BreyerFest 2021 - Saturday

Saturday morning was wet and the skies were drizzling on and off. Not wanting to miss a moment of BreyerFest, I hurried Pepper across the street to the park for her morning walk and frisbee chasing, then hopped into my car and zipped out to the barn to check Abby. (She was fine and happy to see me.)

I was dressed for BreyerFest again in my Great Lakes Congress Virtual BreyerFest 2020 shirt (made by Dani Youdris last year) and horseshoe necklace and earrings. 

The live broadcast had already begun by the time I got back home, so I rushed up the stairs to my office and logged into BreyerFest on my laptop and desktop computers. (Grabbed a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup while I waited!)

I set the laptop for the live broadcast, then clicked onto Kylee Parks' STAG 2.0. Oh! My! Goodness! It was absolutely incredible!

If you haven't seen it, make sure you do. You will not be sorry.

I used L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in my classroom and have read all 15 books in the series so to see such a wonderfully done, hobby connected video had me laughing in delight. (My favorites are Ozma of Oz, Glinda of Oz, and Tik-Tok of Oz.) My students loved these books and more than one read all 15 of them!

The live broadcast was a mix of things shown yesterday as well as new interviews and reveals. It was fun to see the Mares in Black, Jackie Rossi and Heather Malone, chatting about their podcasts.

Seminars that I watched included Anne Fields' Dolls and Performance. Anne has a gift and makes the most beautiful dolls - you ask her to create something, and she will figure it out. 

But she also understands how the dolls need to work with their model horse counterparts, and puts together the most beautiful performance entries. (This is a screenshot from the seminar of a photo taken by Jennifer Buxton.)

Anne took us through a variety of dolls and showed how their articulation differed and then how those differences enhanced or hurt the doll's ability to be used as a performance doll. (When she showed us how to articulate a Breyer youth doll's ankle, I jumped in my chair when she cut the foot off!) 

I watched Liz Isham Cory's Introduction to Collecting and Showing Model Horses 

where my Freeman Leidy made another appearance

along with this beautiful showcase collection Indian Pony with warpaint still in its box. 

Liz brings this piece to Happy Trails every year - here it is with its buckskin counterpart on the piano in my dining room. I always hope she will forget to pack it in her tub when she goes home. Haha!

I ended the day on the couch eating my leftovers from the previous day's jaunt to Bob Evan's and watching the Celebration of Horses video. 

Some interesting things to wrap up the day:

~ People in 125 countries were online and attending BreyerFest. (Now, there's a reason to continue having a virtual component for future BreyerFests!) 

~ All the seminars, videos, etc. will be available through the end of the month. 

~ The general consensus is that the Archive Room tours are highly popular. 

~ Models and merchandise were beginning to sell out Saturday afternoon. 

BreyerFest 2021 - Friday

I'm an early riser, but I got up even earlier (4:30 AM!) on BreyerFest Friday. I was simply too excited to sleep any longer. I knew I'd be tired as the day progressed, but since that's true to the in-person BreyerFest experience, I didn't mind.

With the countdown running on my laptop, I made sure I had gathered everything I would need

(and I mean NEED, haha!) and settled in at my desk in the horse room.

Last year I learned that the live broadcast was a must-watch, so I had it running on my laptop while I shopped and attended seminars and presentations on my desktop.

Almost immediately after logging in, there was a problem - I could access my special run models and the store, but I couldn't put a thing into my cart. I texted a couple of friends who confirmed that they were having the same problem. 

One advised me to switch my browser to Firefox, and that did the trick. I snapped up my special runs, bought the crystal horse (Prisma), Kaleidescope, and the Stablemate set, and was ready to move on to seminars and other things.

The live broadcast was amazing, and I was thrilled to be with the Kellys when they went into the archive room with hostess Kimber Goodwin.

My friend Allison Pareis and I were texting back and forth at times, super excited at what we could see on the shelves in the archive room.

I was also watching seminars, and in the Hands-on-Hobby section, I discovered a seminar for making haversacks (pony pouches) presented by Terry Heath. Curious, I clicked on that one and began watching.

There are many ways to make a haversack, and I could tell right away that Terry was a skilled sewist and knew what she was doing. She takes a very different approach to making them from me, and I enjoyed seeing how she made them.

Her haversack cutting dimensions were different from mine, too. They are a little wider and a lot shorter. (Part of that is because I do a deep flap on mine.) If you're looking for some good instruction on how to make your own haversacks, watch Terry's video - it is worth your time.

Meanwhile, Allison and I continued to fan girl over what we were seeing in the Breyer archives.

At 1:00 I did the Meet and Greet with Kathleen Moody on Zoom.

Kathleen and I have been friends since the late 1990s and when she sculpted her Moyles horse, Rockwell, in 2001, she asked for input from a few friends, including me. (I shared that story in a series of blog posts in June, 2017. They are here if you want to read about how Rockwell came about.)

When Rockwell went into production, Kathleen gifted us each with a resin Rockwell as a surprise. She is a generous lady.

After the Meet and Greet with Kathleen, I went to see the contest entries. The Living Art Costume Contest had some amazing entries! My absolute favorite was Lisa Esping's interpretation of George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte (1884.) (Photo shared with me by Lisa - thanks, Lisa!!)

My connection with the painting goes back to my childhood - my elementary school lined the hallways with art, and this picture was one that had particularly fascinated me as a child.

I remember wanting to join those people on the banks of the river and enjoying the sunshine. (Photo from Etsy.)

After looking at all the living art interpretations and then the diorama entries (equally fabulous!) I headed over to the Seminars tile and clicked on Liz Cory's Hobby History.

Like me, Liz's hobby involvement goes back to the early days of the hobby but I never fail to learn something new in her seminars!  (It was fun to see photos of my models in this seminar, too.)

For dinner, I decided to see if I couldn't replicate some more of the BreyerFest experience. In the early days, the only restaurants close to the host hotel were Waffle House and Denny's. We don't have a Waffle House here, but we do have a Denny's.

But Craig and I chose the restaurant next door - also a connection to BreyerFest for us.

When Craig went to BreyerFest with me in 2019, we went to Bob Evans for dinner. And since neither one of us is overly fond of Denny's, we chose that instead as a nod to the past. You can see that I "dress" for BreyerFest, but you can't see my shoes in this photo.

My live show shoes! They're getting old and worn, but not to worry, I bought two pairs when I got these.

A final comment - last year I was grateful that Breyer held a virtual event, but because of issues with shopping (refresh, refresh, refresh for hours) I didn't get to chat with my friends at all. I felt isolated and alone, even lonely.

(Screen shot from Liz Cory's Hobby History; I'm on the middle bottom holding a Freeman Leidy circus horse.)

This year, the shopping went smoothly and I did not spend hours at the computer trying to buy my models. I was able to relax and text friends throughout the day, comparing notes, commenting on what we'd seen or bought, and just enjoying the shared experience that BreyerFest is supposed to be.

The first day of BreyerFest was awesome; I can't wait to see what today brings!

It's Pony Time!

It's pony time! And to celebrate the start of BreyerFest, here's a ditty by Chubby Checker called just that - Pony Time! 

I stumbled across this song by accident while looking at some of the musicians Music City Son Cole has worked with in Nashville, but it sure fits the way I am feeling this morning as I wait for BreyerFest to open at 10:00! (Lyrics below.)

Cole with Chubby Checker at IEBA a few years ago.

Happy BreyerFest, all!

Pony Time recorded by Chubby Checker, 1961, lyrics by John Berry and Don Covay

It's pony time, get up
Boogety, boogety, boogety shoo...

Hey now let's party with the union hall,
It's pony time when ya hear this call,
So get with it,
Don't quit it,
Get up.

Do the pony with your partner,
With a big boss line,
Well anyway ya do it,
You're gonna look real fine,
So get with it,
Don't quit it,
Get up.

Now ya turn to the left when I say gee,
You turn to the right when I say haw,
Now gee, ya ya baby,
Now haw, ya oh baby, oh baby, pretty baby,
Do it baby, oh baby, oh baby,
Boogety, boogety, boogety, boogety shoo.

Gonna see little Suzie, who lives next door,
She's doin' the pony, she's takin' the floor,
Eeea ah, so get with it, don't quit it, come on,
Boogety, boogety, boogety, boogety shoo.

Do the pony with your pardner,
Oh in a big boss line,
But anyway you do it,
You're gonna look just fine,
So get with, Don't quit it,
Come on. Eeeaaah

Now you turn to the left when I say gee,
You turn to the right when I say haw,
Now gee, ya ya little baby,
Now haw, ya oh baby, oh baby, pretty baby,
Do it baby, oh baby, oh baby,
Boogety, boogety, boogety, boogety shoo.

BreyerFest - the Tent Dinner

(Second post of the day.)

Liz Cory shared this photo with me from 1993 of the BreyerFest tent dinner. That's Liz with her mother, Caroline Isham, who was a huge supporter of the model horse hobby.

Proof, folks, that BreyerFest used to be small enough for Breyer to provide a dinner to participants. 

Hard to believe that now when you think of the numbers attending in-person in 2019 (upwards of 30,000) or hear how many hits Breyer got last year on the virtual BreyerFest site. (3,000,000, I think?)

Less than 24 hours to BreyerFest!

BreyerFest - a Gathering Place for Friends

Here's a look back at one of the very best parts of BreyerFest - meeting up with hobby friends from all over the world.

1999 BreyerFest with Stephanie Clift, Kathy Bateman, and Beth Dickinson. (Love those fanny packs!)

At the Clarion with Jennifer Buxton in 2017.

Two master tack makers - Susan Bensema Young and Kristian Beverly during the evening room sales at the Clarion. (2017 or 2019)

Lakeshore China's Cindy Neuhaus and me, 2012 or 2014.

Beth Dickinson and me, 2017. Beth and I have been friends since 1971.

Me with the matriarch of Hagen Renaker collecting, Nancy Falzone, in 2019.

Brenda Metcalf and me, 2019.

Fellow Hoosier Allison Pareis, 2019.

Liz Cory (This was taken in her home; I could not find a single photo of us together at BreyerFest but she is one of my dearest hobby friends and I had to include her!)

Yvonne Rott and me in 2019.

Gathering together with hobby friends that I only see once or twice a year is my favorite part of BreyerFest. We won't get that opportunity this year, nor did we get it last year. That will make 2022 BreyerFest all the sweeter.

BreyerFest Changes

BreyerFest started small in 1990 with only 1,000 Dinner models and roughly the same amount of attendees. Dinner was served in tents on the ground at Kentucky Horse Park, and most of what you did was shop from the vendors on the concourse, visit the horses that were on-site at the park, and maybe go through the museum and gift shop. 

How things have changed! Breyer takes over the park and is visible absolutely everywhere.

There are still vendors on the concourse of the covered arena but now people must squeeze around each other as they shop. (In 2019, there were folks on stilts walking on the concourse; I could only hope they didn't get bumped in the crowd and smash into  display or the crowd!)

Seats for the live horse demonstrations in the covered arena used to be easy to find. This shot shows how packed it is now.

Shopping in the covered arena is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

The shopping for Breyer's offerings has changed, too. No more standing in long lines at certain times to get your Dinner/Celebration model, but for the special runs, it is madness.

You receive a number with your ticket and then go stand by the sign closest to your number at an assigned time. Breyer draws a number, and that number becomes number 1, and you shop in that order. 

One thing that hasn't changed over time is this:

Running into your hobby friends. (Me with Yvonne Rott at the Clarion in 2019.) More on that wonderful aspect of BreyerFest tomorrow.

Two more days, folks!! Tick! Tick! Tick!