Christmas in July Meets the BreyerFest Second Chance Sale

Second Post of the Day

Just as the BreyerFest Second Chance Sale is scheduled to begin (today around 10:00 AM Eastern), my Christmas in July things have finally arrived.

Newport from the 2024 Stablemates Collectors Club. I really like this Stablemate mold and was thrilled to get him.

And I received the mint green Breyer holiday socks from last year or so.

After I lost all that weight, I find I am cold most of the time, and so I wear a lot of socks. Breyer's socks are nice ones and so I buy almost every pair they release. 

 As for the BreyerFest Second Chance Sale, if there are any Dalarnas,

then I may get another of those so I can gift it to Swedish/Canadian daughter-in-love Emily.

And I'd really like to have an Uppsala - the Semi-Rearing Stallion is my all time favorite mold, and having it available as a Stablemate now is awesome. Plus, Emily lived in Uppsala for a couple of years when she was in college and I like that connection to her. 

Other than that, I'm happy with what I've already gotten. If you're going shopping this morning, good luck! I hope you are able to get some things that you'd wanted.

Last call for the August Give Away! 

Entries close at 11:59 PM Eastern tonight. Comment to enter! 

More Goodies on the Way!

First Post of the Day

BreyerFest may only be a few weeks behind us, but since it finished, Breyer has really been putting out the products! One was Kiana, the Deluxe Collector Club free Stablemate who began shipping. 

It surprised some collectors who were expecting it to be delivered later in the year. And, there were some folks who were confused as to just what model this was and that it was being shipped now, saying they'd never had a chance to order it and then assuming they'd missed it, and more. 

Kudos for the collectors who stepped up to patiently and kindly share messages and information that clarified who the model was and made it clear that if you were a member of the Deluxe Collector Club, you had not missed out on the piece. 

Kiana is a beautiful piece.

The Proud Arabian Mare is such a lovely mold and having it shrunk down from Traditional size to Stablemate is awesome.

I received the matte and she arrived in excellent condition. (A little damage to her box, but not bad enough that I was worried about what she would be like inside.)

She has very subtle dappling, too, something that Breyer painters struggle with at times. 

My favorite PAM in my collection, the semi gloss mahogany bay, with Kiana.

Her face graces the 2026 Collector Club pin, too. I don't collect pins, but I do have a few. This one will go in my display case with my bridle rosettes.

Breyer announced to Vintage Club members that Drifter, the gambler's choice piece, was available to order.

I have never cared for the vintage Stock Horse Stallion mold but I do like the colors Drifter is in.

Grulla ( with nice shading and leg barring),

black leopard Appaloosa (I'm not fond of the dark head),

and chestnut overo.

Despite my love for Appaloosas, I am hoping I get the grulla but I won't be unhappy with any of them.

Mine is ordered and hopefully will arrive soon (and in a box that hasn't been squashed and broken open like the one my BreyerFest models were in!)

Breyer also had a Christmas in July sale, too, with some Collector Club exclusives Christmas items available.

I ordered Newport and some holiday socks, and I ALMOST bought a Zulu to replace the one I'd given Kate but then decided not to.

A surprising update is coming next.

Stay 'tooned!

We Sold the Farm!

First Post of the Day

We did it! At long last! We no longer are farm owners and it is a relief.

Originally bought by Craig's grandfather, it was inherited by Craig's father and aunt. The aunt disappeared in Florida in the 1980s leaving only a mailing address, and she refused to respond to any contact, leaving management of the farm to Craig's father, Cotton.

Cotton rented it out to a tenant farmer and paid the taxes on the land while mailing a check for his sister's share of the profit year after year. The checks were always cashed but we never heard a word or got any other response.

Then Cotton passed away, and Craig's mom Phyllis took over. She too tried to contact Craig's aunt but to no avail. 

When Phyllis died in 2016, the farm dropped into Craig's lap. For the last 8 years he has been managing the farm, renting it out, paying taxes, and setting aside his aunt's share of the profit after she stopped cashing the checks. (We learned later that she had died.)

For years Craig searched for his aunt, and a lucky search on Facebook a year ago brought him into contact with a cousin. And that got the ball rolling on the sale at last. The deal closed on December 30 and that was one bright start for us as the New Year began - no more farm to worry about!

In July of 2023 I wrote a blog post about the farm. Here it is below so you can see some pictures. While it had been in the family for three generations, we are not sorry to sell it. It is such a relief that Craig no longer has to manage it.

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Summer Gathering 2023: Our Farm

"Knee high by the fourth of July" is the benchmark farmers use to determine how tall their corn should be if it is growing as it should.

Looks like Leslie and Rick have gone well beyond the mark this year!

As for our corn, it is also doing well, although not nearly as well as Leslie and Rick's.

"Our corn" may have surprised you. I don't think I have ever mentioned that we own a farm. It's south of Lafayette and about 25 acres. The old farmhouse was razed along with a couple of smaller outbuildings years ago, and we have a farmer who rents the land from us and keeps it in corn or soybeans.

At the south end of the property is a beautiful woods that is thick and almost impenetrable.

A creek runs through the woods where Craig used to fish with his grandfather (the original owner of the property) when he was a boy. 

We inherited the farm in 2016 and haven't done anything with the land aside from keeping it in production and paying taxes, but if I were younger I might be tempted to use it for horses.

Recently the farm has become classified as prime development land. Unsolicited offers for it have been coming in from developers ever since. I'm amenable to selling, but several of our kids are keenly interested in keeping the land in the family. A trip out to see it while we were all gathered only fueled that desire.

What will we do? Hard to tell - the discussion is tabled for now. The land has been in the family for sixty odd years so I can see the kids' point.

Guess I'll be staying 'tooned on this one myself!

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Don't forget the Give Away! It ends tomorrow (Sunday) night at 11:59 PM Eastern. Comment on any blog post published Friday, today, or tomorrow to enter.

Up to win is this Stablemate Morgan, the foal inside the barn, and a gorgeous Hartland ebony woodcut Tennessee Walker.

Sales Post: Buckeye, the Dressage Mule

FOR SALE: Buckeye, the Dressage Mule. $37

Retired recently by Breyer but sold for $46.99 on Breyer's web site. Never removed from box. $37

Email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com if interested.

The Feast Leads to a Find

Last year I volunteered on School Day at The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. I checked in the teachers who were bringing their students there for a field trip and in between checking people in and answering questions, I got to know the other volunteers, Whitney and Jean.

I had no idea that that stint of volunteering would circle back to model horses.

Fast forward to July, 2022 and BreyerFest. (Whitney and Jean at the Feast.)

I had posted on my Facebook feed that I couldn't go to BreyerFest and that Liz was going to pick up my models. 

The next day I was surprised to get a message from Jean saying she had not realized that I collected and asking if I might be interested in buying some models from her daughter's old collection.  

This photo of them was included with her message. 

Jean told me that there were other models in storage that I could look at, too. 

We made arrangements for me to go over to her home the next day so I could look at what she had for sale.

I was intrigued by the photos of the donkey - it looked odd and I suspected it was either a copy or possibly a custom.

Turns out it was an oddity and home with me he came (along with several other pieces.) I'll talk more about him tomorrow - stay 'tooned!

Breyer's 70th Anniversary Tee Shirt

2020 is Breyer's 70th anniversary, and already we are being teased with snippets of offerings that will be terrific additions to our collections. (Those traditionals shrunk down to Stablemate size? Yes, please!!)

I could not resist buying a couple of things during their end of year sale, and when I saw this tee shirt, I clicked on it and put it in my shopping cart. But when I went to check out, the size I had wanted was sold out!

Bummed, I thought that I was out of luck. But then, I remembered that Teacher Daughter Lisa keeps telling me that I need to change my mindset about my size. I've lost a lot of weight, but I still look at clothes in sizes that are (she says) too big for me. Remembering that, I took a deep breath and clicked a size L. I was in luck - those were not yet sold out. But would it fit me?

I was nervous when it arrived, but I pulled it on over my jeans and was excited to see that it did - Lisa had been right!

The photos don't do it justice - the logo is a very tangible, smooth silver. I'm also a Moody fan so I love that they used Big Ben, and I prefer v-necks on my tees, so win, win, win!

Can't wait to see what else will be coming down the pipe from Breyer!