The BreyerFest Files: The 2026 Experience

 📂 The BreyerFest Files📂

The infamous Clarion carpet - IYKYK

The BreyerFest posting is coming to an end for this year. 

We love a reference to The Good Place in the morning

There's still a lot I've yet to talk about, and photos that didn't have a place. 

But nothing left is substantial enough for an individual post, so let's put it all in one! 

In addition to showing my own models at NAN this year, I also proxied five OF models for my friend Tif. She lives out on the West Coast, and at first she was just looking for someone to ship her models to who could bring them to Kentucky rather than shipping them to her hotel or taking them on the plane. This is something I've done for friends before, so I offered. Eventually, she realized she'd only be in Kentucky for BreyerFest itself, and would I mind showing the models for her? And of course I said yes. Three of the five I showed got top tens, and I was so happy to message her that her babies were doing well! 

A nice reminder for BreyerFest week, courtesy of a roomie's fortune cookie

We had a full Airbnb this year  - we squeezed nine humans into the house this year! The house was very spacious, had TWO laundry rooms, and the location was perfect. I think we all agreed we'd like to rent the same house next year if possible. 

My favorite housemate!

I had to specify nine *humans* because we had a tenth housemate - my friend's service dog, Clifford! He's the best boy. 

Rooming with friends means you get absurd pictures - like holding ALL of your NAN rosettes at once in a closet. 

Floor time at the Open Show is mandatory

One tradition I'm glad we've carried over to this year is floor time at the Open Show. Luckily this time, it wasn't because we were all overwhelmed, but we were waiting for the final callbacks to wrap up! I'm lucky to have such a fabulous group of plastic pony friends! 

The best grilled cheese sandwich you will ever have in your life

One of my favorite places to eat in Lexington is Ethereal Brewing Public House. I first went there for lunch with friends in 2024 (after seeing the Cocaine Bear), and I sincerely have not stopped thinking about the grilled cheese and tomato bisque since. I didn't get to go last year, but I did badger my roommates into making time to go this year! Thank goodness for the Open Show ending at a reasonable time! 

Just a girl and her glossy Oseberg

Sometimes, when you get the Special Run variation you want direct from Breyer (and that you would have refused to pay market value for) you end up with a Renaissance painting of you hugging it taken by your friend.  

Crank and Boom ice cream is not to be missed!

One of my other favorite places to eat in Lexington - if you haven't made it to Crank and Boom yet, put it on your list! It's the most amazing handcrafted ice cream places, and they source their ingredients locally! 

I got in a brief moment of Park Time between Old Friends and my Sunday volunteer shift. I browsed the Collector Club tent, did a quick Store run because there was no line, and bought some extra Sunday raffle tickets. Of course, I ended up stuck in the Covered Arena during the thunderstorm, but it was fun to see the impromptu dance party in the ring!

Just a girl who got to volunteer for the first time

After the storm, I had my last volunteer shift. It was the closing shift, so I got to pick up my volunteer model directly after! I had every intention of leaving for home directly from the park, but since we had the Airbnb through Monday I opted for carpooling to the park, then packing the car and leaving after one last group dinner at the Airbnb. This ended up being a blessing in disguise, as my car battery decided to die right when I was about to leave! I did not plan for buying a brand new car battery in Lexington, but it was better it happened when I had people around versus on the road. 

BreyerFest bucket list item checked off

I originally meant to have more of the Old Friends photos in this post but I ended up wanting to share too many photos, so it got broken up into its own post. I did leave this one here though. I really was so happy to finally go! 

Recovery days be like

No BreyerFest experience is complete without the recovery day. I always take the Monday after BreyerFest off - this year I spent that Monday in bed with a box of Cheez-Its (I also definitely took multiple naps!) It's a long week, but one I wouldn't trade for the world. Can't wait to do it again next year. 

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

Happy Friday everyone! We're back for another breed judging clinic. 

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

This week, we're looking at a Shire class. Before we look at our entries, let's refresh our memory of what a Shire should look like: 

• Accepted colors: Black, brown, bay, gray. Roans acceptable in mares and geldings but not stallions. White patches on the body are not acceptable.
• Mares should have a more feminine appearance.
• Long and lean head, with long slightly arched neck in proportion to the body. Large, well set and docile eyes, and slightly Roman nose. Deep shoulders, short and muscular back. 
• Forelegs straight as possible down to pasterns, hocks not too far back and in line with hindquarters. Round, deep and well-sprung ribs. 

Breed standard courtesy the Shire Horse Society https://www.shire-horse.org.uk/breeding-shire-horses

Let's take a look at our class!

Shire gelding

Horse A: Shannondell

Shire mare

Horse B: Clydesdale Mare

Shire stallion

Horse C: Othello

Think about your ABCs - anatomy, biomechanics, and conformation and condition. Who fulfills the breed standard the best? When you're ready, my placings can be found under the jump. ↓

The BreyerFest Files: The Field Trip to Old Friends

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I crossed off a Lexington bucket list item this BreyerFest. I finally made it to a tour of Old Friends. 

Old Friends is a retirement home for Thoroughbred racehorses, and is home to several famous names.

I'll Have Another

I've been meaning to make it to a farm tour - ANY farm tour! - since I started going to in-person BreyerFest in 2022. 

Lava Man

Usually, I'm either too busy, or have other plans made, or just no one else to go with (since many of the tours are group things). 

Game On Dude

This year, my friend Amanda posted in our Airbnb group chat that she wanted to take an Old Friends tour, and if anyone would be interested. I told her I had time on Sunday morning, but she'd be responsible for handpicking my Breyer Store models in addition to picking up my Special Runs. 

Green Mask

Eventually, a group of four of us decided on a Sunday morning tour. We'd be able to complete the tour and have time for the two of us with volunteer shifts to get back to the Horse Park! It was also nice as we were able to avoid the traffic issues getting into the Park that morning. 

Big Brown

It was such a lovely morning feeding the horses treats and learning their stories. I can now say I've fed three Kentucky Derby winners!

Friends who think alike! 

The draw for Amanda and I was of course Silver Charm. We joke that we share a brain cell, and we both (independently) decided to bring our Silver Charm models. 

Silver Charm

It was such a privilege to meet (and pet!) the famous boy! He's 32 years old this year, and Amanda and I both felt very "now or never" about meeting him. It meant that the precious little free time I had to spend at the Park this weekend was gone, but I think it was well worth it. 

I'd definitely love to visit Old Friends again - I missed out on Cozmic One this time, and I'd love to see a Zenyatta baby! I think I'm going to end up being one of those people who spends the whole week in Lexington every year. There's just so much I still want to do, even after years of attending BreyerFest in person (Keeneland breakfast, anyone?) 

The BreyerFest Files: Volunteering

📂 The BreyerFest Files📂

I'm a firm believer in giving back to the hobby. Volunteer your time, volunteer your knowledge, donate items to a show's raffle, help with setup or breakdown for shows and swap meets. Hobbies are communities, and they are shaped and supported by the people within them. 

This year, I was fortunate to spend most of my BreyerFest week volunteering. 

I've been volunteering at NAN since 2022. In both 2022 and 2024, I was a steward, meaning I was responsible for checking entries in each class to be sure they were registered in that class, alerting the registrar when horses were missing from the class so they could be entered, and rounding up the judges for each class. This year, I got a title upgrade! I was the Assistant Head Steward, which means I was in charge of keeping the clipboards organized and stewarding classes as needed. Tuesday mostly felt like I was chained to the Steward's table - the judge's sheets needed filled out for that day, so I was constantly scribbling the information needed on them. 

Wednesday was a little easier - with the time waiting for performance to finish on Tuesday, we were able to get all of Wednesday's sheets filled out and in order. Which was good, since Wednesday NAN has to end earlier than the other days - we were able to load clipboards for the next classes as fast as they were returned. I even had time to steward a few of the classes on Wednesday, which helped keep things moving. 

I also had a secret volunteer position for NAN, which you'll only know if you 1) saw the NAN program and 2) read the NAN program. That's right, I contributed articles for the NAN program! I was asked to edit a portion of my documentation post for the program, and I additionally created two judging clinics. Not to worry if you didn't attend NAN - those posts will be freely available to everyone. My two August judging clinics are the ones that appeared in the NAN program. 

This year marked the first year I volunteered for Breyer. I had applied once before in 2024, without success. I decided to try again for this year, and I was thrilled to be selected! I had two positions over the weekend. I was a Docent and a Seminar Assistant. Well, I was supposed to. My Seminar Assistant shift ended up being approximately 45 minutes due to the last seminar on Saturday being canceled. I ended up swinging back over to the ticket booth where I had been previously that day to finish out that shift as a Docent. 

I found the experience to be very rewarding overall. The majority of my Docent shifts were at the ticket booth, and it was nice but also scary to be the first face people associated with the event. I spent a lot of time directing people to model pick-up and assuring them that they could leave the park and come back without scanning their ticket, but I also got to recommend people my favorite things to do at BreyerFest. I got to watch kid's faces light up when they were given a surprise blanket for their horses (and even hand some out myself!)

Would I volunteer again? Absolutely. Would I volunteer for multiple events across the week where I'm also showing five days? Perhaps not. Both volunteering experiences were very rewarding, and I have no regrets about them, but it was a hard week, with little time for sleep or shopping or decompressing. I did get to have some fun experiences (more on that next week!), but I was a little stressed to my mental limit by the end of the week. Luckily, next year is not a NAN year, so I'll likely apply to volunteer at BreyerFest again. 

The world is quiet here. 

It's Friday, I'm a Judge! Mini Collectability #7

Welcome back to the Friday judging clinic for a mini collectability day!

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

This week, by special request from a friend, we're looking at another decorator class. I've done a mini decorator class before, but there are honestly so many mini decorators that I could create several of these classes. 

Remember, even in decorator classes, we're still judging on collectability. That means we're taking age, rarity, condition, and desirability into account when making our decisions. As much as we may like to judge based on which is the prettiest, that's not what we're looking for! 

Horse A: Jellybean - 2017 Vintage Club Bonus Model - 500 made

Horse B: Merryweather - 2011 BreyerFest Single Day Model - 750 made

Horse C: Three Ring Circus Jade - 2006 BreyerFest Special Run - 1,200 made

Think about the age of each model, and how desirable they are. Who is sought after? How are we weighing numbers? When you're ready, my placings can be found under the jump. ↓

The BreyerFest Files: The 2026 Haul

📂 The BreyerFest Files📂

In place of the usual July monthly round up of additions, this month we have the 2026 BreyerFest haul! I didn't buy anything outside of BreyerFest week in July, so it made the most sense to schedule this post on my usual first Wednesday of the month. Most of my BreyerFest budget was spent on pre-arranged pickups, so I didn't buy much outside of my Special Runs. 

We'll start with the aforementioned pre-arranged pickups! We'll start with the Anton, as he's been a long time coming. My friend Kelly runs a cheapie string of models, and she ended up with a donation of the Vintage Club Anton. I was looking for one, and Kelly tends to sell off her Project Cheapie String models at the end of the project in order to fund the next project. I laid claim to the Anton, and we spent the next two years in a fun cycle of - "Well, I've found the box but no horse" "I have the horse but no box" "I have the horse and box but I can't make it to this show." Well, the horse reappeared to attend NAN this year, and I snagged him off Kelly before leaving Kentucky. (In theory I'm getting his box at Happy Kamper, as it pulled its disappearing trick again). 

Mini Tortuga is one I've been after for a while - I've had mini Jade and mini Mauvelous in my collection for a few years, and I've been looking to complete the set. I have a reputation at this point for my mini obsession, to the point my friends reach out to me when they have minis they're looking to sell. My friend Lindsay is one of those people - she was getting her sales together for BreyerFest, and asked if there were any minis I was looking for. I mentioned mini Tortuga, and with luck she not only had him, but also the COA, and was willing to split both out from the rest of the set. I also picked up the blue G1 Arabian Mare keychain from her. 

The Highland Pony keychain was another instance of a friend reaching out to me privately. I was very thrilled to add her - I've had the opportunity to add some great rarities to my collection this year, but I think I'm going to save her full story for a future Collection Spotlight!

Finally, I was able to pre-purchase both this year's VIP pin set and the 2008 BreyerFest lapel pin from yet another hobby friend. I was very excited about the 2008 pin, as it was my first BreyerFest! 

Next up, we have my room sales purchases. Like I mentioned, I didn't buy a lot this year, and I didn't do a lot of shopping in general. I was just too busy and too tired. I am very happy with what I acquired! I picked up the multimedia dun Swaps from a friend's room on the first Sunday night after picking up my NAN packet. The G3 Stock Horse is an upgrade for the one I have who went yellow - thanks Heather B. for that girl! The classic Man O'War and Quarter Horse Foal came from the same room - the Man O'War especially is in fantastic shape. The NIP Thoroughbred Mare came from another friend's room, and has different packaging from my other 90s NIP G1 Thoroughbred Mare. The two keychains likewise I picked up from friends - though on different nights! I've definitely been on a keychain kick lately - those early BreyerFest ones, I'm coming for you next! 

I wasn't planning on entering the NAN raffle. Then I had time to kill on Tuesday waiting for performance to finish (my stewarding part was done, but I carpooled with my friend who was a performance judge) so I looked over the raffle. This model in package specifically with the misprinted label has been a minor grail of mine for a while, so I dropped $30 worth of raffle tickets in for him. It paid off. I'm still figuring out the perfect show name for him, and I'm very excited for his show career to begin this fall! 

Time to move into the official event models, starting with the Celebration Horse and Event Stablemates. I had three tickets, two I purchased, plus one ticket as compensation for volunteering. I picked the nicest Flinka of my three and sold my extras to my BreyerFest roomies. The two tickets I purchased before the cutoff for included event Stablemates, which would mean I only had to track down the other two event Stablemates instead of paying for the full set from the Breyer Store and hoping they didn't sell out before I got there like last year. As it happens, my friend Sarah had two pre-cutoff tickets as well, and doesn't collect minis, decos, or glossies. I offered to take her two off her hands. My friend doing pickups while we were at the live show grabbed me nearly one of everything, but Helsinki wasn't available when she went through. She grabbed me two of the Lying Mare instead, and I exchanged one for one of my roommate's extra Helsinkis. Hobby friends are worth their weight in gold!

It was a light Special Run year for me! I did get three tickets because I always want two surprise models, and I went the master list route because it has never failed me. I was actually was glad Breyer revealed the variations early, as it meant I aimed to put two mules on my list instead of the mare and foal set. I did get all of my picks (two surprises, two mules, a Midnattssol, and an Oseberg). I was equally fortunate to pull all of the variations I wanted: glossy Oseberg and both the bell tail and swish tail mules. I ended up with two of the gold decorator Surprises, and I plan on selling both of those, so they didn't make it into the loot pic. 

It was a light store special year for me as well! I'm not a huge Idocus or Icelandic Pony collector, I don't trust my cats enough to collect the crystals, and the Classic was cute but not my speed. As per usual, I picked up the Stablemate set, and I needed the Gotland Pony for conga reasons. 

The mish mash of non-model acquisitions! I always try to pick up the magnet, enamel pin, plush, and mug every year. I snagged the sweatpants from the Breyer Store on Sunday on the recommendation of a friend. I finally made it to Old Friends this year and picked up the travel mug and the hat. It's not a BreyerFest without buying the chaotic nonsense Shauna has cooked up - this year it was genuine horse hockey bases and Clarion carpet pins. I also once again participated in the Heather jam trade (I got peach this year!) I picked up a nice pony pouch for my NIP Morgan. The Dala Horse keychain and rubber duck were both given to me by strangers while I was on volunteer shifts. 

For online models, I needed two Hygges and one Uff Da. I ordered one Hygge myself (fighting with the cell service in the Alltech to do so), and my friend Amanda grabbed my Uff Da and second Hygge. All three have arrived, though the ones Amanda ordered will be in a later additions post as they shipped to her and I don't have them yet. Both of my Hygges ended up being the decorator variation, so I'll end up buying the realistic at some point, keeping the nicer decorator, and selling the other. 

I'll talk more about my experience volunteering in next Wednesday's post, but suffice to say - I was both a NAN volunteer and a BreyerFest volunteer this year. It meant I spent the week with little free time and even less sleep, but it was a very rewarding experience! I was happy to give back to the hobby. I ended up with a lovely purple medallion to match my other purple medallions from 2022 and 2024, and the champagne variation of the volunteer model. His show name is going to be She Works Hard for the Money. (I'm the she. He's the money.)

Not technically a purchase, but my wonderful friend Brooke made me a tray for carrying minis at shows. I had a DIY one that I used myself, but when I was running Kelly's models at BOB this year, she had a tray made by Brooke. Brooke was also attending BOB, and I made sure to compliment her on how nice it was and how much I liked using it. She offered to make me one as well! If anyone is looking for a tray, I highly recommend reaching out to her (I can get you in touch with her!)

It's Friday, I'm a Guest Judge! Breed: Quarter Horse by Shannon Call

It's time for another guest judge on the blog! This month, I asked my friend Shannon to assess a Quarter Horse class. 

Quarter Horse

by Shannon Call

Greetings! I’m Shannon Call, and I’m so excited that Macie invited me onto her blog. I’ll be chatting about a class of Breyer Quarter Horse mares.

A little about me: I’ve been collecting OF Breyers for over 40 years—back when the hobby meant sending self‑addressed stamped envelopes to other hobbyists for price lists and mailing printed photos for photo shows. I didn’t attend my first live show until 2017, but once I did… that was it, I was completely hooked. These days I make it to about 3–6 live shows a year, including BreyerFest Live. I also judge photo shows for Great Lakes Congress (GLC). More recently I’ve started live show judging too, which I am really enjoying. I am the current NAMHSA Region 7 representative. BreyerFest is the best weekend of the year. 

On the real‑horse side of my life, I’m active in AQHA, competing in all‑around events and have shown at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress and AQHA World show. I serve as president of the Northern Ohio Quarter Horse Association which hosts three multiday AQHA shows each year. I also compete in western dressage and am trying out working equitation. My horse background goes back over 40 years and includes being a 4‑H kid (and later an advisor) growing up with my horses in my backyard, showing hunters and equitation with the Ohio Hunter Jumper Association, and riding on the Ohio University IHSA team for four years and two more as an alum in both hunt seat and western events.

Long story short: I love the competitive horse‑show world. I follow a lot of different breeds and disciplines, and the real‑world experience has helped me tremendously when it comes to showing model horses. 

Now let’s look at our quarter horse mare class, starting with some background on the breed.

The American Quarter Horse, with more than 6 million horses registered, is the world’s largest equine breed registry. They are characterized by their heavily muscled body, powerful shoulders and hindquarters, and strong, sturdy legs. Their heads are finely chiseled and of a flat profile with a wide forehead. 17 different colors are accepted by AQHA. Markings do not typically affect a Quarter Horse’s registration but any horse with excessive white will have a notation on its registration certificate as an undesirable trait and uncharacteristic of the breed. The only pinto pattern known to exist in American Quarter Horses is the overo pattern. This includes subpatterns splash and sabino.

Known for its versatility and depending on how the horse is bred for a specific discipline, quarter horses come in varying body types, but all maintain the general quarter horse characteristics.

General rules of balance in conformation regardless of type:

When viewed from the side, the length of the shoulder, back, and hip should all be equal. This is known as the rule of thirds.  The top of the neck should ideally be twice as long as the underside of the horse’s neck, or a 2-to-1 ratio. Ideally, the back of the horse should be shorter than its underline. The angle of the horse’s shoulder should be approximately 45°. When viewed from the side, the hip of the horse should appear square. The heart girth should equal the length from the underline to the ground.

As model horse judges we observe correctness of anatomy, biomechanics, and conformation, and may have to evaluate a model not standing square. We consider breed and gender characteristics.  Since we are judging model horses we are also going to evaluate model condition, finish and molding artifacts due to the sculpture and molding processes. 

For this clinic we have three quarter horse mares. All three models demonstrate strong quarter horse type.  Two are in action and one is standing square.  These three models are all in excellent condition and finish. Two models are matte and one is glossy.  The finish if it is clean and complementary to the model does not affect my opinion on placings. These three models are all strong contenders in a QH class and any of them could be the winner.

Also remember that a judging opinion is just that, an opinion. A judge should have a good understanding of correct breed conformation, but they may tend to gravitate towards a mold, type, finish or just have certain preferences; that is human nature and why there is always another show and the same model doesn’t win all the time.

Horse A: Kendall

Horse B: Wimpy's Little Chic

Horse C: Delia

Shannon's placings can be found under the jump. ↓