News 2008-2009

The Great Lakes Congress' Youth Model Horse Show and Breyer Fun Day is set for Saturday, October 24, 2009, at the Huntley Park District cafeteria, 12015 Mill St., Huntley, Illinois. The model horse show is open to participants 18 or younger who pre-register and pay the $10 entry fee. A judging clinic will be among the activities. An exclusive, special-run Breyer model will be for sale there by Bentley Sales Co. All ages are welcome. To pre-register or for more information, see www.greatlakescongress.com.

Real-horse demonstrations, clinics, seminars, and a trade show will take place at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, November 12-15, 2009. For details, see www.equineaffaire.com.

The second annual Chicagoland Equestrian Lifestyle Expo & Holiday Market is slated for November 21-22, 2009, at the new Lake County Fairgrounds' Expo Center in Grayslake (Chicago), Illinois. This event sponsored by the Horsemen's Council of Illinois will feature equestrian-themed venders, information booths, and seminars -- but no real horses. The new fairgrounds is at the intersection of Peterson and Midlothian Roads In Grayslake, Ill. See www.HorsemensCouncil.org for information.

Gail Fitch
October 3, 2009

In 2010, BreyerFest will be held at the same locations as usual: The Kentucky Horse Park, and the Lexington Holiday Inn-North. Hotel reservations are already being taken for next year's company-sponsored model horse convention to be held,as usual, on a three-day weekend in the second half of July. (Last year, there was talk that BreyerFest would be moved or not held at all.) See www.breyerhorses.com for the schedule.

A model horse show to benefit a non-profit cat shelter in Lombard, Illinois, will be held Saturday, September 12, 2009, in northern Illinois. Show hostess Chris Wallbruch said the annual Meows and Minis show has raised over $8,000 for the shelter in the last six years. The show includes donated models and other items that are auctioned online. The in-person judging, similar to a real horse show, is open to mini-sized plastic, china, and resin horses under about five inches tall. For more information, contact Chris at: wombats@earthlink.net.

Wild horse and burro adoptions are scheduled for six locations in September 2009: Gunnerson, Utah, September 1; Boise, Idaho, September 11-13; Solvang, California, September 12; Blackfoot, Idaho, September 18-20; Gulfport, Mississippi, September 18-19, and New Castle, Indiana, September 18-19. The Wild Horse and Burro Program is a function of the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior. See wildhorseandburro.blm.gov or call 866-4MUSTANGS.

Gail Fitch
August 30, 2009



"Gold Coast" is a Hartland 9" series Three-Gaited Saddlebred customized in 2009 by Peggy Guinan (Copperearth Creations). Peggy's photos (above) capture the slightly metallic palomino color with a touch of dappling.
     Peggy specializes in impressionistically customized horses. Look at that reshaped and textured tail! These horses are not like factory models from Hartland, Breyer, or Peter Stone.

      Peggy Guinan is also a writer, and wrote about creating custom Saddlebreds in Hartland Model Equestrian, Summer 2007. She described the challenges of portraying action poses, and of working with styrene plastic, in Model Equestrian: Horse Collecting & Hartland News, Fall 2007. Both articles are illustrated with her work.
     Peggy has newly customized model horses available at (just about) all times. Get in touch with her at peggy_03037@yahoo.com.

July 28, 2009

          

February 6, 2009--This appaloosa (above) turned up near Hartland, Wisconsin, in January 2009. Have you seen one like it before? Any thoughts on what it might be? Let me know at gfitch AT tds.net. Thanks. Gail Fitch

January 5, 2009--A mail-in photo show to benefit the Made-in-Japan model horse club will be judged by club president Carolyn Winiarski on March 21, 2009. The show is open to all makes of model horses. Carolyn wrote, "I look forward to seeing everyone's models: Japans, Breyers, Peter Stones, ceramics, artist resins, and anything else you can find a class for."

The champion and reserve awards will include items from Country Artists, Cindy Neuhaus - Lakeshore Collection, Janet Bonney, Christy Allen, Lisa Bickford, and Aimee Kelly of Matriarch Creations. The raffle prizes will include Webkins stuffed animals.

For class list and entry information and pictures of the awards, visit:

http://2009mijcbenefit.webs.com,

which is listed in the links section on the MIJ Yahoo board. For more information, email Carolyn -- CactusKido AT aol.com.

Jo Maness of Texas founded the Made-in-Japan Club in 1980. Since then, the club has held nearly 300 monthly photo shows, and registered thousands of models. A book published by the club illustrates over 1,000 different molds of china horses made in Japan and sold under dozens of different brand names since World War II. Metal horses made in Japan, and some non-Japan ceramic horses are included.


January 21, 2009--Peter B. Schiffer, the publisher who opened the door to model horse books, died of a heart attack in December. He was 60. Since 1997, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., of Atglen, Penn. has published a Breyer book, three Hagen-Renaker / Maureen Love books, a general horse collectibles book, and a horse antiques book in addition to the two books on Hartland: Hartland Horsemen and Hartland Horses and Dogs. No other publisher comes close to having so many model horse books in its catalog. While Mr. Schiffer is gone, his widow, Nancy Schiffer, and son Peter N. Schiffer, assured the company's authors and book sellers that they "remain dedicated to publishing great books."



news from 2008


New Model Equestrian Magazine Released
. Issue 14 of Model Equestrian: Horse Collecting and Hartland News was released in December 2008. See Home Page, Catalog, and Order Form for more information.

Chicago Equestrian Expo Nov. 22-23, 2008
. The Horsemen's Council of Illinois will present the Chicagoland Equestrian Lifestyle Expo & Holiday Market on November 22-23, 2008, at Arlington Park Racecourse, Arlington Heights, Ill. The event is billed as "a new all-breed, multi-discipline educational and shopping event." It will be entirely indoors.

The facility does not have room for horses, but participants will be able to shop at up to 300 booths on the grandstand's main level, and attend seminars on the grandstand's upper level. Ten sessions with a choice of three seminars each, with topics such as "Bit Basics" and "The Horse in Art," are slated for Saturday. Six sessions are planned for Sunday.

The Expo hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Admission is $6 for one day and $10 for both days. Tickets can be ordered in advance. At the door, only cash will be accepted. Online, see www.HorsemensCouncil.com and click on the "Equestrian Lifestyle Expo" logo. Four nearby hotels will offer special rates: Hotel Indigo, Courtyard by Mariott North, Jameson Suites, and Red Roof Inn.

November 6, 2008


May Date for Stone Horses Fair.
The Stone Horses Country Fair will be May 15-17 in Shipshewana, Indiana. The itinerary includes a model horse show to be held at the convention center at the Shipshewana Town Center. For more information, see www.stonehorses.com or email customerservice@shipshenet.com.

Another Model Equestrian Coming Soon!
Another Model Equestrian Coming Soon!
Whew! BreyerFest 2008 is now history. Reports on BreyerFest will be included in the next issue of Model Equestrian! The other topics are to be announced!
August 11, 2008


Equine Art Education Center Opens.
A model horse museum opened in California on May 17, 2008, but closed in 2008, reportedly due to security problems. The museum was on the grounds of the Coyote Springs Ranch in Cathey's Valley, California, in Mariposa County, southeast of Sacramento. The ranch, which is owned by Theresa Castaldi and Patricia and Larry Oakanders, is the site of riding and roping events. See www.coyotespringsguestranch.com.

The museum, which housed the model horse collection of Sheryl Leisure, is slated to reopen in nearby Mt. Bullion, California, as part of an equine "art and learning center." Leisure will teach art, including painting model horses, and a riding instructor will give lessons. Leisure has designed model horse colors for Hartland, Breyer, and Peter Stone, and has hosted model horse shows. The grand opening in May 2008 was marked by a model horse show and swap meet. Another model horse show is scheduled for late February, 2009. See www.modelhorsejamboree.com.

(Edited December 23, 2008, and February 7, 2009)
For the third week of July, Lexington, Kentucky, is “model horse central.”
National Model Horse Show, 2008

The 2008 North American Nationals (NAN), the largest model horse show in the world, is July 15-17 (Tuesday-Thursday) at Heritage Hall in the Lexington convention center, 250 W. Main St., downtown. NAN is produced by model horse hobbyists, and is not a sales event for model horse manufacturers. Model horse shows are judged meets, similar to real horse shows. The elaborate, organized hobby of model-horse showing is nearly  40 years old. Models qualify for NAN by winning first or second place at numerous designated shows around the country. By July 7, registration was closed. For more information, see www.namhsa.org/nan.htm.

Equilocity, 2008
Equilocity is the Peter Stone model horse company’s event. A pre-Equilocity sale of special run models  will be July 14-16, Monday through Wednesday evenings at the Lexington Holiday Inn—North, 1950 Newton Pike, Lexington.
     Equilocity, itself, is July 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday), and takes place at the Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa, 1800 Newton Pike, Lexington.  Highlights for 2008 include the early-bird sale of Stone models on Friday from 6 a.m.-8 a.m., dinner Friday evening (with a mini model included) for $49.99, and model show on Saturday. The show’s entry fee is $40, and is open to all brands of models.  The dinner and show still have openings.
     During Equilocity, the Stone company will sell Equilocity special-run models in two locations. At the Marriott, the hours are: Thursday from noon-8 p.m., Friday from noon-6 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.  At the Holiday Inn—North, 1950 Newton Pike, the hours are:  Thursday from 4-10 p.m., Friday from 7 p.m.-midnight, and Saturday from 4 p.m.-midnight. For more on Equilocity, see www.stonehorses.com.

BreyerFest, 2008
BreyerFest 2008, held by Reeves International, manufacturer of Breyer models, will draw thousands of model horse collectors to its events July 18-20 (Friday-Sunday) at two Lexington locations: the Kentucky Horse Park, 4089 Iron Works Parkway, and the Lexington Holiday Inn—North, 1950 Newton Pike.
     Midnight on July 7 was the order deadline for a three-day ticket ($85 per adult, $55 per child). One-day tickets will be available at the gate ($20 per adult, $10 per child), but do not include the special BreyerFest model, whose mold will be broken afterward.
     BreyerFest tickets include admission to the Kentucky Horse Park and its museums and outdoor exhibits, including living horses and life-sized statues of horses. The KHP is an educational theme park operated by the state of Kentucky. It hosts many real-horse and dog events throughout the year. On BreyerFest weekend, model horse collectors will be sharing the grounds with the admission-paying general public, including people who are interested in horses, but don’t know what a “Breyer” is. Portions of the KHP grounds are rented for non-horse purposes, too. On the Saturday evening of BreyerFest 2004, a church-sized, grassy area near the Man O’ War statue was the site of a local wedding.
     Each morning and afternoon, the covered arena will feature real horse exhibitions, and side areas of the arena will be occupied by a model-horse and real-horse vendor’s trade fair, and the Breyer company store.
     At the Horse Park’s Grand Pavilion, the open model horse show is Friday, children’s and youth model horse show is Saturday, and benefit auction of Breyer models is Saturday evening, 6-8:30 p.m.  Participation in the shows requires pre-registration and an entry fee. Limited to 15 participants each, 31 of the 32 BreyerFest workshops on model horse painting, sculpting, and other topics had sold out by July 7. Each workshop was $30.
     BreyerFest activities at the Holiday Inn-North are: the Artisans' Gallery sale Thursday through Saturday, 5:30-10 p.m. and the Swap Meet Friday only, 7-11 p.m. Collectors sell from their hotel rooms, also.
     Locations are Close Together
The Mariott Inn, site of Equilocity, is a block from the Holiday Inn-North, the site of some BreyerFest events, a Peter Stone sales room, and evening sales by collectors from their hotel rooms. Both hotels are in a commercial, suburban location less than a 15-minute drive from the Kentucky Horse Park, which is out in the countryside, and from the Lexington convention center, the NAN location, which is downtown.  Some model horse fans will visit all four locations for the three events.  Hotel rooms around Lexington fill up fast for the third week of July.

               Summary of NAN-Equilocity-BreyerFest Week in Lexington, July 14-20, 2008:

Monday                                  Stone sale at Holiday Inn (evening)

Tuesday & Wednesday   NAN show downtown; Stone sale at Holiday Inn (evenings)

Thursday                               NAN show downtown; Stone sale at Holiday Inn
                                                    Equilocity at Marriott
                                                    Artisans' Gallery sale (5:30-10 pm) at Holiday Inn
 
Friday                                      Equilocity early-bird sale (6-8 am) and evening dinner  at Mariott;
                                                     BreyerFest at Horse Park, including open show, vendors, and Breyer store
                                                     Swap meet (7-11 pm) and Artisans' Gallery sale (5:30-10 pm) at Holiday Inn

Saturday                                Equilocity model show at Mariott
                                                     B’Fest at Horse Park, incl. kids’ show, vendors, Breyer store, evening auction
                                                     Artisans' Gallery sale (5:30-10 pm) at Holiday Inn

Sunday                                    BreyerFest including vendors and Breyer store

Check the Breyer web site and/or your Breyerfest tickets for details including:
• The time of a drawing at the covered arena Saturday (you must be present to win)
• Time span and location for picking up the BreyerFest model at KHP
• Your individual time slot to shop in the special models lane at the Breyer store.  
(Shopping for regular products in the Breyer store is unlimited.)       

While in Lexington, horse lovers may also want to visit Thoroughbred Park, an outdoor sculpture museum at Main & Midland in an older part of the city. A tribute to the Thoroughbred racing industry, Thoroughbred Park was featured in Hartland Model Equestrian News, Summer 2007.           

—— July 9, 2008 ——



BreyerFest in Kentucky in July

BreyerFest 2008 will be July 18-20 at the Kentucky Horse Park, near Lexington.

Horse Fair Arrives in April

The 2008 Midwest Horse Fair is April 18-20 at the  Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
 See www.midwesthorsefair.com

Hartland Books Reach Milestone

February 25, 2008, was the 25th anniversary of publication of the first Hartland book. The title was  Hartland Horses and Riders. It included color photos, and chapters on company history, Hartland artistry, riders, horses designed for riders, and separate chapters for each series of regular horses (horses designed to represent breeds). This book went through numerous printings and editions before being divided into two separate books. Hartland Horsemen and Hartland Horses and Dogs are published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd

Illinois Model Sale and Show Planned

The Great Lakes Congress model horse club is holding a garage sale for model horse and horse items on February 23, 2008, in northern Illinois.

The club's big annual show will be April 4-6, 2008, in St. Charles, Ill. For details, see www.greatlakescongress.com .

—— January 27, 2008 ——

Breyer Tour Visits Wisconsin

In Hudson,Wisconsin, a special model will be available at the Midwest Breyer Tour stop April 26 at the Best Western Hotel. See www.freewebs.com/breyermidwesttourstop/index.htm

Tack Sales Include Hartland Books

Both Hartland books will be available at two Wisconsin tack sales this spring. On Sunday, March 16, 2008, I'll be at the Washington Co. 4-H Saddle Club tack sale  at the Washington Co. Fair Park pavillion, West Bend.

On Saturday, April 5, 2008, I'll have a table at the Racine Co.4H Horse & Pony Project tack sale at Yorkville School in Union Grove. Model horses, including Breyer, Hartland, and other brands, will also be available.

(Dangerously slippery weather prevented my attendance at the Waukesha Co. tack sale in February. This has been a winter for the record books.)

Celebrated John Henry's Birthday

The Kentucky Horse Park held a public, memorial birthday celebration for the late race horse John Henry on
March 9, 2008. Chocolate donuts, his favorite food, were served, according to a news release from the horse park.

For more on the Kentucky Horse Park,see www.kyhorsepark.com .

—— March 11,2008 ——