistic horses is a fantasy class. Since fantasy is specifically for horses with wings and horns, that means the decorators are shown in the respective breed classes for their body type. For me, a mini collector who loves rarities, this is fantastic - most of those mini rarities are decorators. At most shows with specific decorator classes, I have to try and fit all of them into one, maybe two classes, and they're all competing against each other. Here, I can spread out the decorators! The class limit was two horses, but buy-ins were allowed, so I bought in for my collectability only entries. I got a lot of my decorators qualified this weekend! 

The string did well overall - I had at least one sectional champ or reserve in nearly every section, and came home with two overall reserve champions - one in OF Mini Collectability, and one in OF Breyer Breed. I was not expecting the breed champ, so I'm very happy! 

My friend Christine taking a selfie with me and my hobby mascot Gay Prancer

Something about a small show is the ability to connect and chat with other hobbyists. I love large shows, but it can be hard to manage showing and chatting in an environment with so many people and so much going on. Even with showing two full strings and judging, I still had time to chat with the people around me, my fellow judges, and my friends who were at the show. The show was wrapped up by 6, so there was plenty of time for post-show dinner with the group before driving home. 

I have one more show left in May (Rainbow Rave Live this weekend), and NAN entry wraps up Sunday, and then I get a nice relaxing two week break before the Big Orange Bash in June. I love showing, but I can't wait to get back to my normal routine. I've got some fun things planned on the blog for May! 

The Champions:

Shameful Sunday - OF Mini Light Breed Champ

Audrey II - OF Mini Gaited/Spanish Collectability Reserve

Sunset and Vine - OF Mini Sport Collectability Champ

Wilderness - OF Mini Sport Collectability Reserve

Friendship is Magic - OF Mini Stock Collectability Champ

Didn't Do It Legitly - OF Mini Draft/Other Collectability Champ

Himbo - OF Mini Draft/Other Collectability Reserve

Tiniest Typhoon - OF Mini Pony Collectability Reserve (I forgot to get a photo with her satin flat)

Golden Child - OF Mini Collectability Reserve and Light Collectability Champ

Poderoso - OF Breyer Spanish Breed Reserve

A Jazz Combo - OF Breyer Sport Collectability Reserve

Drabble - OF Breyer Sport Breed Reserve

Diamond of the Season - OF Breyer Draft/Other Collectability Champ

Party Animal - OF Breyer Pony Breed Reserve (also forgot to get her photo with her satin flat)

Jeanne d'Arc - OF Breyer Foals Breed Reserve

Gotta Love a Tight End - OF Breyer Breed Reserve and Stock Breed Champ

Monthly Round Up! April Additions

Happy May! You'll be pleased to know I survived my April of back to back shows, mostly no worse for the wear! We're back to our regularly scheduled programming this week, but more show reports will be coming in May! 

There's nothing like sitting on your couch in mid-April and realizing the box next to you is a horse you forgot to put in your March additions post. I picked up this set from a friend who was selling it at RCC - you may remember this set was the 2024 bonus model for the Stablemates Club, and there was a split. You received either the set with the G3 Standing Foal or the G3 Lying Foal, and the mare was the same in both sets. I received the Standing Foal, and I'd been idly on the hunt for the Lying Foal. This set was listed for the right price, so it came home with me! The mare will likely end up as a show donation, as I don't particularly need two of them in my collection, and I'm fairly sure the one I already have is the nicer of the two. 

You may remember from my BVG post that I met up with my friend Heather B. right before that show. Well, in addition to the chinas I was ferrying, she also dropped off a few models I was getting from her. She went to the Hoofbeats and Maple Treats event last fall, and kindly sold me one of her Tamarkuz models. As is typical for me, I paid for him months ago, and Heather held on to him until I could grab him in person. I also realized that I did not in fact have all of the 2004 JCPenney Parade of Breeds set when I went to take photos for a Stablemates Sunday post. Luckily, Heather has picked up multiple copies of this set over the years and offered me the one horse I was missing from the set (this pinto rearing Arabian). Keep an eye out on the blog at the end of the month to see the post with the full set! 

At BVG I got to see one of my very favorite model horse friends, Kenzie. We had arranged to trade my extra blue Short and Sweet Zebra for her red, but since she's in Canada we mutually agreed to wait until we could meet in person for the swap rather than shipping internationally. Luckily, she's from the part of Canada that's close to me, so we swapped at BVG. I'm happy to have the full set (minus Coal) united!

While at BVG, the Breyer dealer Paint Pony Studios had a table with some current and recently retired runs available. I was glad to see the recently retired Clydesdale was one! I've been wanting to hand pick one in person, but all of my local dealers had him out of stock when I would stop by. He retired at the end of 2025, and Breyer sold out of their stock online so I wasn't sure I'd be able to find one for cost. This copy was the only one Paint Pony Studios had for sale, so I snapped him up! He seems to be a nice copy too, so I'm happy. 

When I visited the Stone headquarters during the Little Horse Show last year, Erin gave us some sneak previews of upcoming releases. One of those previews was a Quarter 4 Design-a Horse color called Berry Flavor, and I fell in love with it. Now we know I'm not a large Stone collector, so I was eyeing the October and November Pebbles DAH offerings. I ended up waiting for the December Pebbles release, which happened to be the Saddlebred (who may be one of my favorite Pebbles scale molds?). I put in my DAH at the very last minute (no seriously, I sent in my DAH form on December 30). I didn't expect her to arrive quite so soon, but I'm so glad to have my first DAH! 

When you judge at Are You Kitten Me, you're treated very well. Not only do you get the typical entrants swag bag, you also get a special judge's swag bag. This year, that included a NIB Traditional. I ended up with Arachne, which was great. I hadn't gotten around to purchasing one yet, and free is the best price!  

So I was bad. A friend reached out asking what models I was currently looking for, and I said "well, I'm always looking for Stablemates rarities and G1s." Cue my Messenger receiving several photos of models. I ended up with two - a Frankenstang and yet another upgrade of the G1 Arabian Stallion from the Horse Play Card Game set. I've been after a Frankenstang for a while, and this brings me one step closer to obtaining all of the Event Stablemates - Hear Me Roar, I'm coming for ya! 

Actually, I was extra bad. At Island Time, my friend had this Hope N Glory for sale on her table. I told her I was very interested, but I had just paid off the aforementioned Frankenstang, so I wouldn't be able to make a payment on her for two weeks until my next paycheck. My friend said that was fine, and insisted I could take her with me that day. Her show name is "Not a Red Cent," because she made it onto a show table with me before I paid any money for her! She's the third Connoisseur model in my collection after Jazz Fusion and Reverse Polarity, and she's one I've wanted for a while.  

Have I ever mentioned I have the best friends in the hobby? I was chatting with my friend Danielle and she mentioned she had a gift for me the next time she saw me, as long as I didn't already have him. It turns out that she had a dapple gray mail order Clydesdale Stallion to match my mare and foal. I'm so grateful to have the best hobby friends - now I have to find a way to pay her back (or pay the kindness forward!) 

We're capping off the April post with my required Stablemates Club purchase - Westley! We all know I love a G1, and this guy is no exception. First of all, The Princess Bride is my favorite movie of ALL TIME, so I love his name. He also has these wonderfully detailed eyes, which almost makes up for his poor ears. I'd love to see some of the G1 molds get retooled and restored to their former, fully detailed glory. I didn't have to search very hard to find a new home for my second copy. My friend Mel (find her blog here!) congas the G1 Quarter Horse Stallion and didn't have a membership this year. When he was first announced I reached out asking if she'd like to buy my second copy, and I shipped him direct to her when he was released. A win for both of us! 

I lied - my Maya order arrived at the last minute, so she made the April post! I ordered three copies, and alas all three were the leopard Appaloosa. I guess if I ended up with three of them, at least it was my favorite colorway and I could handpick the nicest! I'm waiting to see what my friends get before seeking out to solicit trades - we always agree we get first dibs on Gamblers Choice trades, which usually works out well for us. 

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Breed: Thoroughbred

Welcome back to another Friday judging clinic! This week, we're returning to the land of Thoroughbreds. I last covered this in a mini breed post, so the text regarding the breed standard is going to sound the same - I'm not one to reinvent the wheel, so I copied and pasted my previous work. 

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

Unlike most breed registries, the Jockey Club does not have a specific breed standard for Thoroughbreds. Foals are eligible to register based on their parents, so long as certain conditions are met (both parents are registered, foal was conceived naturally and not through AI or embryo transfer). That being said, there are still ideal characteristics to look for in a Thoroughbred's conformation. They're bred for racing, so their form should follow function. 

With this in mind, these are the characteristics to be looking for: 

• Small, expressive head with a straight profile 
• Long slender neck, prominent withers, deep chest 
• Long sloping shoulders
• Sloping and muscular croup 

Standard taken from Rousseau, Élise. Horses of the World. Princeton University Press, 2017, p 48.

Like with our Quarter Horses, there can be some wiggle room in the body type. A race fit Thoroughbred is going to look different from an active stud, or a Thoroughbred in a second career.

Let's look at our class! 

Thoroughbred mare

Horse A: Strapless

Thoroughbred stallion

Horse B: Cigar

Thoroughbred stallion

Horse C: Smarty Jones

Take a minute and evaluate the three models. Where is form following function? Is every horse necessarily in race fit condition here? When you're ready, my placings can be found under the jump. ↓

Show Report: Presley Palooza 2026

 💥 Presley Palooza 2026 💥

Why yes, this is my fourth show in four weeks, thank you for asking! As much fun as I had, I'm definitely glad that I don't have a show this coming weekend. That being said, let's talk about the show I attended last weekend - Presley Palooza! As the name implies, the whole show is Elvis themed - the ribbons have an Elvis silhouette, the champion ribbons are themed around outfits Elvis wore, and the show tables are decorated with Elvises (Elvi?). My late grandmother who bought me my first Breyer was a huge Elvis fan (she had a room devoted to Elvis collectibles - I think I got the collecting gene from her!), so in a way this show reminds me of her.  

It's a show on the smaller side, which I don't mind. Large shows like Kitten and BVG are fun, but you get more time to chat with friends at smaller shows. I last attended this show in 2024 when it was last held, and I was on the fence about attending this year, as I had committed to several shows in April. I ultimately decided to attend for a few reasons. First of all, the show is an hour from my house, so my lodging costs are zero dollars, and it's a quick, easy drive down I-80. Second, I wasn't judging, so I could bring a completely full traditional string for the first time since I broke my arm in 2024. The closest I'd come to a full string was at Off to The Races last year, but I was still being cautious and only brought one traditional for most of the OF Breyer classes. Third, this was my last chance to get horses qualified for NAN. So against my own sanity and better judgement, I signed up. 

I'm glad I did! The herd did phenomenally, particularly the OF Breyer string. I had a horse in every OF Breyer callback except draft, and received a champ in every section except stock! It's definitely one of the most successful shows I've every attended, and I capped it off with my Machu Picchu receiving Overall Champion in the OF Breyer division. There were several horses I hoped to qualify for NAN that did, and my favorite model horse name "I Don't Collect These" took a sectional and once again made the whole show hall laugh when his name was called. 

The show was super fast paced this year as well! Not only was the show over by 5, but thanks to showers and their families, the show hall was broken down by 5 as well! With my hour drive, that meant I was home from the show by 6, and after my late nights the past two weeks (thanks to the post-show dinners after Kitten and Island Time), I was glad to have a normal bedtime! 

The Champions: 

Adrenaline Rush - OF Mini Light Reserve Champ

Fearless Leader - OF Mini Spanish Champion

I Don't Collect These - OF Mini Spanish Reserve Champ

Spilt Milk - OF Mini Pony Reserve Champ 

Goldenlake - OF Breyer Light Champion

The Fate of Ophelia - OF Breyer Sport Champion

Thrill of It - OF Breyer Gaited Reserve Champ

Wanheda - OF Breyer Spanish Reserve Champ 

Pearl Clutcher - OF Breyer Pony Champ 

Diamond of the Season - OF Breyer Longears/Exotics Champ

Shades of Candlelight - OF Breyer Overall Champion & Spanish Champion

Stablemate Sunday: QVC Silver Cup First Collection

We're back for Stablemate Sunday! This month, we'll be looking at the first collection of the Silver Cup sets. These sets were originally released through QVC in 2002. They both featured a mixture of G1 and G2 molds, and came packaged in a blue box with a small silver trophy. From my understanding, this collection released earlier in 2002, and the second collection was released later that year. 

From what I can tell, this set marked a turning point for Breyer. Previously, when a glossy Stablemate appeared, it was usually a variation, not the entire run, and additionally it was usually more of a semi-gloss finish. The QVC sets marked the first time a Stablemates run was intentionally glossed. It's amazing it took so long! The first Stablemates were introduced in 1975, and Breyer has had glossy finishes since the Western Horse in 1950. That's 27 years for intentionally glossed Stablemates! 

This set took me a while to track down, and I ended up slowly buying them over the course of several years. To that end, we'll look at them in the order I obtained them. First up is this lovely glossy chestnut on the G2 Rearing Arabian mold. One other thing about this set is how much contrast there is in the shading! This guy shows for me under the name Flaming Hot Cheeto, due to how vibrantly orange he is. He doesn't get out much, but he does have at least one collectability NAN card to his name. 

He was also the first one in the set I tracked down - I found him by himself in a room in the Clarion during BreyerFest 2022. He only had his box and trophy with him. I want to say it was Saturday night at BreyerFest, and I had bought some Stablemates from the seller earlier in the week, and was buying more again. I asked how much she wanted for him, and she passed him along to me at no charge! Model horse people are the best people. 

Next in the set we have the G2 American Saddlebred, done in a heavily shaded dapple gray. I especially like her tiny resist dapples, even if her shading isn't the most realistic way to gray out (usually grays start at the face). I believe I picked her up during BreyerFest 2024, and she has shown once for me - she placed, but she doesn't have any NAN cards. Her show name is Ghostly Scene. 

The Draft Horse is the only G1 in the set, and additionally the only decorator. He's done in a nice charcoal color. He's a newer addition, so he hasn't made it to the show ring yet (decorators tend to have tough competition to show with me, given my love of rarities). 

He does have a fun story of how I obtained him. My friends in the hobby have a tendency to message me with listings to ask if something is a good deal (I'm a good person for this, since one of my hobbies within the hobby is market watching). In this case, my friend sent me the listing for two G1 drafters - this guy and one of the snowflake decorators from the JAH Fanfare set. I asserted the prices were reasonable. She said she was looking mostly at the snowflake draft and was still deciding on the charcoal. I said, "well, if you decide against him, I'd be interested!" She ultimately did decide not to buy him, and I sent her the asking price. She picked up both, and I picked him up from her at BreyerFest last year. 

The G2 Appaloosa in this set is done in this lovely bay sabino. Like the draft, I picked him up during BreyerFest last year (they're actually both featured in my haul post). A friend listed him for sale (along with several other models that I also purchased) and I arranged to pick them up at BreyerFest. Pre-arranging purchases for pickup at BreyerFest is one of my favorite hacks for making sure I see as many friends as I can, otherwise the schedule can make it hard to see everyone.  

Finally, we have the G2 Warmblood in a shaded bay. He's the newest addition of the set - you may remember him from my October Additions post. He was also purchased from a friend, and I was very glad to finally complete this set! It only took three years. 

It's kind of amazing to realize that three of the five in this set I was able to track down through friends. I talk a lot about how much I value the people in the hobby and the friends I've made, and I think this post shows that.  

Who was your favorite of the set? It's a tough call for me, but I think I'm torn between the chestnut Arabian, the gray ASB, and the charcoal draft. Let's call it a three way tie!