By NANCY KELLY
Auction Exchange Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — They came from California, Florida, New Hampshire, and numerous other states, plus even the UK and Australia. The event was the 19th annual Breyerfest, held once again in Lexington.

It seems appropriate to put the premier model horse event in the middle of live horse country, and the Kentucky Horse Park is certainly up to the task of hosting it.

Many people have heard of Breyer horses, those plastic, realistic scale models of all types and sizes of horses. They were originally produced in 1950, and are still in production today. Breyerfest provides a chance for collectors and model horse hobbyists to come together to buy and sell models, to share tips on collecting, and so much more.

Breyerfest is a three-day event. This year it was held July 18-20. Total attendance was around 6,000, with people from all ages enjoying the festivities. To the uninitiated, it is actually hard to describe, but it does provide a blissful three days away from every day life where everyone you see and talk to is interested in model (and live) horses. As one collector said, “we don’t have to explain ourselves here.”

The activities actually start as early as Monday of that week, as model horse folks move into the area motels. The host hotel, the Holiday Inn North of Lexington, truly throws their doors wide open and welcomes their guests. Room sales have become an established tradition, where people staying at this hotel will brace open their room doors and invite people roaming the halls to stop in and shop. Rooms are set up as small stores, with Breyer horses and accessories available for purchase. In addition, you will find model horses by other manufacturers such as Pete Stone (plastic) and several ceramic horses by such companies as Beswick of England, Hagen-Renaker of California, Lakeshore of Illinois, and many imported brands, both current and vintage. Prices vary from $3 for “body box” quality (damaged models suitable for remaking) to special runs and other highly-collectible models at $1,000 or more. For some people, the room sales are the most important part of Breyerfest, and they save up their hobby money all year to go shopping here.

When Friday morning arrives, attention is turned to the Kentucky Horse Park, as the gates open at 9 a.m. to kick off three days of model horse and live horse bliss. Breyer proves that they know how to please the model horse fans. The covered arena features non-stop live horse events all week end, this year including a Haflinger group from Wisconsin performing musicals (including the Sound of Music), a dare-devil riding group from Chicago with Gypsy, Roman Riding, and other thrilling demonstrations, and performances by the featured celebration horse Alborozo. There are also workshops on model horse collectibility, how to do repairs, making accessories for model horses, and how to paint and resculpt your models to create your own unique horse.  Those in attendance can also compete in model horse shows, where the model is judged on realism, condition, and collectibility. Breyer sponsors these model horse shows and offers rare Breyer models as prizes, so it is a very competitive event to try to attain that coveted special model horse.

Each year Breyerfest is configured around a theme. This year, the theme was “Global Gallop,” so horses from around the world were featured. The talented and powerful Andalusian stallion Alborozo made several appearances in the arena, and this horse was the featured Celebration horse. This means that every person who attended Breyerfest with a three-day pass received a model of Alborozo. In an unusual move this year, Breyer destroyed the mold for the Alborozo horse, instantly making the model more valuable.
 There were between 6,000 and 7,000 of them made for Breyerfest.

Speaking of value, Breyer creates several one-of-a-kind models to auction on Saturday night for a charity benefit auction. Beneficiaries of Breyer’s charitable raffles and auctions included Old Friends (retirement ranch for Thoroughbred race horses), North American Riding for the Handicapped and the Morris Animal Foundation along with a number of local Kentucky based charities including the Kentucky Horse Council, the Kentucky Horse Park Foundation and Kentucky Mustang Troop. The uniquely decorated Alborozo entered in this auction drew a final high bid of $13,500. This was very unusual, and drew wild cheers from the crowd in attendance. Other auction results were as follows:

1. Wixom-liver chestnut with blue tail ribbons – $850
2. PAS-chestnut pinto with mapping – $900
3. Strapless-star dappled gray – $1,300
4. Cleveland Bay-glossy gold Florentine – $2,000
5. Bouncer-metallic blanketed appaloosa – $1,100
6. Reserve Champions-Marabella “Calabria”-grulla pinto – $1,300
7. Ruffian-dappled amber champagne – $800
8. Volunteer model-Indian Pony-gloss dappled bay pinto – $800
9. Sham-blue/gold Egyptian themed TEST for Pharoah – $2,000
10.Othello-glossy bay – $1,700
11.Secretariat-black overo paint with mapping – $750

While at the arena, there are numerous opportunities to purchase Breyer horses from the vendors set up inside.

There are also special run horses each year that Breyer produces in limited numbers (around 800-1,200 each) for sale.

Following the international theme, these horses were featuring different countries, and were very popular. A ticket system allows those in attendance to shop for these models during assigned time periods.

There are also special runs and other surprises in the Breyer store to delight collectors and horse enthusiasts of all ages.