The "In" Crowd

I love lists -- they help me organize my life.  My home is literally littered with lists: shopping lists, to-do lists, bills to pay lists, people to call lists, lists of fresh produce expiry dates, and lists of home furnishings to replace.

It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I've been keeping lists of model horses since I started collecting.  At one time I had lists of all the Breyer molds and all the Hartland molds ever produced, which I religiously updated every year when new molds were released.  The main purpose of those lists was to help me get a "complete" collection of all the molds, but after I gave up on that idea, I sort of abandoned those lists as well.

The one list I have kept up, though, is the list of models in my collection.  It has been a bit of a challenge to keep this up as various computers have crashed on me, and programs have ceased to be supported.  This means I have often had to start from scratch again which is, believe me, a good way to get in touch with your inventory.

My collection list is currently kept in an MS Excel file, which I've expanded and contracted over time as I've decided just what information I want to keep.  Although I've never been much into the pedigree assignment portion of the hobby (choosing real or model horse parents to put on your model's pedigree), at one time I was a member of a club which required the registration of all the members' horses, which meant that some of my horses had pedigrees recorded in my database along with their registry numbers.  When I was into attending live shows, I kept track of my models' placings so I knew which were proven champions and which had not yet been given their chance in the show circuit.

This Trail of Painted Ponies Fjord is a decoration, but it is also in my model horse database.

The basic information I've had since the start includes the model manufacturer (Breyer, Stone, Hartland, etc.), the model number and issue name, if known (for example 711 Breezing Dixie), whether the model was a regular or special run, and the stable name, breed and gender I have assigned to the model.  After a while I decided to add the base coat colour and markings (since these sometimes vary within a run), the entity that commissioned any special run (for example J.C. Penney or Just About Horses), the original sculptor's name, if known, the name of the artist(s) involved if the model has been customized, and how the model was acquired (price paid and name of seller, raffle prize and name of show, or gift and name of giver).

Subsequently, I've started adding even more information, like whether the mold has molded-on tack (whether or not that tack is painted), the approximate scale of the model, the type of finish (glossy, semi-gloss, satin matte, or matte), the last recorded value and value source, the model condition, any stamps, signatures or stickers on the body of the model, and the years the model was in production,

Just as the amount of information I've included on my list has expanded, so too has the list itself.  This is not simply the effect of new purchases, but also due to a broadening of the criteria I have for adding a mold to the list.  Originally, I just kept track of horses and other equines, then I started to add other animals, like Breyer dogs.  Later I added other Breyer items that were not potential show pieces, like the race horse and Christmas ornaments.  As I started to acquire Stablemate-sized livestock in various sets, I added them to the list, and recently I added my Pocket Box dogs, cats, and fish.

This Horse Whispers foal (by the same people who do the Trail of Painted Ponies) is a decoration which is not in my model horse database --  and I'm not sure why.

I'm not sure exactly why I started including these items in my collection.  My favourite model horse class at live shows has always been the collector's class, and I guess I just kept track of these with the idea that they might someday make a good addition to that class, just as the "Modernistic" Buck and Doe and Kipper models are now.  Oddly enough, though, I never bothered to add my two Dapples horses to the list, although I bought them for the very same reason.

I also never extended the inclusion of non-equines to any brands other than Breyers.  For instance, I have a Hagen-Renaker coyote who never made the list.  Nor have all makes of equines made the cut.  In general, I'd say that those I consider to be toys -- such as the horses I have from farm sets I had as a kid, my Best of the West horses, and my Burger King "Spirit" and "Rain" toys -- have been left out of the inventory, as have those horses that I view only as decorations -- like my large leather horse from India, my multi-coloured Wang Mu horses from China, and my carved wooden horses.

There's no rhyme or reason to some of my decisions, though -- my Trail of Painted Ponies Norwegian Fjord horse is on the list, while my Horse Whispers foal is not.  My Seasons of Cannon Falls running horse ornament is on the list, while my Painted Ponies Christmas ornament is not.

Given all this, I can't exactly tell you what puts a model horse in with the in crowd, or out in the cold.  I should probably either add the outsiders to the list, or delete some the insiders that don't really need to be there.

Maybe I'll put that on my to-do list of future projects.

Little and Large

A brief aside here before I launch into our regularly scheduled topic:  I'm not offering a lot of opinions or information about this year's Breyerfest since I'm not actually going.  But I do have to give a little shout-out to the news that there's going to be a classic-sized RCMP Musical Ride horse for sale at Breyerfest.  He's on the new "Liam" (Stock Horse Gelding) mold and cute as a button -- you can even see that there's a miniature maple leap stenciled on his hindquarters just like his Big Ben big brother.  I guess this really is a case of "little and large" after all, but it wasn't what I really meant to talk about.  But -- way to go Canada, anyway (eh?)!

Now, what I really meant to talk about today are the littlest and largest model horses in my collection.  The littlest one that's in my collection would probably be the Micro Mini or Mini Whinny grazing foal, in 1:64 scale.  I think I actually have a few toy horses that are smaller than this, but I've never named them and never counted them as part of my collection.

My Micro Mini grazer "O'Reilly"

I've decided that the Micro Mini grazing foal is the smallest of the lot because, although the Micro Mini sitting foal has his body lower to the ground, he's raised his head to make him a tiny bit higher than the head-down grazer.  If we measured only by withers height, the sitter would be the smallest, but from hoof to highest sculpted point, the grazer just manages to out-weeny him.

My Beswick Large Race Horse "The Chestnut"

My largest horse, likewise, is not quite as substantial as the second runner-up, a hobby mold Clydesdale I recently acquired, but he stands taller at the eartips.  This is one of my prize models, the Beswick large race horse, who stands 12 inches high.  I'm not quite sure what scale this is, but it might be close to Breyer's largest scale -- the 1:6 scale Springtime Foal.  My Marx Best of the West horses would be 1:6 scale as well, and the same scale is used for some military modellers.  The largest model horse I've ever seen (discounting ride-on horses, carousel horses, and those life size fiberglass horses used for decorations or for modelling real horse tack) is one I saw on YouTube.  Called the Biggest Model Horse in the World, it features a model that is apparently 1:6 scale as well, but it looks absolutely massive.  If I were still attending live shows I would love to have one of these to plonk down on a table just for the Godzilla-like effect it would have.

Most of the live model horse meets and shows that I've ever attended don't break classes up by scale, although that's changing now with the increasing popularity of miniature resins.  Still, it's very hard to judge one size against another.  The larger your model is, the more canvas the artist and sculptor have to work with, and therefore the greater details they can produce.  Artists who enjoy working in miniature can produce amazing details on micro sized horses too, but there's just not a lot of space for both whisker bumps and lip crinkles, or hairy fetlocks and perfect feet.  Judged against one another, it would be difficult to choose between a little and a large horse -- you'd tend to want to weigh in favour of the tiny one because of the intricacy of the work, but the more visible details on the bigger horse might be just as stunning and much easier to see.  No wonder the Traditional-sized horse (1:9 scale) remains the Breyer staple, and is also the preferred size for Stones, Copperfox, and even some Hartlands. Their size simply increases their impact.

Despite the ever-growing acceptance of miniature models, loved for their portability among live show attendees and for their small shelf footprint by collectors in general, the big guys are probably here to stay.  Popping a Lilliputian pony on a table next to a magnifying glass has a little bit of a "wow" factor associated with it, but pulling out the big guns is always a sure recipe for "shock and awe."  

If you want to make a big impression, bigger is almost always better.

But if you're seriously wanting to "downsize" your herd, you might want to hang on the little fellows.  Petite is still sweet, after all.

The Clinky Company that Could

I am a huge fan of china horses, also called "clinkies" and "breakables" within the hobby.  I actually prefer these terms to "china" since a lot of the horses I collect are made from other materials -- earthenware, ceramic and porcelain being the most common.  "China" actually refers specifically to a type of fine white high quality clay of the sort commonly used to make cups and plates, and "bone china" indicates a type of china made using animal bone powder.  So all clinky horses are not necessarily china.

The horses in the Lakeshore Collection are made from a fine bisque porcelain, painstakingly decorated and fired many times over.  The result of  this "trial by fire"  is an extraordinarily durable model horse -- Lakeshore founder Cindy Neuhaus is apparently well known for demonstrating the strength of her Lakeshores by attempting to scratch them or snap them to no avail.  I haven't seen such a demonstration in person, but I understand that it's heart-stopping.

Lakeshore is an incredible little company.  Founded in 2002, according to the Model Horse Gallery, its foundation horses are an Arabian (Status Symbol) and a Saddlebred  (Miz Charisma) sculpted by Ed Gonzales, a hunter (Marshall) sculpted by Ann Harris, a stock horse (Touch of the Sky) sculpted by Laurie Jo Jensen, and a pony (Houdini) sculpted by D'arry Jone Frank.

My Houdini a.k.a. "Hoodoo McFiggin"

As of today I have two Lakeshores in my collection, and each one is a special little dude.  The first I bought off the Model Horse $ales Pages, and I know very little about him.  He's a Houdini done in a sooty palomino and was sold to me as a test piece, but when he was actually created and what run he might have been a test for remain a mystery to me.

It was my purchase of this Houdini, though, that led me to seek out the Lakeshore Collection website and sign up for their newsletter, and it was the newsletter that brought me to my second Lakeshore, a custom-glazed bay sabino Touch of the Sky.

My Touch of the Sky a.k.a. "Highlights"

 

He just arrived this week, and I'm just as much in love with him as I am with my Houdini.  I also know a little bit more about the circumstances of his creation -- when he was created (2019), who painted him (Linda Watson Gresham), and I have an idea as to why (likely she was just playing around, as artists tend to do when they have a model horse in their hands).  At any rate, he's a custom or a one-of-a-kind (OOAK), as he was not intended to be a test for a proposed run.

The wonder of the Lakeshore Collection is that they offer these horses directly to collectors at very affordable prices compared to most other clinkies.  Heck, they're even cheaper than most plastic Stone horses and some plastic Breyers.

More amazing still, it's a one-woman business, obviously a labour of love for Cindy Neuhaus.  I've only been following the fortunes of the company for a couple of years, and still I've been amazed at the number of limited editions they've managed to produce during that time.  Even their "regular run" horses are limited editions, but with a limit of 1,000 pieces the regulars tend to hang around for a while.  The more limited limited editions (also called special runs or special editions) go very quickly -- I've learned from experience that you only have a tiny bit of time to dither before they are sold out from under you, which is why, when I saw the sabino Touch of the Sky I jumped on the offer.

Both of my Lakeshores have names that hearken back to my childhood.  The Houdini is named Hoodoo McFiggin after the hero of a Stephen Leacock story my father used to read to us when I was young, and Touch of the Sky is named Highlights after the 70+ year-old children's magazine.  I also seem to be starting a kind of "H" theme here as well, so my next Lakeshore will probably get a moniker beginning with that letter.

And I have confidence that there will be another Lakeshore, somewhere along the road.  At this time when clinky collectors are beginning to fret about losing small studios due to an aging population of craftspersons, Lakeshore just keeps chugging along.  It's the little clinky company that could -- long may she run!

And They Called it Pony Love

I'm smitten.

My Rhian and Cadell Premier Welsh Ponies arrived from Breyer last Friday and I can't take my eyes off them.  I've been anticipating their arrival for months now, but I have to say it was worth the wait.

Rhian and Cadell and their swag.

 

I don't know how many people are in the Premier Club this year, but I suspect it's more than usual since I'm certainly not the only one to have joined for the first time this year and to have joined specifically because of the ponies.  Breyer (and the Premier Club membership) have a lot to thank Josine Vingerling for.

Way back when, I was one of the Just About Horses subscribers who tried to get some of the Connoisseur Series horses.  The Connoisseur Series was sort of a snail mail forerunner of the Premier Club, promoting high quality models for collectors willing to pay the price.  Unlike the Premier Club, the horses in the Connoisseur Series were not necessarily first editions of a new mold -- in fact, most of them weren't.  However, the numbers of Connoisseur Series horses released were limited and known in advance, whereas the number of Premier Club horses issued is limited only by the number of people enrolled in the Club, and for the past few years that number has not been released.  

Getting a Connoisseur horse was a matter of luck -- like the online raffles of today, you had to have your name drawn in order make a purchase.  I didn't put my name in for all of them, but I was chosen only once -- for Quarterflash.  I still have and still love my Quarterflash.  He was, as advertised, a higher quality model for his time; even today his coat still has the rich, warm glow of an oil painting.

Now that I have a pair of Premier Club horses in my hands, I can say that the same care and attention has been lavished on them.  The mare, Rhian, reveals new surprises every time you look at her -- subtle dapples, fleabites, sabino patches, and a mild maternal eye.  The sculpture is also lovely, with the lightly windblown mane and tail and the mare's indulgent attitude when paired with her frolicking foal -- you get the impression that this is not the first time she's had a youngster at heel.

The foal, Cadell, is a rough and ready little fellow, and his attitude is one of a little colt quite full of himself and the joy of living.  His coat is a lovely fuzzy buckskin -- sooty buckskin, according to his designer -- and it somehow manages to look both soft and spiky at the same time.

Such a sweet pair!

 

Both of the ponies have plenty of pony character in their faces -- it has been remarked by several other collectors that they pair nicely with Breyer's Cefnoakpark Bouncer (sculpted by Kathleen Moody), and even though Bouncer was meant to be a Welsh Section C while Rhian and Cadell are meant to be Welsh Section A, I have to agree.  Checking my records, I notice that when I showed my Bouncer I showed him as a Section A and he did very well -- indicating that he's not as typey a sculpture as he might have been.  The fact that Brookside Pink Magnum's owners also chose the Bouncer mold for a portrait of their Section B Welsh pony also argues against Bouncer's being a perfect Section C.

Rhian and Cadell, on the other hand, do seem on type to me.  In any case, they're much the same size as Bouncer, and like Bouncer, Rhian has a comfortable heft in the hand.  The foal is a little lighter, and perched on his tiptoes as he is he has to be set down carefully to avoid toppling -- I wouldn't say that he's particularly tipsy, but he just doesn't feel as solid as Bouncer or Rhian.

In case you were wondering, "Rhian" is a variation of "rhiain" the Welsh word for "maiden" and "Cadell" was the name of a couple of Welsh monarchs.  I'm naming my pair Pembroke and Cardigan, as I'm afraid my imagination runs to corgis rather than to kings.

What If ...

The question comes around every once in a while on hobby forums and chat sites, or whatever media hobbyists are using these days to communicate with one another.  It usually goes something like this: "If your house were on fire/falling down/flooding (pick your natural disaster) and you could only grab one model horse, what would it be?"  Or, more simply, "Out of all the model horses that you own, which one is your favourite?"

Typically, the questioners do not get the kind of response they are looking for.  In the disaster scenario, a large number of people would respond that they would not grab a model -- they would grab a loved one, or a pet, or a photo album, or something else more meaningful.  To the question about favourites, a lot of people will say that they just can't choose a favourite, or that their favourite changes day by day.

Despite this, I think there's some value in the question.  The way I put it to myself is: "If I could only have one model out of all the models in my collection, which one would I keep?"  This question works for me because it is not outside the realm of possibility.  Like many collectors of my vintage, I often ponder when and how I will downsize my collection.

Answering the question tells me something about what I value most in my collection, and can actually help me to make wiser future purchases knowing what it is that I value most.

The one model horse I would keep, if I could only keep one model horse, is my Pour Horse "Red Okie Clay" who I've named Tom Joad.

                      Tom Joad, or Red Okie Clay, as he's known to the rest of the world.

I did show this horse at a live show meeting, and he did win a championship, but I've had other models that were shown more extensively and brought home many more ribbons.  

There was nothing extraordinary about his purchase.  I did not buy him directly from Pour Horse at the time of his release, but years later, off the Model Horse $ales Pages, from a collector I did not know.  I did not get a great bargain, nor do I feel that I paid too much.  I have other horses that have been gifts, have been bought from the dispersal of special collections, have been bought in memorable places under memorable circumstances, have been fantastic "finds" and that I've probably paid too much for.  Tom Joad is none of these things.

He is a piece from an approximately 230-piece run, and is not apparently different from any of the others in that run.  I have other pieces that are one-of-a-kinds (OOAKs) and customized.  I have customs done by myself, by my friends, and by artists I admire.  The resin on which Red Okie Clay was based was done by an artist I admire (Carol Williams) and the china was painted by an artist I admire (Joanie Berkwitz) but I do not know either of them at all.

From this I can see that suitability for live showing, sentimental or historical significance, where a piece came from, its price and its value (which are not necessarily the same thing), rarity, and a personal connection to the maker of the piece are not among the things I value most in a model horse.

So what do I value?  Well, with Tom Joad I love the delicacy of his sculpture: those unbelievably dainty hooves, the long, thin legs, and the chiselled head.  I love the realistic appaloosa characteristics of both the mold and the paint job.  Even though the original resin was based on a Paint horse colt and not an Appaloosa, because it is a foal it has the sparse mane and tail which are also sometimes distinguishing marks of the Appaloosa.  The striped hooves and the lightning marks on the legs are also distinguishing marks, and very well done.  So delicacy, detailing, accuracy, and artistry are things that I value.

I have to admit that I love the fact that he's a china -- after all, I could have bought him in resin if I chose.  But I love the sense of permanence that you get with china.  It's fragile, but in its finished form is is not malleable.  It is fixed.  Its shape will always remain the same unless broken and poorly repaired.  But if Tom Joad were broken and poorly repaired, he'd no longer be my one horse.  So material and condition are also things that I value.

I also like the fact that the horse is just standing there -- not doing something wild or dramatic.  I have my share of rearing and turning horses, grazing horses and lying horses, bucking horses and pulling horses.  But I appreciate the stability of a horse standing four square on its hooves.

I can tell you that my second runner-up, as you might say, for the position of the one horse I would keep shares many of the above characteristics, but after that it gets harder to choose a single horse to keep, and I sympathize with all those folks who say they just can't choose a favourite,  Technically, I can't either, but if I had to get rid of all the others and could keep only one, I think that one would be Tom Joad.  There's nothing special about him, but he is the one model horse I'm proudest to own.

Mrs. Henry's Horses

They are all old friends.

Misty, Stormy, and Sea Star.  Brighty and Justin Morgan.  San Domingo and Hobo. Sham. Black Gold.

Just say their names and you can probably see their faces in the soft, fuzzy pencils and paints of Wesley Dennis, the smooth flowing lines of Rich Rudish, or the strong bold strokes of Robert Lougheed.

And being a model horse collector you probably also visualize them as Breyers.

My favorite image of Marguerite Henry is one I first encountered on the cover of a Breyer catalog.

There, on the cover of the 1976 Breyer collector’s manual, a photographer has captured an image of the beloved children’s author sitting at her desk, surrounded by a small collection of Breyer horses.  Not just any Breyer horses, but little plastic representatives of her work -- Misty, Hobo, Brighty, and Justin Morgan.

I love this photo because to me it seems to show that Mrs. Henry loved Breyers as much as the rest of us.  Perhaps she was flattered by having her storybook horses sculpted into these adorable little figures.  Perhaps she liked to look at them and remember their stories as much as the rest of us do.

For Mrs. Henry’s horses were unique.  They weren’t just storybook characters -- Marguerite Henry didn’t write that way.  She was often quoted as saying that she couldn’t make up a story if she tried.  Instead, she told stories.  The incidents in her books were all based on incidents in the lives of real horses -- fictionalized for dramatic purposes, to be sure, but real all the same -- based on exhaustive research.

Over time, Breyer has done Marguerite Henry proud.  No fewer than 22 of her equine heroes have been immortalized in plastic, some several times over.

Justin Morgan, Stormy and Misty -- three of my Marguerite Henry horses.

Probably the most famous of Mrs. Henry's horses is Misty of Chincoteague, who was introduced to the Breyer line-up in 1972.  She was followed by Justin Morgan (1973), Brighty (1974), the classic sized Hobo (1975), Stormy (1977), San Domingo (1978), Sea Star (1980), Phantom Wings (1982), Sham (1984), the Black Gold special run (1985), Lady Roxanna (1986), the Our First Pony gift set (1987), the King of the Wind gift set (1990), Misty's Twilight (1991), Hobo on the Phar Lap mold (1991), Little Bub and Wild Diamond (1994), Brown Sunshine (1996), the Misty II, Black Mist and Twister set (1996), Hobo on the Silver mold (2005), Justin Morgan on the Sherman Morgan mold (2005), Sham on the Huckleberry Bey mold (2005), San Domingo on the Semi-Rearing Mustang mold (2007), and the Black Gold regular run (2007).

Beyond the plastics, Misty and Stormy also appeared as Breyer flockies (1984), Misty as a Breyer/Hagen-Renaker ceramic (1993) and, although no connection to the book Born to Trot was made, Hambletonian was released in resin by Breyer in 2000.

Believe it or not, that still leaves some of Mrs. Henry's horses out of the Breyer line-up.  Among the missing are  Maestoso Borina from White Stallion of Lipizza, Gaudenzia from Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio, Charlie from Five O'Clock Charlie, Rosalind from Born to Trot, and the foal Chip from The Little Fellow.

With some imagination, you can use some existing Breyers to fill in the gaps.  The unnamed horse from the Spanish Riding School of Vienna gift set could be Maestoso Borina, and Pamplemousse could be Five O'Clock Charlie.  I'd probably use the Thoroughbred Mare for Rosalind, the J.C. Penney grey Halla as Gaudenzia, and Willow from the Cricket and Willow set as Chip.  But that's just me.

I used to have more of Mrs. Henry's horses in my collection than I do right now, but I still have many of the molds created as Marguerite Henry horses in other colours, including Brighty, San Domingo, Sham, Lady Roxanna, Misty's Twilight, and Sea Star.

I think it's wonderful that Breyer has put so much effort into creating these molds specifically for the Marguerite Henry horses, and into continuing to use those molds for other horses after their initial run.  And even though Marguerite Henry is gone now, I hope they will continue to honour her horses and maybe even create a few new molds to fill in all those missing links.  

Of all Mrs. Henry's title horses (those that are the main characters in their own books) produced by Breyer, only Black Gold and Midge (from Our First Pony) do not have their own molds.  We could certainly use a new Shetland Pony for Midge, while Black Gold (whose two appearances have both been on the San Domingo mold) surely deserves a sculpture of his own. Having Rosalind, a trotter, to go with Breyer's pacer would also be nice and a palio set with Gaudenzia would be a great addition to Breyer's horse and rider line.

Maybe they'll do it -- who knows?  Until then, at least we have all of the rest of our old friends to keep us company.

A Racy Subject

Well, here we are at the first Saturday in May again -- how time flies!  

It's Kentucky Derby time again -- arguably Kentucky's biggest horse-themed event of the year (even though some model horse enthusiasts might award that title to Breyerfest).

I love race horses but I don't always like to watch horse racing -- it just rips my heart out every time I see a horse break down on the track.  I particularly don't like seeing the two-year-olds racing -- they seem like such babies to me!

That being said, however, I do try to watch the three Triple Crown races (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont) every year, whether or not there's a chance of a Triple Crown winner.  For a few years I even tried to organize Kentucky Derby parties with some of my model horse friends, but Saturday isn't generally a good day for a get-together, so that idea sort of fizzled.  On the plus side, I did learn how to make mint juleps!

Being a Triple Crown fan, I was over-the-moon when Breyer first announced that they would be issuing Triple Crown winner ornaments.  I eagerly collected the ornaments for War Admiral (2003), Sir Barton (2004), Secretariat (2004), Seattle Slew (2005), Citation (2005), Gallant Fox (2006), and Affirmed (2006).  Up until 2015 there were only 11 Triple Crown winners, so naturally I expected the remaining four winners -- Omaha, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, and Assault -- to show up over the next couple of years. 

They did not.  I think I let a couple of years go by and then I actually wrote to Breyer/Reeves asking what had happened to the Triple Crown series.  I was told that the series was not popular, and that slow sales had prompted the discontinuation.

In the meantime, however, Breyer continued to release ornaments of popular race horses who were not Triple Crown winners:  Seabiscuit (2003/05-06), Smarty Jones (2004), Zenyatta (2010), Rachel Alexandra (2010), Native Dancer (2013) and Man O' War (2013).

Breyer picked up the Triple Crown thread again with American Pharoah (2015) and Justify (2018), but it looks like Omaha, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, and Assault are permanently out of the running.

My Breyer race horse ornament collection (pardon the dust).

Breyer's backing out of the Triple Crown series ruined my plans for my ornament display, but I filled in the holes in my display with Seabiscuit, Smarty Jones, Native Dancer, and Zenyatta, Since my display space has 12 pegs, I was able to fill the final spot with American Pharaoh in 2015, returning to the Triple Crown theme.  I have not yet purchased the Justify ornament, though, because, frankly, I've run out of room.

Of course, if I could get my hands on another mug stand, I could get Justify, Rachel Alexandra, Man O' War, and possibly the racing Santa and bejeweled race horse to more or less fill out another display.  And despite those "slow sales" I suspect that Breyer isn't done with the race horse ornaments yet.

I really wish Breyer had finished the Triple Crown series, though.  I've had thoughts of buying up duplicates of what I have and painting them in the colours and silks of the missing horses, but I'm not much of a painter so I don't think I'd be able to do them justice.  But I do feel sorry for those four race horses who were denied their honours.  Whirlaway, in particular, was wildly popular in his day, as well known for his beautiful long tail as American Pharoah was known for his short one.  He deserves his ornament.

As far as the Kentucky Derby goes, I have no predictions to make for this weekend's race -- I don't follow the two-year-olds, so the crop of three-year-olds who turn up at the Derby are all newbies to me.  I'll watch, but I'll be praying as I do every year that everyone in the race has a safe trip around the track.  As an occasional race fan, I can ask for nothing more.

May the fourth be with them (sorry, I couldn't resist).