Welcome to my new series - It's Friday, I'm a Judge!
I've noticed a need for judge education lately - at least in the regions I show in, there have been several new shows popping up, and they're always in need of judges. I avidly read Horse and Rider magazine when I was younger, and I always liked reading the Conformation Clinic portion of the magazine. I loved learning what judges look for in a horse, and I think that would be valuable in the hobby as well.
My goal for these posts is educating the hobby in aspects of judging, both for live shows and photo shows. I hope hobbyists take away information that they can apply, either as a shower in knowing what judges look for, or if they choose to dip their toes into judging themselves. I plan on posting these every other Friday, and I will be focusing on judging for OF Breyer breed and collectability, as that is what I have the most personal experience in (as well as what I focus on collecting!) As this series goes on, I hope to solicit outside photos for other divisions, as well as guest judges, as no two judges judge exactly alike. Judges weight factors differently, and that's a good thing!
Before we dive into our class today, I'd like to take a minute to highlight my credentials: My name is Macie and I've been collecting since 2008. My collection focuses on OF Breyer. I've been around horses in some capacity since roughly 2001. I was in 4-H for seven years, showed in IHSA in college, and was a working student at an eventing barn. I've photo shown model horses on and off since 2015, and have been live showing since 2022. I have had multiple overall champions in breed and collectability in both OF Breyer and OF Mini divisions. I started judging in a small capacity in 2022, and since fall 2024 I have judged at several shows, including Are You Kitten Me, the Happy Kamper Classic, the Big Orange Bash, and the River City Classic. I have also volunteered for NAN in 2022 and 2024, and did additional volunteer work for NAMHSA for BreyerFest 2025.
We're starting this series off with one of my personal favorite things: Breyer Mini Collectability!
Our entries today are for an Andalusian/Lusitano class at a double judged show. While some shows offer separate collectability divisions that judge like runs against like runs, I find it's much more common in the regions I show in for shows to be double judged for breed and collectability/workmanship. This means you could get extremely limited runs competing against rarer regular runs.
The Entries:
Take a minute, evaluate how you'd personally pin this class. Okay, you ready? Scroll down for how I'd pin it ↓
The Placings:
🥇1st: Horse B: Roo
Roo is an easy pin for first place - he's a run of 200 from the 2021 online Collector Club True Blue event. He's the rarest piece numbers wise in the class, and is the most desirable of the three options. Collector Club Event Stablemates are sought after, particularly the realistic colors.
🥈2nd: Horse C: Valerio
The second and third places are kind of a toss up - Valerio is a Gambler's Choice model on the popular mini Alborozo mold, but in the least popular colorway. However, I weighed the desirability of the molds in question when determining my placings. While the G3 Rearing Andalusian has fans, it's blown out of the water by the popularity of the mini Alborozo.
🥉3rd: Horse A: 20th Anniversary Alborozo
Coming in a close third is the Alborozo from the 20th Anniversary Commemorative Set. While he is a run of 500, I placed him lower due to the desirability factor. The 20th Anniversary Set is a highly sought after set, but this model is not one of the pieces that commands the highest prices on its own the way the mini Gladwin's Lucky Grey Lady does. Additionally, my copy has minor condition issues, most notably a small hoof rub on his back left leg. While in a larger class it might be overlooked, in this class of three it's enough to knock this guy down.
How did your placings align with mine? Keep in mind, judging is subjective! My opinion might not match up with yours, and that's okay.
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