Friday was a beautiful day to be at BreyerFest. Although it was hot, the humidity was not nearly as bad as it usually is in Kentucky, and that made for a much better day to walk around and see the sights.
The parkway was lined with signs depicting a color silhouette of all thirty of the BreyerFest dinner/celebration modes and the year they were produced.
We didn't go out until noon - I knew that my joints would not be able to last a full day walking around the park and my tent ticket wasn't until 3:00, so there was no need to be there bright and early. That made for an easier entrance into the park!
You walk through the BreyerFest "Arc de Collectors" to enter the park.
This is the place where the stablemates were handed out. I didn't get any (I prefer vintage traditionals) and I hear that Breyer ran out of them on Saturday. Rumor has it that they oversold tickets this year and did not have enough.
A couple of giant horse inflatables lined the path to the collectors club tent.
One was of the vintage jumping horse.
The Fighting Stallion - sort of. It was part of the display for the Spirit horses.
The entrance to the collectors club tent - an oasis where you could sit down, cool off, and have free water to drink.
You could also view the year's club offerings.
Continuing on down the path was a special area for kids. Breyer does a nice job of making BreyerFest a place where families can come and enjoy time together and with horses, model as well as real.
More statuary in the park - another popular place for photos!
Like I said, real horses...
The covered arena is a great place to shop and as always, was packed with horse lovers.
When I arrived, an agility dog competition/race was going on.
Oliver, the celebration horse, performed with several other horses and riders.
A gaited horse troop did, too.
It was a little hard to hear what the announcer was saying, so I don't know much about them. I think they were a mix of Missouri Fox Trotters and Tennesee Walkers.
A loudly spotted mule also performed for the crowd.
More shopping! This barn builder had some amazing dream-barns, even for an adult like me!
I built a two stall barn out of scrap wood when I was eleven and played with it a lot. Aside from wonderful memories, that barn did not survive my childhood.
My tent ticket was for 3:00, so I arrived early in order to be sure I got into line on time. This was the early crowd.
The drawn number was 394 - hooray! Mine was 510! I'd be in one of the earlier groups.
This was the crowd in line behind me.
Trying to be patient...
The lines started being let in at 3:00 and I was out and done by 3:10 and dismayed that Banner, the one piece I wanted, was already sold out for that tent time period. I found out later that this had been the norm all day. A friend of mine near the end of the line finally got into the tent and there was one, ONE!!, piece left to buy, and despite being told that you could buy two models while in the tent, she was only allowed to buy one of that piece.
Social media chatter among hobbyists had already begun that Breyer had goofed and did not have enough models for everyone. Still, I ended up with a pearly Andalusian and Natasha, so I did not leave empty handed. (Pictures to come.)
My plans had been to return to the Clarion and do some more shopping and chatting with friends, but I was really worn out and decided to have a quiet dinner with Craig and call it quits for the day. Besides we were leaving Saturday morning and heading down to Tennessee to visit with our son, Cole, and his family for a few days. Saturday was his birthday, and I wanted to spend it with him.
I'll post photos of my BreyerFest purchases after we get home on Monday.
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