How Do You Like My New 'Do?

If there's one thing that really defines Stone horses and sets them apart from other plastic ponies it's the seemingly endless factory customization options.  These days you can order ready-made and design-your-own Stones in almost any position, with any accessories and any mane and tail combinations as you can imagine.  Want a bat-winged unicorn stock horse Weanling with a roached mane and an extra-long tail?  There's probably some way you can get one -- if not now, then certainly in the near future.

But Stone horses came rather late to the customized hair party.  The first plastic horse company to offer molds with two different hairstyles was Hartland, whose Large Champ horses sported two hairstyles and Small Champ horses had a choice of two tails -- all available before 1956.  Later, the Chubby followed suit with two mane styles, the Standing/Walking horse came with either a roached mane or a wavy mane and three distinct tail types, while the Semi-Rearing Mustangs came with manes that stood up or laid down and with plain or fancy tails.  All these styles were available to collectors by 1960.  In general, the wavy, upright manes are considered to be more attractive than the flat or shaved ones, as they tend to add life and expression to the sculptures. 

Roached and wavy manes on Hartland's Standing/Walking horse

Breyer's first experiments in customization came with the unicorn customizations on the Running Stallion and Lying Foal (in 1982 and1985, respectively).  But discounting flockies, which not only had different hair but customized fuzzy bodies, the first Breyer horse to come in two different hairstyles was Halla (braided mane) when the loose-maned Boyla was released in 1992.  It's possible, though, that the braided Halla mold is no more, as only a couple of very limited release Hallas have turned up since Boyla's debut, and those may have been crafted out of old body stock.  Similarly, when Sherman Morgan got a new 'do in 2000, with the exception of one Breyerfest auction model in 2001, the old Shermie disappeared.

However, if we don't count these, or such minor retoolings as the reduction of the number of Gem Twist's braids or the tail being taken away from the butt of the Saddlebred Weanling, then Breyer's first horse with two 'dos available at the same time would be the Show Jumping Warmblood in 2004.

Now of course, it's becoming commonplace to find Breyer offering a variety of hairstyles on models such as Lady Phase (2005/2006), Strapless (2005/2008), the Cleveland Bay (2007/2012), the Stock Horse Stallion (2008), Newsworthy (2008), the POA (2009), the Justadream Arabian (2009), Roxy (2009/2010), Smarty Jones (2012),  Laredo/Brishen (2012/2013/2014), Idocus (2013/2016), Ruffian (2015), the Marwari (2015), and Shannondell (2016).

After Breyer, the next plastic horse company to experiment with interchangeable hairstyles was Creata Winner's Choice with their Gold Standard horses in 1997/1998.  Designed by Candace Liddy, the same sculptor who designed Creata Winner's Choice Micro Minis, the Gold Standard were Traditional scale models that came with extra manes and tails that could be combined as the owner/shower saw fit.  Some flaws in the plastics used for these sets made them tough to work with, but the problems related more to the fitting of tack than to the switching of the hair pieces.

ISH tails

Stone didn't actually show up at the customization party until the Ideal Stock Horse, Performance Horse, and Pony molds  were released in 1999/2000.  The Ideal Stock Horse (or ISH) was available in at least four mane and tail combinations (long mane, long tail; long mane, short tail; short mane, short tail; and short mane, long tail), the Pony in three combinations (English mane/tail, Western mane/tail and Combo English mane with Western tail), and the Performance Horse in two (short manes and roached manes).  Before long we had windswept manes, manes that flowed two ways, and manes that stood bolt upright.  The same mold could be modelled as a stallion, gelding, or mare.  Ears began to twitch and switch, heads changed positions, feet were shuffled, paint and finishing choices were offered -- the tweaking went on and on and on until we came to where we are today, when virtually no two Stones look exactly alike.  

Horses with fancy hairdos have come a long way, baby, from their roots.  Who would have thought that all this could come from a simple pair of ponies having good hair and bad hair days?

Stubborn about Mules

Ask any member of my family and they'll tell you that I'm mulishly stubborn.  I prefer to think of it as determined, but I guess it still amounts to the same thing.  I have been known to dig in my heels upon occasion (my family would say upon most occasions, but enough about them).

I like mules.  I like them a lot.  Whenever I watch old Westerns on TV I always pay attention to the mules -- those put-upon beasts of burden who never seem to get the respect I think they deserve.  As a little kid I coveted the Ideal Buckaroo! game and wept over the fate of Jumper the mule in Fred Gipson's Savage Sam.  I was too young when Francis the Talking Mule was in his hey-day, but I did rally 'round Walt Disney's Gus, and recently had occasion to smile at the direct-to-video kids flick Tommy and the Cool Mule.

Oddly enough, though, I have only three mules in my entire model horse collection, and one of those is for sale.

The reason is that I so seldom see mule figurines that I really like.  If you search eBay, you'll find that most mule figurines are comical caricatures of mules, and are often confused/conflated with similarly comical donkeys.  And among those available that attempt to accurately portray the mule, there are few that I actually like.

When I first started collecting Breyers I avidly desired an old Balking Mule, but there were none to be had at that time.  In 1999, when they reissued the mule in two colours, I grabbed up the spotted mule Molly, but over time I've become less enamoured with her.  The problem is that she really stands out on my shelves -- so much so that even non-model-horse-people pick her out in an instant when shown into the office where the bulk of my Breyers are kept.  She just doesn't look right there.

My Molly folly

I only ever had one example of the Breyer Stablemate mule, and I sold that one some time ago as I just don't particularly like that mold.  For some reason, they never seem to get the teeth right on that one -- they're either painted over or painted a blinding white, both so wrong.  Just as with Molly, it bugs me.  Brown Sunshine holds no appeal for me either, although I have liked some of the colours done on the mold, like the bay/brown pack mule.

That leaves me with two other tiny mules -- a miniature Hagen-Renaker and a Stone Chip.  The HR is a keeper, but some day I'm going to replace the Stone as the one I have is in that odd sort of rubber used for the Stone Schylling releases.  I'll probably do a Design-a-Chip (DAC) on the Stone mule as these usually end up cheaper than the pre-painted Chips and you have more control over the colours you get (all I'm looking for is standard mule bay/brown -- like Sheik, Cannonball, or Calvin).

My mini mules

Two mules that I do covet are the North Light and the Hagen-Renaker Designer's Workshop (DW) mules.  So far, however, I've never been in the right place at the right time to get either one.

As for the rest -- well, I'm stubborn about my mules.  I know there are some fantastic artist resins out there, but I'm not really into artist resins.  And as I've already indicated, decent Original Finish (OF) mules are hard to come by.

Somebody make me a good old Western saddle/pack mule in bay/brown with a mealy muzzle.  That's my mule -- and I'm prepared to dig in my heels until I find him.

Credit Where Credit is Due

With my interest in model horse history, one piece of information I love ferreting out is the names of the sculptors who created my model horses.

Not all companies are very free with this information, which I find disappointing.  I very much believe in acknowledging artists, and it seems churlish of some companies not to reveal this information.

Of course, some companies were formed before anyone kept good records on this information.  We know about Breyer's Chris Hess because he worked for the company for such a long time and even signed some of his work.

With Hartland, we know that the two main sculptors were Roger Williams and Alvar Backstrand, but it's difficult to determine if either one of them was solely responsible for the horses (although Roger Williams seems to be the most popular candidate for that credit).  However, when new sculptures were added under Paola Groeber's Hartland Collectables, those who crafted the new sculptures were properly acknowledged.

So some things are getting better.  We don't know who sculpted the early CollectA horses, but CollectA now proudly trumpets Deborah McDermott as their foremost equine sculptor.  Both the original Creata Winner's Choice Micro Minis and the later Breyer Mini Whinnies were/are credited to sculptor Candace Liddy.  And the late, lamented Copperfox was always very good about identifying its sculptors.

But there are still some gaps.  Although the information may be out there, I don't know who does the Schleich horses, the Safari horses, or other similar models (Mojo, Papo, Bullyland, etc.).

Do you know our sculptors?

And even Breyer leaves some extremely frustrating gaps.  Despite emailing Breyer and consulting with the Breyer History Diva, I have yet to learn who sculpted the three Equine Art Collection horses, nor do I know who sculpted the PVC Spirit and Friends set.  And although they may be tiny and a bit crude, I'd love to know who sculpted all the Stablemate companion animals.  After all, someone must have designed them ...

In general, though, it's the fan sites that provide the most useful information.  The Stone Horse Reference site is the place to go to find out where Stone's sculpts came from, and the Identify Your Breyer database and the related Identify Your CollectA database are indispensable resources for Breyer collectors.  For Copperfoxes, if you missed the names of their sculptors when their models were released, you can always look them up in the Copperfox Guide.

For clinkies, we have the Identify Your Hagen-Renaker database, the Lakeshore Collection Reference site, and the Pour Horse Pottery website; for Beswicks and Royal Doultons there are innumerable collectors' guide books available.
  
In addition, some china horse companies seem to be large largely the work of a single sculptor, like Animal Artistry's Donna Chaney and Cheval's Jan (Johnny) deBeer.  Other pieces are often signed, like those by Pamela du Boulay and Doris Linder.

The unfinished North Light Horses database provides information about those commercial resins. And even though the whole point of artist resins is that we know who the sculptor of each piece is, if you come to own a piece for which you do not have that information there are the Model Horse Artisan Guide, the Resin Horse Editions and the Equine Resin Directory databases to help you sort things out. 

I'm sure there's even more information out there if you're willing to search for it, but it takes a certain sort of dedication.  How much easier it would be if all model horse manufacturers would simply give credit where credit is due!

Breyer's Canadian Connections

Although it might not be obvious at first glance, the Breyer Molding Company and Breyer/Reeves have considerable Canadian connections.

Consider this: One of the earliest Breyer horse and rider sets was the Canadian Mountie and Prancer (1955-1959). When it comes to Canadians and horses, no image is more iconic than the Mountie on his horse.  But the RCMP horse was not the only equine to represent the Great White North in Breyer-land.

 Advantage Chrysler (signed on the belly by rider Linda Southern-Heathcott)

Notable Canadian horses who later got the Breyer treatment include the famous rodeo bronc Midnight (1996-1997), show jumpers Big Ben (1996-2004/2010), Advantage Chrysler (2000) and Hickstead (2012-2015), race horse and noted race horse sire Northern Dancer (2012-2014), champion Canadian Horse (breed) Cherry Creek Fonzie Merit (2016-2017), and finally another tribute to the Mounties with the RCMP Musical Ride ornament (2015) and the RCMP Musical Ride horse (2014-2015). 

(In late-breaking news, we just learned that another Canadian horse, Jonathan Field's Hal, will be honoured with a portrait model at Breyerfest 2019).

The RCMP Musical Ride horse, painted on the Big Ben mold, is just dripping in Canadiana, being a tribute to an iconic Canadian horse, painted on a horse that was originally sculpted as a portrait of a famous Canadian horse, with a maple leaf pattern on both hips.

The most Canadian Breyer ever?

While I'm not always pleased by the choice of molds Breyer used for some of their Canadian models (neither Northern Dancer on John Henry nor Hickstead on the Trakehner seem to me to have caught the essence of those horses), I consider Kathleen Moody's Big Ben to be something of a triumph in that it really caught Big Ben's character -- although Moody herself recently confessed that she wasn't entirely pleased with the way the mold turned out, as she revealed in a recent episode of Mares in Black.

It may be reaching a little, but there are a couple of other Breyer products with possible ties to Canada, including the Mini Whinnies Canadian Rockies Show Jumping play set, the companion animal Labrador dog along with the Pocket Box Labrador, Newfoundland, and Toller dogs, the decorator buffalo Banff, and, perhaps even Sugarmaple (I mean, he's covered in maple leaves, for goodness sake).

And Breyer's Canadian connections reach beyond portrait models.  Just off the top of my head, I know that Breyer has enlisted the help of collector Ann Johnson for the design of the 2010 Collector's Choice Cloud Nine, artist Tammi Palmarchuk for the Emerson paint prototype, and sculptor Rayvin Maddock for the Justify resin. 

That's not a bad showing for us Canucks with an All-American toy company (whose toys are now being made largely in China ... but that's another story).

Embracing the Fantasy

As you may have figured out by now, I was in my twenties before I "discovered" the world of model horse collecting.  Before I bought my first Breyers I had had toy horses and china horses, but I had never thought of either of those as collections.

However I did, as a teen, go through a "unicorn phase" during which I accumulated as many unicorn collectibles as I could get my hands on.

Unicorns were not as ubiquitous then as they are now, and collecting unicorns involved plenty of searching in obscure shops -- often those devoted to artsy and occult memorabilia.

However, the scarcity of unicorns then added to the thrill of the hunt, and before I abandoned my unicorn collection I had amassed a good variety of unicorn figurines in brass, pewter, glass, and clay, and a very respectable collection of books about unicorns.  To this day I know all sorts of obscure unicorn lore -- I know the difference between a Chinese unicorn (a kilin) and a Persian unicorn (a karkadann), why the unicorn is sometimes depicted with elephant feet, and what the various properties of a unicorn horn were believed to be.

I've kept the books, but over time I've lost or sold most of the figurines -- all I have left from that collection are the Hagen-Renaker (HR) unicorn baby and a handcrafted clay unicorn by Canadian potter Susan Meindl.  I also own the Breyer Little Bits unicorn, but I didn't acquire that one until I got into model horse collecting well after the unicorn phase.

A few of the fantasy critters in my collection.

With the sole exception of that Little Bit, when I first got into model horse collecting, I initially avoided fantasy equines and horses in fantasy colours.  Remember, I was originally focused on model horse showing, and in those days there were no classes for fantasy critters.  To this day, I think such models must be difficult to show and judge -- what could possibly be the breed standards for imaginary creatures after all?  I can't help but think that fantasy equine classes are mostly classes based on artistic impression and personal taste, but having never tried to judge one I cannot say for sure.

Now that I'm purely a collector and not a shower, my anti-fantasy stance has shifted considerably.  Unicorns and pterippi (or pegasii) are welcome once again on my shelves, and I'd probably make room for a hippocampus too if I found one that I liked.  I'm also warming up to decorator colours and even patterns on horses.  Still not a big fan or using horses as murals though:  I've never much liked the pictures on the Hallowe'en horses, or the little scenes on the sides of horses like Breyer's Romance and Tally Ho, but I've gone from being anti-clearware to pro-clearware in a very short time, so you never know what's possible.

All things being equal, I'd still probably put a realistic-coloured horse on my shelves before I put a fantasy horse there, but at least now the fantasy horses have their place.  These days I'm all about inclusivity and all horse-shaped objects may apply.

The Complete Collection

"Look at this stuff
Isn't it neat?
Wouldn't you think my collection's complete?"

 -- Walt Disney's The Little Mermaid

There's something almost magical about the lure of having a "complete collection."  Although it's probably not possible to have a complete collection of any one brand of model horse, there are ways of having mini "complete collections" within your larger horse collection besides having a model horse "conga line."  (Technically, the correct term would be a chorus line, unless you display identical molds nose-to-tail.  However, "conga" is the term the hobby latched onto, and there's no going back now).

In order to have a complete collection, all you have to do is pick a subsection of the manufacturer's total output and then collect all the models issued under that subsection.  For instance, if you joined the first year of Breyer's Stablemate club and collected all nine models released that year (five single models and a complete set of four "gambler's choice" models), you would have a complete collection of the 2016 Stablemate Collectors' Club offerings.

Similarly, you could pursue a complete collection of HR unicorns, Hartland 5-inch family sets, Beswick bay draft horses, North Light grey grazing horses, or whatever you fancy.  The trick is to find a subsection of the manufacturer's goods that has a limited or known quantity so that you know when you have them all.

First in a series of six Breyer Premier horses in costume

Breyer subsections are probably the easiest off all the collections to complete as so many of Breyer's offerings are already divided into separate categories by Breyer itself. Classics alone have been categorized into the After School Herd, the B-Ranch, America's Wild Mustangs, Sunshine Stables, Blossoms, and the Zodiac Series.  Most of these series are closed now, so having a complete collection of any one of them is entirely possible.

I have at least one complete collection within my larger collection that gives me a great deal of pleasure, even though it isn't from any of the major model horse manufacturers.  Instead it's a complete set of Hong Kong copies of the Hartland Tinymite series.  It's not analogous to having a "complete set" of Hartland Tinymites since the original Tinymites were issued in a variety of colours whereas with this particular set of Hong Kong copies, the colours I have are all that were issued, so far as we know.

Fleetwood Farm's Collectors Series of faux Tinymites

The breeds featured, in case you're interested, are the Tennessee Walker, the Arabian, the Belgian, the Morgan, the Quarter Horse and the Thoroughbred.

Like most model horse collectors, I'm not big on mint-in-box models, but these ones I'm keeping in their boxes just because I love the groovy 60's/70's vibe of the box colours and patterns. 

Overall, I think there's a great deal of satisfaction in having mini complete collections -- along with the usual thrill of the hunt as you seek to acquire them, you get a sense of accomplishment when you complete your task, and that can be a very elusive thing in collecting circles.

Sticker Shock

I'm not a big fan of stickers on fruit but I do like stickers on my model horses.

This, too, is a conclusion I've come to over time.  When I first started showing I wasn't interested in having any stickers on my horses as I felt they took away from realism in the show ring.  I even went so far as to transfer the little California stickers from Hagen-Renaker (HR) miniatures from the tops of their bases to the underside of them just to prevent them from being seen.

 An older HR with a well-preserved sticker intact

Had I a been a Breyer collector back in the day when many Breyer models had blue ribbon stickers on them, I probably would have pulled those stickers off.  Fortunately, by the time I got my first stickered model I had come to appreciate the historical value of the little blue ribbons, and now my few vintage be-ribboned Breyers proudly wear their stickers in full view.

A vintage Breyer Shetland with his blue ribbon sticker 

 

I don't even remember if my first Beswicks came with stickers, but I think they probably didn't.   However, I have recently acquired a stickered pair, and their stickers aren't going anywhere.

                                    A pair of Beswick ponies with oval stickers

Nowadays, when looking for older models to add to my collection, I actively search for stickers.  There are still some stickers I'd like have -- like the Tenite sticker that appeared on some older Breyers and Hartlands.  I'm also drawn to models that have had aftermarket stickers added to them of the "Souvenir of Tourist Trap" variety.  It all adds to the model's story in my view, and gives it an added layer of historic interest.

Model horses with stickers on them are real survivors -- I daresay I was not the only one removed them upon receipt before I knew any better.  These days, instead of wanting to hide them I see the presence of stickers as a "value added" marker.

So take those stickers off my apples, but leave them on my appaloosas please!

Betting on the Ponies

I suppose that all collectibles have their speculators -- people who buy certain items in the hope of selling them for a profit at some future date.  But it's a risky business.

Just as, when you invest in the stock market, you're banking on being able to buy low and sell high, the same risks apply to investments in art, comic books, baseball cards, and model horses.

But I can't say that I really understand the sort of model horse collector who views collecting as a profit-making venture.   I have to confess that I don't know anyone who has actually said to me that they buy model horses in the hopes of reselling them for considerably more than what they pay.  But when I see pieces being advertised on eBay for significantly higher than their retail price, even before they have been released, I can't help but conclude that the model in question is being sold by a model horse speculator.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this.  A lot of model horse collectors find it satisfying to use the hobby to generate extra income for even more hobby pursuits.  That's one reason why many people develop skills as tack and prop makers, doll makers, customizers, photographers, etc. -- they use their talent in these areas to make the money they need to grow or show their collections.  Speculating on the model horse market is just another way of doing this.

It just seems to me to be a much riskier thing to do.  As conventional wisdom has it, a model horse is worth only as much as someone is willing to pay for it.  If you buy a model for investment purposes only, you risk finding yourself without a buyer.  This is one very good reason to "buy only what you love" -- you may end up living with it for a very long time.

This Shetland pony is NOT solid gold.

Tastes in equine miniatures go through fads.  At one time you can't give away a certain model, and then there will be a sudden demand for it.  I've heard that Breyer's Khemosabi model was in high demand for a while, although I'm not sure what fueled that demand or how long the frenzy lasted.  At any rate, if you had a Khemosabi that you wanted to sell, and you missed that bit of market madness, you might still have that Khemosabi on your shelves today.  Timing is everything, and no one can count on making a profit by selling any model at any point in time.  It's a gamble, and the only way to stack the odds in your favour is to try to ensure that every model that you buy is one that you wouldn't mind keeping.

Admittedly, Breyer has recently made this kind of collecting harder with their three collector clubs: Premier, Vintage, and Stablemate.  In order to get all the offerings in each club each year, you have to purchase all the models being offered that year, whether you like them or not.  

Fortunately, Breyer usually reveals the first model up for sale in both the Premier and Vintage clubs, and the first few molds up for sale in the Stablemate club before the deadline to join each club has passed.  This allows the collector to make a somewhat informed decision about the desirability of joining each club.

Intriguingly, though, there aren't as many collector club horses on the secondary market as you might think.  Most collectors who join these clubs seem very satisfied with their purchases -- perhaps because you have to have an inherent interest in Premier, Vintage, or Stablemate models to be tempted to join one of these clubs in the first place.

The leads me to the thing puzzles me most about model horse speculation: I find it difficult to believe that it's a very satisfying way of collecting.  When I used to show my models, it made me happy to have some good show horses on my shelves.  Now that I merely collect it makes me happy just to look at the horses on my shelves, to admire the artistry that attracted me to them in the first place, and to remember how and why I came to own them.  I find this immensely satisfying.

If I sold every horse I owned that I could make a profit on, all I would have left is a little more room on my shelves and a sense of regret that I let something I loved go.  The only way to fix that would be to buy something I didn't love but, as I've already noted, it's never a good idea to do that.

This model horse is now worth many times what I paid for it (which was nothing -- I won her in a contest), but I would hate to sell her.

  Selling beloved models in order to raise cash for unexpected expenses -- family troubles, financial troubles, natural disasters and the like -- is a different kind of selling, and although the regret of losing a piece may be the same, the satisfaction of having been able to help out in a desperate situation should allay the regret to some extent.  But due to the same market risks that affect investors, counting on your collection as your insurance policy is probably not your best bet either.

I'll say it again -- buy what you love.  For my money, you cannot do better than that.

Patience is a Virtue

As online chatter and speculation about Breyerfest 2019 starts to heat up, I am reminded of my own relationships with Breyerfests past.

Breyerfest, as you may know, began in 1990, at which point I'd only been collecting Breyers for two or three years.  From the very beginning it sounded amazing, but I really wasn't dreaming that I'd ever be able to go.  What I was dreaming of was being able to afford to buy the Breyerfest Celebration model, which, aside from the raffle and auction pieces, was pretty much the only special model to come out of the earliest Breyerfests.  

I still remember ads in Just About Horses offering horses like Dr. Peaches and Turbo for upwards of $100 U.S. each.  At that time, that was much more than I was prepared to (or could afford to) pay for a plastic model horse.  Needless to say, the prices of the auction models blew me away -- for years my definition of a ridiculous price to pay for a model horse was "a glossy charcoal Buckshot" (1994 live auction price: $1650 U.S.)  It seemed all the more ridiculous to me because it wasn't a one-of-a-kind (OOAK) since it was also a raffle model that year, because it was an old-fashioned colour (vintage colours weren't much in vogue back then), and because it was Buckshot, a notoriously tippy model.

Still, I yearned for a Mustang Lady (1991), Bright Zip (1994), or Mego (1995) -- all hopelessly beyond my price range on the secondary market.  I kind of understood the pricing: after all, one had to pay for travel and admission to Breyerfest in order to get the Celebration horse at all.  But still, Breyerfest and Breyerfest models remained something I felt myself shut out of.

But here's where the virtue of patience came into play.  Time passed, and I got a better job and began to make more money and to earn vacation leave.  By the time the year 2000 rolled around, I found myself in the position of finally being able to afford both the time and the money for a pilgrimage to Breyerfest.

 Image courtesy of Identify Your Breyer

By that time, Breyer was putting about 4-5 special run or SR models out for Breyerfest, along with the pretty much unattainable volunteer, prize, raffle, and auction models.  In 2000, the SRs were four different Stablemate keychains, a walking Hereford bull (Buford), a calico kitten (Patches), Leah's Fancy Breyer (patterned after the foal of the Celebration horse Leah's Fancy Chick), a bay appaloosa Lonesome Glory (Mardi Gras), and a glossy bay semi-rearing mustang (Sarsparilla).

I spent a lot of money at that Breyerfest, but probably more at room sales than in the Breyerfest tent itself.  I don't really collect the non-equines, so the bull and kitten had no appeal for me, the semi-rearing mustang is not one of my favourite molds, and I disliked both the look and the name of Leah's Fancy Breyer (which seemed to me to be an odd thing to name a real live horse).  I would have purchased Mardi Gras, the appy Lonesome Glory, had he ever been available during my tours through the tent, but I missed him each time.  All I did end up buying in the tent was a set or two of the keychains as gifts for friends back home, and a polo shirt for myself.  And all I really regret from that trip was not buying a set of keychains for myself.

I did, of course, pick up that year's Celebration horse, but I have since sold her on with little or no regret.  I did not want to start a Lady Phase conga line and I already had Breezing Dixie, which is my favourite Lady Phase of all time.  So the only value Leah's Fancy Chick had for me was as a Breyerfest souvenir, and I had the polo shirt with her picture on it as an equally acceptable piece of memorabilia.

I have never been back to Breyerfest, but through sales and trades I have subsequently acquired two more Celebration horses -- Rejoice (1998) and Atlantis Bey V (2001).  For historical purposes I would like to have one sample of a Breyerfest Celebration horse in my collection.  As neither one of the two I own falls into the category of a shelf-stable model, I've decided to try to sell one of the two, but I am still having a difficult time determining which one.

                       

 Rejoice and Atlantis Bey V -- who should stay and who should go?

The semi-glossy chestnut on Atlantis Bey V is a really beautiful colour on the Huck Bey mold.  If I had to keep only one Huck Bey, this would be the one.  On the other hand, Rejoice is a little piece of Breyer history in that her release marked the first time a brand new mold had its debut at Breyerfest.  It would be even more historic if she was the only one, but Alborozo (2008), Roxy (2009), and Imperador (2016) also made their first appearances at Breyerfest, making her just the first of many.  Still, Rejoice is the one I'm leaning towards keeping -- though not standing, she is more stable than Atlantis Bey V, who requires a disc to stand.

Today, with so many more SRs of known quantities for sale at Breyerfest, it's often much easier to find reasonably-priced Celebration models on the secondary market than it is to find any of the special runs, especially those released in more limited quantities.  The Celebration models I once dreamed of owning I can now buy -- in that sense, again, patience has paid off as over time the prices being asked have lowered.  The fact that I no longer crave them is simply a consequence of that same passage of time.  

If I was a collector who speculated in model horses as an investment and I could go back in time to my Breyerfest in 2000, I'd probably make a greater effort to get my hands on more of the SRs in the tent, rather than being focused on the Celebration model as the number one horse to get, given that the SRs now generally command higher prices.

I would argue, however, that speculating in model horses is probably not a good investment overall and not necessarily a great way to enjoy the hobby either.  In my next blog post, I'll discuss why.

The Philosophy of Collecting, Part Two

With Hartlands, Breyers, and later Stone Horses, I toyed for a while with the idea of having one example of each mold.  That fell apart once it became apparent that I'd never be able to keep up with Breyer's new releases alone, let alone anything coming out of Hartland or Stone.  Also I discovered that this philosophy required vast amounts of space and entailed collecting some molds that I simply didn't like.  So I happily let that collecting philosophy fall by the wayside.

One thing I never have done, although I have often thought about it, is collecting by colour.  Very early in my collecting career someone told me that her favourite horse colour was bay and that, given the choice, she preferred to collect bay horses.  While collecting only bay horses doesn't do too much to limit a collection (bay and chestnut being among the most common horse colours), I've often thought of how neat it would look to have a collection of similarly coloured horses.  I'm partial to appaloosas and have thought about focusing my collection on them, but never seriously enough to attempt to move my collection in that direction.

Another way to cull a collection is to collect only certain breeds or breed types -- like only Arabians, or only Warmbloods -- or to collect just one brand or material:  only Beswicks, for instance, or just resins.  Although I am partial to ponies and mustangs and love British chinas, collecting within such limitations has never been of much interest to me, as I value variety in my collection. 

 A mixture of chinas, artist resins, and commercial resins

One nice thing about having a collecting philosophy is that you can always switch philosophies in mid-stream -- I've done this many times over.  You can also work with two or more philosophies at once, as long as they are compatible.  

For instance, while I am not generally a conga collector, I'm in love with the Breyer Traditional Shetland Pony and so I have allowed myself to conga that mold.  I do not have a complete conga of them and am not trying to fool myself that I ever will -- I don't suppose I'll ever find an appaloosa Shetland "in the wild" and I doubt that any test runs or Breyerfest auction models will ever come my way.  But I have no problem with having a small conga of variations within my larger "favourite molds" Breyer collection.

Today I try to keep my collection in check by following a number of intersecting philosophies.  When seeking to add to my collection, I look first for models with what antique collectors call "provenance," or an interesting backstory, affordable chinas or "clinkies," ponies and mustangs over other equines, and shelf-stable models (especially standing ones) over beautiful but tipsy action models, all the while maintaining a mix of model horse brands and a balance of both new and vintage models.  I also try to collect models in the colours I find most attractive on them.

Because I no longer show my models, Live Show Quality (LSQ) Original Finish (OF) models, customized horses (CMs), and artist resins (ARs) represent a minuscule portion of my collection, while items of some historical interest in telling the story of a brand are beginning to form a larger part.  I've always like history, so the more I can learn about model horses, and the more I can demonstrate that knowledge through examples in my collection, the happier I am.  And in the end we should all collect what makes us happy, shouldn't we?

Well, at least that's my philosophy.

The Philosophy of Collecting, Part One

Once you start collecting model horses, it's only a matter of time before you run out space to properly display all your pretty little horses.  At this point you have a decision to make.  You can:

1. Stop collecting (not really an option as most collectors are simply not wired this way);
2. Start rotating your "display herd," keeping the ones not currently on show packed away somewhere;
3. Expand your display space (by adding or adapting shelves, re-purposing a room, or even moving into a bigger place); or
4. Shrink your collection. 

Option #4 is the one most collectors choose.  Shrinking one's collection is often called "curating" a collection, and is accomplished by adopting what one might call a "collecting philosophy" and culling and adding pieces to your collection according to your own unwritten rules.

There are probably as many different collecting philosophies as there are collectors, and all have their appeal.  What works for you will depend largely on your own taste and the size of the space you want to devote to your collection. 

A collection of famous race horse ornaments

Let's take my own case as an example.  Although I had what you might term a "collection" of Marx Best of the West horses when I started to collect, I had never thought of these as collectable -- they were just my childhood toys.  And though I have yet to part with any of them, they are not on display and I have plans to sell most of them ... some day.  I'd like to save one or two to add to my greater model horse collection, but I have no desire to add any more or to collect the whole range.

Breyers and Hartlands were the first horses I began to assemble in a collection, and initially I decided to collect only one size of each -- classic size Breyers and the equivalent 7" series Hartlands.  That went out the window when my parents took a trip to the States and brought me back what they figured was a "special" horse because of the gold sticker on his box -- the Breyer Traditional Trakehner "Abdullah."  Well, who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth?  I appreciated my parents' support of my hobby and welcomed the horse they brought home into my collection.  Size was now no object.

Like most novice collectors, once I got started I began to acquire Breyers and Hartlands of all kinds in rapid succession.  The collection grew and grew, and included customized horses as well as original finish ones.  I also had a few Beswick chinas which pre-dated the collection that I now began to photo show, although I did not at the time consider those to be a real part of the collection either.  All that was to change.

In the meantime, the more exposure I had to photo and live shows, the more I began to tailor my collection towards versatile show horses.  I wasn't looking for the specialists -- the barrel racers, the dressage horses, the racking saddlebreds, but rather some good all-rounders who could be entered in a wide variety of classes.

Even with this restriction, though, the collection continued to grow out of control.  I entertained thoughts of creating "congas" of some of my most versatile show horses so that they could all share the same tack, and I wouldn't end up showing the same old horse time after time.  I didn't get very far with that philosophy, however, as I am not a conga collector by nature and I don't particularly like the look of the same mold in different colours lined up against my walls.  In other words, I'm not really a model collector, I'm a mold collector.

Hartland Memories

Blogging about Hartland's fortunes and misfortunes reminds me of how I found out about the world of Hartlands in the first place.

The first time I really became aware of Hartlands was when I first visited a good friend of mine in Prince Edward Island.  We'd been corresponding for a while and when the opportunity arose for me to take a trip to see both the island and my pen-pal, I leapt at the chance.  Debbie had what seemed to me at the time to be a huge collection of model horses, and in addition to the Breyers I had started to collect, she had a number of Hartlands on her shelves.

It was through Debbie that I learned about a new Hartland distributor just starting up -- Paola Groeber and her Hartland Collectables.  I brought this information back to the small circle of model horse fanciers I'd found back home in Manitoba, and a few of us put in orders for some of the new Hartland products.  My first set was the 7" Arabian Family in a pretty rose grey.

Valentina, one of my first Hartlands and my first live show champion

It was love at first sight.  I was delighted by the delicacy of the Hartland sculpts as compared to the chunkier Breyers.  Paola's paint jobs seemed better than Breyer's too (this was around 1989, before most Breyers had the kind of detailing they now routinely sport). 

My collecting philosophy regarding Hartlands has changed over the years in lock-step with my Breyer collecting philosophy (more on that in a future post).  At first I wanted to collect only the 7" series as I loved this size.  Then somewhere along the line I was given or bought an early copy of Gail Fitch's self-published book, Hartland Horses and Riders.  This introduced me to all the different molds Hartland had, and then I wanted to collect at least one example of each of the horse molds.

This book also confirmed something I was beginning to suspect -- that I had actually been playing with Hartland horses long before I knew anything about them.  My maternal grandparents ran a small town gas station and snack bar, and every summer while they lived there my family would trek out there to live with them for a time while my mother helped her parents with their store.  To keep my younger cousins and myself occupied, my grandmother had a box of old toys which included an old Roy Rogers with the standing/walking Trigger and Dale Evans with the chubby Buttermilk.  

I didn't care much about Roy and Dale, but Trigger and Buttermilk were dear to my heart.  They both had broken and missing tails (a fairly common problem with these molds where the tail was a separately molded piece) and I took it upon myself to furnish them with new swishy tails crafted out of string.  I left Trigger's tail the natural string colour, but attempted to dye Buttermilk's tail brown by going over the string with a brown felt pen.

Those poor horses and riders did plenty of sandbox duty in their time, and I'm afraid I myself might have been responsible for the loss of Roy's and Dale's guns in some neglected sandbox corner.  The hats were already missing by the time I got to play with them.  The set had originally belonged to my aunt, after all, and had gone through decades of play by the time they came into my hands.

I've no idea what happened to these horses and their riders when my grandparents moved back into the city -- most likely they were tossed away as broken or left behind for the chlidren of the gas station's new owners.  All I know is that they never came home with me.

Anyhow, when it became apparent to me that having an example of every Hartland mold would demand more space for my collection than I actually had, I started to pare down some of what I'd already collected that I didn't absolutely love.  Now all I'd really like is to have one model from each incarnation of the Hartland company.

In the meantime, a couple of flea market finds -- a Tonto and Scout pair and the bay standing/walking horse for Major Seth Adams -- together with my nostalgia for my lost childhood toys has refocused my collection on the horse and rider sets, and I have since managed to find a Dale and Buttermilk in good condition and a Roy with rearing Trigger in fair shape to replace my childhood playmates.  Due to the high prices being asked for these sets on eBay, I prefer to pick them up in bits and pieces here and there, always hoping for that next flea market or thrift shop find.  After all, finding Hartlands, and finding out more about them is more than half the fun.

Heartbreaking Hartlands

I just received my newest Hartland horse the other day -- a Mt. Rushmore souvenir mini Lady Jewel from Hartland Horse and Cowboy Company (shown here next to a new Breyer Stablemate for size comparison).

Over the years I've tried to accumulate at least one Hartland released by each of the various incarnations of Hartland.  I have plenty of the early ones from Hartland Plastics (1940s-1969), one from the Strombecker/Durant Hartland era (1970-1973), a couple of Steven Toy Company's Hartlands (1983-1994) and a few more from Paola Groeber's Hartland Collectables (1986-1994).  Somehow I missed getting any Hartlands from Sheryl Leisure's Hartland Collectibles L.L.C. (2000-2007).  This little Lady Jewel is my first purchase from Lisa Perkins' new Hartland Horse and Cowboy Company (2018-c).  Please note: all dates are approximate as it is difficult to determine where the Hartland horse molds were, and whether they were in use, at any given time.

It's just this confusion of production dates and mold owners that makes collecting Hartland horses such a heartbreaking affair.  Time and again the company seemed to have closed its doors forever, only for it to make a spectacular resurrection, apparently from out of nowhere.  And each time you think, maybe, just maybe, this will be the one to last.  Breyer has been producing model horses continuously since 1950, despite the company's takeover by Reeves in 1984.  Why hasn't Hartland, which started about the same time, done the same?  Unfortunately, I have no answers to offer.  

Unlike Breyers, the earliest Hartlands are perhaps the easiest to find on the secondary market, but there is fierce competition for complete horse and rider sets as they have appeal not only to model horse collectors, but also to collectors of nostalgia, western toys, and television memorabilia.  This results in very high prices for these pieces.  On the other hand, the equally common unpainted Hartland horses without riders from this era (molded in coloured plastic) can be had reasonably cheaply and are often sold in bulk lots.

Aside from the original Hartlands, the Durant and Steven Hartlands are usually available at reasonable prices when you find them.  However, the special runs from Paola and the collector-oriented limited releases from Sheryl rarely come up for auction, and when they do they usually bring in high prices.

What will happen to Lisa Perkins' new Hartlands in the future is anybody's guess, but I do hope, in my heart of hearts, that she will be able to continue producing them for a very long time.