Collection Spotlight: Shannondell

 It's another Collection Spotlight day! Today we'll be looking at Shannondell - both the loose mane and the braided mane versions!

Shannondell was the second release in the 2016 Breyer Premier Club. Members could choose between the braided mane and tail or the loose mane and tail. He was done in a lovely dappled bay colorway with a blaze, high stockings, and a belly spot. 

Shannondell was sculpted by Karen Gerhardt as a trotting Shire gelding. As you may know, I'm a huge fan of Karen's work. Of the four collection spotlights I've done including this one, three of them have been on Gerhardt sculpts. 

The braided mane variation features gold and green bobs. The braided mane was the first one I picked up, way back in 2021. At the time, he was the most I'd ever paid for a model horse, but to me he was worth the cost. 

Braided Shannondell is known for developing seam splits, unfortunately. For a while mine was safe, but when I took him off the shelf to take photos for this post, I noticed him developing one on his belly. I may reach out to the restoration artist who repaired my Jazz Fusion to see if a repair is even feasible. I hope so, as he was not only one of my best show models, but he's also a favorite piece in my collection. 

The loose mane Shannondell took me a while to track down. For a while he was at a price that wasn't too out of hand, and then like most rarities in the hobby, his price started shooting up in the COVID years and after. I had resigned myself to having to wait to find one until the market cooled off. 

And then my close friend listed her silver NAN cookie copy for sale. He was way more than I had ever paid for a model, and though I was interested in him, at the time she listed him she was only looking for paid in full offers. I made the decision that if she ended up accepting time pays, I'd take him. Well, it took probably six months of time pays, but I brought him home in April at the River City Classic, where he immediately won his first NAN cards for me. The nicest part about owning him is I can still let his former owner know how he's doing. 

I think Shannondell may be my favorite Premier Collection release. He's proof that Breyer can pull off a "simple" color for the Club. I'm so glad to have finally tracked down both of them.