Trying to Keep Up with Breyer

So, SO much is going on with Breyer recently. (No complaints from me.) But I have not been able to keep up with all the news due to the Feast, so I am currently playing catch up.  You may already know about some of these announcements, but for me, it helps me stay on top of Breyer happenings to write about them. Here goes:

BreyerFest 2027

Keep an eye on the BreyerFest blog - The Breyer Events team went to Italy and has been posting information about various places in the country.

 The most recent post dropped yesterday and my guess is there may be more to come. I am enjoying the glimpses into Italy that Breyer is giving us. 

The BreyerFest 2027 Celebration Model was announced  October 22. It's Soldano, a blue roan Murgese Stallion.

The Celebration Model for BreyerFest 2026, Corgi Hill Flinka, was the first Celebration Model I'd genuinely wanted in years. Soldano is right up there with her - I am very excited about this beautiful piece.

The Vintage Collector Club

Membership for the 2027 club opened to those of us who are already members of the 2026 Vintage Club.  Only 1200 memberships are available, and with the announcement of Lady Grey as one of this year's club offerings, my guess is that the club will sell out fast.

Done on the very popular Proud Arabian Mare, 

she has an interesting history as a nod to early customs and is lovely. I renewed my membership as soon as I received the renewal notice. I've been a member of the Vintage Club since it started and have never regretted my annual membership.

Vintage Club Optional Piece & a Special Run

The Vintage Club also offered its last optional piece, Mabel.

She comes in glossy charcoal (1100 available), but 100 randomly shipped matte pieces will be sent out, too.

I liked her and I went to order her, but stopped short when I saw her price.

Breyer crossed my personal spending limit with that price.  Have I paid that or more for other models before? Yes. But they were worth their price to me when I looked at what I'd like to have in my collection.

Mabel is lovely and I do like the mold, but I have other things I'd like to buy that, in my opinion, are worth their asking price. And to me, having Mabel in my collection is not worth $160.

The Collector Club Winter Decorator

Breyer also released its Winter Decorator, Breckenridge. It's a holographic purple filigree with resist dapples on the Smarty Jones mold.

Another Collector Club special, 1200 made, and priced at $145.

Not for me - I don't care for the mold or the color and that's another price I am not interested in paying.

Good bye to a Beloved Model

The Retired List for 2026 was released with Brookside Pink Magnum topping the list. He's been in the regular run line-up since 2012. Fourteen years!

I got mine when he first was released. I was 100 pounds heavier, still teaching, and did not have grey hair.  (Well, I did; I just kept it colored. LOL)

I'm a little sad to see him retired, but it has been a long run.

The Premier Club 

The Premier Club 2027 is also open for membership. The teaser horse is Fresco. I've heard mixed reviews of the piece, many of which center around the tail. I'm not overly fond of it myself, but I know it is there to help balance the model and prevent it from toppling over. 

I've never had any interest in joining the Premier Club so I don't follow news about it very often.

The Stablemates Club

Also open for new members is the Stablemates Club. I love how Breyer is shrinking down many vintage Traditionals. (Case in Point? Brumby.) But I'd rather buy ones I want second hand and not have to buy them all.

I read through information about the Stablemates Club and the Premier Club, but I saw nothing that said that membership was limited to only a certain number of collectors. Unlike the Vintage Club which is limited to 1200. Hmmm. Interesting.

Breyer's 2026 Pony for Christmas

At first I was interested only in the blanket that Marley was wearing. (Blankets are a collection within my collection, an ever growing collection. Hah!)

But it was when I saw the model without its blanket that I did a double take and then immediately sent that picture to my sister Leslie.

She saw what I saw and, like me, was a little teary about it.

There is an uncanny resemblance of Marley to our gelding, Nick.

The only horse I ever trained from start to finish, he was an old soul in a young body and very, very gentle. Unflappable. A sweetheart of a guy. 

That's why 6 year old Jenny is holding him for the photo and not Flame (who was the smallest horse but a mean girl.) He was happy to just hang out and go where you wanted him to go. A beloved boy who never bit or kicked. 

He did break my finger once, but it wasn't his fault. I'd fallen next to him, throwing my hand out to catch myself. He stepped on my hand and broke a finger. The middle one. Of course. And I was in a cast for six weeks with that middle finger up in a gesture I didn't use then and still don't. (At 15 I was mortified. Now it makes me laugh.)

Anyway, I bought Marley not just for the blanket, but even more because Marley is the dopple ganger of a beloved horse of mine.

Brumby & Clothing

I finally got a Brumby! I tried several times only to find him sold out. So when I saw he was back in stock, I popped him into my cart without a second thought.

Except for shipping. It was going to be a lot for just a Stablemate. So, being a good steward with my money (says she who won't buy Mabel but will buy things to save money on shipping. Hey, it makes sense to me!) I also bought a shirt and a jacket. 

I love the color and the fabric is very comfortable.

The jacket is also super soft and warm, but not too heavy. I've been wearing it in the house when I feel chilly.

Brumby is sold out again. But, the Stablemates Singles Six Piece Assortment | Series 3 contains him and that is still in stock.

That's one way to get him, but I just checked the retired list for 2027 and Brumby is not on it. That means he will come back in stock again if you wait. Just keep checking for him.

One thing I am skipping this year.

The new Mini Whinny advent calendar. 

I've enjoyed these in the past years, but I'm good. (I could always reuse one of the others I have - I don't remember what is behind each door!)

As far as I can tell, that's all the Breyer announcements of late. Well, the October Collector Club newsletter dropped with its usual "what model is this?" teaser and a give away of a set of two race horses and Harley. But I think I covered everything that I have missed due to The Feast of the Hunters' Moon.

Stay 'tooned. I've got a draft about Mustangs in the works!

Dad's Slides: Nick

St. Nicholas (named so because he was born December 23) was a Tennessee Walker/Thoroughbred cross that we bought as a two year old stallion. He came from the same breeder who sold us Flame. Why we bought two unbroken horses, one a stallion, for a thirteen year old girl and her younger sister is a mystery. But despite being an unbroken stallion, Nick was the kindest, gentlest horse I have ever known. 

 Nick getting a trim down by the river. My dad is holding him and talking to my uncle.

With his pink skin, blue eyes, and white coat, I thought Nick was an albino. But then one day when he had been out in the rain, I could see a faint blaze and that made me reconsider. I think he was actually a cremello or perlino.

We had him gelded within a week of his arrival. My youngest sister, Jenny, was six, and after the procedure was over, she turned to our father with a puzzled look and asked, "Dad, are YOU a gelding?" Even after all these years I can still hear his roar of laughter. 

I trained Nick to ride and he never gave me one bit of trouble - no bucks, no sass, just a willing acceptance to have me on his back and happy to meander wherever I wanted him to go. I was very lucky because, at thirteen and with most of my learning about training from books, I really didn't know what I was doing. 

 Leslie riding Nick with me behind them on Pokey.

We bought a beautiful black western saddle and bridle for Nick and rode him around the property and  trails in the woods. I'll never forget the time he went into a running walk with me - it was so smooth but I felt like I was flying along the trail.

I have a physical reminder of Nick that I've had since I was in 8th grade. I was cleaning his hooves, he lost his balance and wobbled, putting his foot down right onto mine. I lost my balance and fell, catching myself with my hands in the dirt. Nick took a small sidestep and stepped right on my finger.

He snapped the bone right under the knuckle and left a small scar after the broken bone healed. I could never fully bend that finger again. 

But I don't mind. The scar and stiff finger are tangible reminders of a sweet boy that I loved very much.

St. Nicholas - My Tennessee Walker

In 1970 my parents bought a home with nine acres on the Wabash River with the intent of fencing the property so that I could have a horse.  Oh, my, were we novices! I had read a lot of books about horse care and training plus taken riding lessons, and that's all the knowledge base that we had. I was only twelve, but my parents deferred to me when it came to the horses, making me responsible for all aspects of their care.

And you know what? It turned out okay.

Me with my beloved Amy, my sister Leslie with Irish Flame, a Morgan, and my little sister, Jenny, with St. Nicholas, or Nick as we called him in 1970.

Nick was a Tennessee Walker that my father bought for me as a two year old stallion in 1970.

He was an old soul - a mild mannered, gentle boy who was just halter broken when I got him. Naively, I didn't worry about that and told my father that I knew how to train a horse. After all, I had read a ton of books about the topic!

Named "St. Nicholas" because his birthday was December 23, he had a beautiful white coat. Using my vast knowledge of horses, I looked at his blue eyes, pink skin, and white coat and declared him to be an albino. Now as an adult, I think he really was a cremello. When he was wet, you could see a very faint blaze.

Even as a twelve year old I knew Nick's conformation was not the best. But he had the gentlest disposition of any horse I ever had. You literally could do anything with him, and he would follow you around like a puppy. He didn't spook, he didn't shy, he never bit or kicked, was not pushy, he just liked being out with you.

(He did break my finger once, but it was an accident. I was cleaning his hooves and he lost his balance, putting his foot down squarely on mine. I jerked, lost my own balance, and fell, catching myself with my hands on the ground. Nick shifted and stepped on my hand, breaking my finger.)

 Amy, Flame, and Nick waiting for me to bring their breakfast before school on a cold winter morning in 1973.

As I said, we bought him as a stallion, so right after he arrived we had the vet come out to geld him. I will never forget watching the process with my youngest sister, Jenny, who was six at the time. With a puzzled look on her face, she turned to our dad and asked, "Dad? Are YOU a gelding?" Oh, my, I can still hear his laughter - he absolutely roared.

I did actually train Nick to ride. One memorable day I asked him to change gaits and he surprised me by going into a running walk. I'd never ridden that gait before, and it was exhilarating! But I didn't ride him much (I had Amy and Cee to ride, too) so mostly he just hung out with the his pasture mates or socialized with us.

When I went off to college in August of 1975, my parents sold Nick and Flame. I do not know where they went and have often wished that I did. I've thought of them many times over the years, hoping that they went to good homes.

 If any horse deserved a good home, it was Nick.

Loose Lipped Mason

Mason is one of three black horses at the ranch. He's #7 in the herd order, ahead only of Yukon. Now that Dolly, Thunderbolt, and Yukon are out at Williamsport to give the ranch's pastures some relief, Mason and Abby have been palling around and I have gotten to know him better.

He's a very observant little guy, and if I don't call or whistle when I arrive, often he's the first to notice I'm there. He's quiet and gentle, and enjoys human company.

One thing that always makes me smile about him is a trait he shares with Nick, a horse I owned as a young girl - loose lips! (Kind of funny, too, that Nick was white, the opposite of Mason's color.)

 Look at that lower lip dangle - you can even see the inside of the lip.

 While standing at the fence... it hangs.

 This profile picture shows it practically flapping in the breeze! 

It's so loose, it hangs down and in front of his upper lip.

A little hard to see, but it's really loose here. 

Sometimes you can even see the spots that he has on the inside of that bottom lip!