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.
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