Valegro - Gold Medalist

I did not expect to love this piece as much as I do, but I think it is fabulous!

Valegro - Gold Medalist, #1783, Limited Edition of 3,000, 2016 only, $55, Lynn Luther/The Model Trading Post.

Another Mare and Foal Set

This set of Night Deck and Night Vision is from 1992, a Black Horse Ranch special run. However, they were in a mismarked box until 2015 when Heather Wells, the woman who is dispersing Karen Grimm's massive collection, found them as she sorted through the collection.

She offered them to members of her Facebook group for $50 plus shipping. I'd had the set originally, but sold them and later regretted it. I am glad to have them back. (The models in the box are all marked "2015" in gold on their bellies.)

 Night Deck

Night Vision

Night Deck and Night Vision, #410392, BHR SR 1992, 1500 produced, from the 2015 find, marked 2015 on bellies, $50 plus $12 shipping, 12/2016.

(Photo credits to Identify Your Breyer.)

Merry Christmas From Windsong Stables!

Last Christmas I enjoyed seeing the pictures people would post of their stables at the holidays. I found I loved the scenes of life with horses in miniature, and the homey feeling it gave me.

So, I decided to give it a try and set up a very modest little scene. It wasn't much, but I enjoyed it and have kept it out all year.

I'm working on the 2016 Christmas scene. While I am not done yet, it is coming along nicely. (Some day I'll dress that doll in better clothes!)

There is a tree at JoAnns Fabrics I'd like to buy - it's more realistic and it comes with working, in-scale miniature lights! This one is an old show prop from the 1990s. Its decorations are beads and earring charms that I put on hangers.

I plan to rewrap the packages and make some more that are smaller. And, I may even add another doll.

In the meantime, though, I am feeling very festive as I work in my horse room.

Holiday Mare and Foal Sets

in 2014, Breyer released the Running Mare and Foal in a beautiful pinto with plaid blankets as Vixen and Blitzen. Underneath the mare's belly were gold letters that said, "Happy Holidays 2014."

The following year, the Thoroughbred Mare and Nursing Foal were offered, and they, too, had blankets with little horse heads on them. The mare also had lettering on her belly that read, "Happy Holidays 2015."

So, when Breyer released a new mare and foal set a few weeks ago, I knew that this was going to be an annual offering. I had not bought the previous two offerings, but decided I would get all three sets as they are vintage molds and I love Breyer's blankets!

 Vixen and Blitzen, 2014 Holiday Mare & Foal set, #711998, $75, 11/2016. 1,000 made. Web special.

Eve and Claus, 2015 Holiday Mare & Foal set, #712165, $75, 11/2016. No number made listed. Web special.

Crystal and Crispin, 2016 Holiday Mare & Foal set, #712184, $75, 11/2016. No number made listed. Web special.

Vintage Collector Club 2016 Stabemate Riptide

I love the Vintage Collector Club and have every piece thus issued. There is always a free Stablemate sent to club members in November, and mine arrived last weekend.

 Riptide, #712172, 2016 VCC SM, free, 500 made.

I do not like the mold, but I absolutely LOVE the old Indian Pony with warpaint vintage paint job.

I had thought that this might be one that I sold, but I have changed my mind and am putting it in with the other VCC SMs!

Documenting Hobby History, the Survey

Nancy Kelly asked long-time hobbyists to fill out a survey for her. This is mine.

Hobby History Survey - Lynn Isenbarger

November, 2016

1. When and how did you first start your model horse collection (year/age). What manufacturer?

My first piece was a Japan china horse with a saddle and chain reins (Little Bit sized) that Santa Claus brought me in 1963. (I was six.) My mother said I loved horses from my earliest years, and as a toddler, I would stand in the car and get all excited about the horses we saw as we drove. (This was before car seats and before seat belts were mandatory!)  I loved that “glass” horse, and still have it in my china cabinet with my HRs and other fine china despite its broken-up, yellow glued legs. That piece started a collection of other Japan chinas (no HRs - too expensive in comparison) and I had twenty or so before I got my first Breyer, a woodgrain Running Foal that my father bought me the day I got my braces. He suggested I name him “Needles” after the race horse and as a pun about the needles dentists use! Since the chinas were so fragile and always breaking, Breyers (and Breyer knock-offs and Hartlands) became my new collecting focus.

2. When did you realize that there were other model horse people out there? JAH?

My friends, Bobbie Vance and Carol Holmes, also collected. We used to put our horses and homemade tack and props into large brown grocery bags, sling the bags over the handle bars of our bikes (yikes!!), and go to each other’s homes to play. We held a lot of horse shows with them, and made paper ribbons (in scale to the Breyers) as awards that we would tape to their bridles. We even had gaming classes and would hand-gallop our models around the barrels, actually timing them. We also had dolls (the smaller Marx dolls, not Jane West but her smaller counterparts. Josie West, I think) and Barbie’s sister ,Skipper, Liddle Kiddles, anything that worked and was reasonably in scale. We set up ranches in our bedrooms with bunkhouses, barns, riding rings, etc. Talk about carpet herds at their finest! 

Then, in 1970, Horse and Rider magazine published the article where Ray Rich (editor) judged IMPHSA’s championship show. I had never seen a Hagen Renaker before, but I recognized the Breyers. (And the Beswick Appaloosa in the article became my most wanted piece for years!) I wrote Ellen Hitchins and joined the club - that opened a whole new world for me! There were not a lot of us, but the competition was tough and so much fun!

As for JAH, I did not subscribe at the beginning. I do not remember why. But, definitely the emerging hobby led Breyer and not the other way around. I think Peter Stone and others at the company saw what collectors were doing and followed suit. JAH began well after the first hobby clubs started. Breyer did support us (see copy of the letter I sent you with a list of clubs on it that Breyer compiled and would send you if you inquired.)

3. What model horse publications do you remember? Who produced them? I'm hoping to get at least a cover shot of each of them.

I have told you about IMPHSA and IMFPSA as well as my club, ABMHSA. As the hobby was gaining ground, the variety of clubs expanded quickly. Many were breed-based. (For example, in the copy of the ABMHSA newsletter I sent you, Sue Seese’s club for Thoroughbreds is listed and you can see its information there.) Marney Walerius did not run a formal club (as I remember) but she came after Ellen Hitchins (please note that her name is spelled correctly this way; some folks replace the second “i” for an “e” but that is wrong) and Simi Smiljanic and quickly became the hobby guru - someone who was very active in the hobby, who loved to correspond with other hobbyists, and who held some of the very first formal live shows. Live shows in “backyard” form had been going on for years - like the ones Bobbie, Carol, and I had, other hobbyists did the same before the hobby began formalizing. In my opinion, live shows have been going on much longer than most people credit because they do not count the get togethers people like me had. I think Laurie Jo Jensen had backyard-type shows before we became more organized, too, but I could me wrong on that. Someone did - I just can’t document it outside of saying that I know it happened.

I subscribed to Linda Walters’ journal for years and years and we corresponded quite a bit. (I still have her address memorized except for the zip code!) She was like Marney in that she welcomed letters and responded quickly. For perspective, since we had no internet and long distance phone calls were very expensive, the hobby was run mostly through the post office. Model horse “breeding” was beginning (for a fee of a nickel or so, you could use someone’s models as a sire or dam for yours.) Lots of ads for breeding, model shows, and sales lists were in the journals. It was a very big deal to get a new hobby mag in the mail or to hear back from Marney, Linda, or another hobbyist!

4. Did you participate in photo showing? Any memories of that?

All the time! I held photo shows as well as sent “pix” to many, many shows. Ribbons would be awarded, and most were homemade. (I have a bunch if you’d like to see samples.) Rarely were they commercial ribbons, although sometimes those were offered and that was a very big deal. It also made the cost of entering the show go up. After the show was held, you had to wait for the show holder to type the results before your photos were returned. Depending on the show holder, this could take a while, so most of us had multiple copies of our show photos so we could “attend” other shows without waiting. 

It was through holding photo shows that I began seeing the earliest customs. They were fabulous! (Although not even competitive nowadays compared to what current artists do!) Linda Leach (Hardy) and Kathy Masestas were well-known customizers as was Sherri Cook. (I still have three that she did.) They began to be eclipsed by others - Julie Froelich comes to mind. I could never afford her work!

5. When/where/what was the first live model horse show you attended? Do you remember your initial reaction? What were the early shows like?

Besides that backyard ones, not until the very early 1990s (possibly late 1980s.) As a teen, I was also showing live horses and my parents could only take me to one or the other, and I chose live horse showing over attending model horse live shows so I did not attend the earliest live shows of the formal hobby. Then, I got married to Craig in 1976 (we celebrate our 40th anniversary next month!) and had six kids - traveling to live shows was too expensive and not possible logistically until they were older. Three of my kids, Jessica, Lisa, and Cole, participated in live showing with me for a while, and Jessica appeared in JAH when they published an article on live shows around the country. (I’d have to look up the date for that.) My first live shows were IndyCon and others held by a very active group in Indianapolis. (Perhaps Simi’s legacy?) I found them so much fun as well as eye opening - the customs were so improved, resins were beginning, the tack and creativity! Competition was at a much higher level than the photo shows that I still was participating in, but best of all was the opportunity to actually meet fellow hobbyists and discuss model horse collecting.

6. Did you belong to any model horse clubs, associations, or groups?

Lots - IMPHSA, IMFPSA, ABMHSA are the ones I remember and was most active in. 

7. Any favorite memories of other model horse collectors?

Beth Dickinson, who is still a very active hobbyist from Pennsylvania, and I were pen pals in 1971. I told her about IMPHSA, she joined, and she got started in the hobby then like me. I am sure she would talk to you and she might give you a different perspective from me as she likes customs and had some of the earliest. Let me know if you’d like her contact information. We have been friends for longer than I have known my husband!

Sue Seese is also an early hobbyist although she no longer collects. She went on to real horses and showed QHs at the world level. She is no longer a horse owner but we are still friends and in contact. She could probably give you information about the hobby at its earliest, too. Let me know if you want that contact information.

Nancy Falzone is the queen of HRs (in my opinion; Jo Ellen Arnold is also there.) I first met Nancy when I was at an auction in Illinois, looking for HSOs. I noticed a petite woman and another lady who were watching me and wondered what was going on. Finally, they came over and Nancy said boldly, “I think you are one of us. Are you a horse collector?” What an introduction to a great lady! Michelle Oviatt was the other woman, and the three of us hung out together at the auction the rest of the day, chatting and sharing. I don’t remember buying anything there, but Michelle later helped me find some pieces I was looking for elsewhere, and Nancy and I began corresponding via mail and then email. I bought several pieces from her and always enjoy seeing her in person!

8. What do you remember about Marney Walerius?

She was a nice gal who happily mentored everyone. I only saved one of her letters (wish I had them all!) but she would take time for anyone who was interested in the hobby. Personally, I think of Ellen and Simi as the founders of the formal hobby as Marney came a few years after them, but Marney was different in that she had a “broader base” so to speak of those with whom she connected. We did meet several times at BreyerFest, and I was saddened by her early passing.

9. What do you remember about Linda Walter?

Lovely lady! Kind, willing to mentor, and like Marney, someone who really furthered our hobby and helped it grow from grassroots to where it is today. We corresponded all the time, but I cannot find any of our letters at the moment. It makes me smile to know that I still have her mailing address memorized! We met at BreyerFest a few years ago, and she was shyer in person than I anticipated. We spent about a half hour together just talking, and she soon warmed up, especially when she remembered me from our past years’ correspondence.

10. What do you remember about Ellen Hitchens?

For me, Ellen is where it all began. (She is better known than Simi, but Simi was every bit a part of the early hobby that Ellen was.) I really looked up to Ellen and credit her for helping me get my feet wet, helping me to discover that there were others like me (and Bobbie and Carol) with whom I could connect. She, too, would readily answer questions from those of us who were joining her club. And, I credit her with bringing the hobby its first national notice through that article in Horse and Rider magazine. Laurie Jo Jensen told me that Ellen passed away some time ago, and had left the hobby for real horses prior to her death. Simi is still living and in Cincinnati. After her marriage, she got into following auto racing with her husband. She now has a brain injury now and has some difficulty in communicating clearly, but if you want to talk to her, I will see if she is okay if I give out her contact information.

11. How has your collection morphed over the years?

With the discovery of IMPHSA and the magazine article, I discovered Hagen Renakers. Depending on my life stages as a collector (teen, early marriage/motherhood, later marriage/motherhood, empty nester/employed teacher) I have had times when I could afford them and times when I could not. I learned to keep my eyes open at antique shops and flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. I m pleased to say that I have a modestly nice collection of vintage DW pieces. I also collect Breyers, although my focus is on vintage. (That Vintage Collectors Club is perfect for me!!)  I’ve a fairly good collection of Hartlands, too, and those beloved Japans, but my real loves are the HRs and Breyers. I have 1,000+ pieces in my collection and I live show once or twice a year, and have only occasionally gone to BreyerFest in recent years due to health issues. But, I’ve had both knees and a hip replaced, and a spinal fusion just a few months ago, so I may be up to traipsing around BreyerFest in the future! (Fingers crossed!)

12. Are there any other model-horse related activities that you participate(d) in? Please go into as much detail as you'd like on this one.

I dabbled in tack making and customizing enough to know that I do not have the skills for that! I would like to try doll-making, and I sew well, so I think I could do that so that’s a “retirement possibility.” (I am a teacher and still in the classroom.) For three years I held a live show, Lincoln Land Live, in Illinois. I would love to hold a collectibility show for Breyers and Hagen Renakers - again, “retirement possibility.” I love to write and have a private hobby blog where I keep track of my collection, purchases, releases, and hobby-related things. As I get older, (pushing 60!) I am finding it harder to accurately remember dates and things, so my hobby blog serves that purpose for me.

Documenting Hobby History, Part 6

(Part 6 of the information I sent Nancy Kelly as she undertakes her project of documenting our hobby's history.)

Here are some photo show results I had from a show I had entered. Note the early date and the rating of the show is "C."

Documenting Hobby History, Part 5

(Part five of a series of photos and documents that I sent Nancy Kelly as she works on documenting hobby history.)

Breyer used to maintain a list of clubs which they would send you for a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope.) Of course, I mailed in for one in 1972! Notice, though, the changes already evident - no IMPHSA. There are some familiar names on this later!

Coeur de Lion Web Special

This guy arrived Thursday but I didn't have time to open him until this morning!

(Photos from Identify Your Breyer site.)

Couer de Lion, Web Special, #712205, $35, 2016, Breyer web site, 10/2016.

There is a little bit of glitter under the paint, too! It is beautifully done. 

(I don't collect Classics, I don't collect Classics...)

Documenting Hobby History, Part 4

(More information and things that I have stored in my hobby closet which I sent Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

In 1972, I decided to create my own club, ABMHSA. (All Breeds Model Horse Showers Association.) Lot's of folks were doing the same - we were so excited to be connected! Dues were about $2 a year (I think) and you got a newsletter every month. Again, I think.)

Professional publication was very expensive so I would use carbon paper and make four or five copies and then repeat. (Ditto machines were the method of mass producing things, not xeroxing at the time. I did not have access to a ditto machine.) People sent in pictures and articles, we held shows, and it was a lot of fun.

I ran it until 1975 when I graduated from high school and was heading to college. Someone took it over for me (Cynthia Gardner, possibly) and I have seen a later club in the hobby with the same name. I have no idea if it is the club I started or if someone else just had the same idea for a name.

I had forgotten that we rated our shows. And take a look at the fifth picture - it mentions that Hagen Renaker was no longer going to be making the DW horses!

Helping Document Hobby History, Part 3

(Continuing the series of pictures and information that I sent to Nancy Kelly last weekend.)

We did not have the internet back then, and long distance phone calls were expensive, so most hobby business was conducted through the mail. Some people began formalizing things (like Kathy Maestas' book) and Barry Mayse (not sure on the spelling of her last name) put together a reference on Japan chinas with help from fellow hobbyists. People sent her photos of their Japans with as much documentation as they had on them, and she compiled them into a reference book. The idea was to update it periodically, but I do not know if that happened.

The photos here are from the 1998 edition. This reference book really appealed to me as my first pieces in my collection were "glass horses" (as we called them) and it was fun being in touch with others who also loved them and might be able to shed light on what I had.

Helping Document Hobby History, Part 2

This is part two of a series of pictures and notes that I sent to Nancy Kelly who is working on documenting early hobby history.

In the early 1970s, customized models began turning up in photo shows. They often blew the competition away. Kathy Maestas did a booklet that she sold to hobbyists about customizing and showing. She was considered a top notch customizer as were Linda Leach (Hardy) and Sherri Cook. Prices for customs were about $25 and they usually came with a set of show pictures.

For $12 (a high price back then!) I was barely able to afford a customized Hartland by Sherri Cook, Pace's Hi Hopes.

That piece won ribbon after ribbon, championship after championship. Now, he's not competitive at all, but he most definitely is a valued piece of hobby history as one of the earliest examples of customizing that has survived over time.

Helping Document Hobby History 1

Nancy Kelly is a long-time, well respected model horse hobbyist. A month or so ago, she asked those of us who have been around a while to respond to a survey she is taking, one that she hopes will help document how our hobby began.

I've been around a while, and so I wrote her and told her I would participate. I haven't done the survey yet, but she did say that any old hobby magazines I had or other ephemera would be appreciated. I was happy to send her things, and so yesterday, as I cleaned out the hobby closet, I took photos of several things I thought would be of interest and should be documented.

First up? The article from the October, 1970 Horse and Rider Magazine which had editor Ray Rich judging IMPHSA's championship photo show.

I wrote to Nancy,

This photo is where my "hobby beyond the carpet herd" began. I'd collected since 1963 and had two friends, Bobbie Vance and Carol Holmes, who also had carpet herds. All our stables had Native American names - I was Pawnee Stables (located in Pagosa Springs but I thought it was Pagosa SPURS, Colorado, Bobbie was Apache Stables, and Carol, Cherokee Stables.) 

We would get together after school and on weekends and hold horse shows with our stables. But it was never beyond the three of us until Horse and Rider Magazine, to which I had a subscription, had magazine editor Ray Rich judge the championships of IMPHSA (International Model Photo Horse Showers Association) run by Ellen Hitchins in California and Simi Smiljanic in Indianapolis.

I wrote for information right away, and it opened a whole new world for me! (Bobbie and Carol did not share my enthusiasm - they were ready for boyfriends and I was not.)

This is  photo of a xerox I made a few years ago. I do still have the magazine with the article but did not come across it yesterday.

Lynn

GLC No Frills Show

Great Lakes Congress was so much fun! (Er, barring the Chicago traffic, that is.) Craig and I stayed in the Courtyard Suites in Elgin Friday night and then drove over to the show hall in Huntley early Saturday morning.

I did not take my usual show string; I decided to try some unusual entries since this show was double judged for collectibility and I wanted to see how those pieces would do.

Across the table from me was my long time hobby friend, Sande Schneider. When it comes to Breyer and collecting information, there is none better than Sande. I've known her since the early 1990s when I used to hold Lincoln Live in Urbana. 

Craig spent much of the day in the show hall with me, helping me listen for classes, run out for lunch, etc. (The woman in the photo is Reta Mullemann. See the glass flower in the vase? It was her 35th wedding anniversary, and her husband had tucked that into one of her show tubs as a surprise!)

Several vendors were present with an assortment of new and vintage models, horsey books, and other hobby items for sale. (I was a good girl - I only bought one tub of sticky wax.)

I was right by the OF ring which was very convenient. And in the center of the circle of rings was a life-sized equine skeleton! Perfect for a show that was just before Halloween!

 Complete with a halter and an orange lead rope, too! It neighs and has red eyes that light up. The skeleton horse can be found at Home Depot, but at $200, I'll pass.

I had entries in three rings at first, so it was a bit of a scramble to keep up as the show moved along at a good clip.

At first, my intention was to take photos of every piece I had that qualified for the North American Nationals.

 That lasted just two entries - I could not keep up with taking pictures while running from ring to ring!

Working on putting together my Native American set up for performance. I rarely do performance because it is costly and because tacking up tiny ones is painstaking work.

 And, I discovered I'd forgotten my new doll stand, and so I had to lean the dolls against the model. I tried to make it look realistic, but knew that that mistake would hurt my entry. Still, I took second place - a performance entry qualified for NAN!

My true collecting passion is the vintage pieces, so when these two mint in box Indian ponies showed up, I had to take a picture. They belong to Liz Cory.

 During lunch, I asked Craig to take a picture of me with the skeleton horse. It turned out that, not only was it a decoration for the show, it was also an entry in the Anything Goes class - and it won!

I also made an entry for the Theme class. Mine was "The Phony Pony Circus" and I brought out my Shiken Circus ponies, one of which is a very close copy of the HR Head Up Circus Pony (the real deal is above the card.) I'd seen it on eBay and was nearly fooled into thinking it was a real HR. I love circus ponies, and so have added more Shiken pieces as they pop up on eBay.

One of the things I like about GLC is that their tables are nice and long and the show hall is so big, no one is cramped. There's lots of room to spread out and walk around.

Class after class, I kept taking second place. One shower was beating me consistently.

Sande Schneider! She had entries like this very rare Proud Arab Mare in glossy Appaloosa with box! But coming in second to Sande is okay with me - she's the best of the best, and I am delighted to even be able to hold my own against her outstanding collection.

I did bring something that drew some crowds, though, when I put it in the show ring.

 I finally brought out my boxer clock. Only two are known to exist, and it earned two ribbons and NAN cards.

I had to laugh - the class was double judged. Sande and her wonderful Davy Crocket clock and I each got a first from one judge and a second from the other!

The flocky class was small but tough. The purple rocking horse was a stellar entry!

The show ended at 4:00 in the afternoon, giving us plenty of time to drive home. I qualified eleven pieces for NAN and had a wonderful time. I don't show much any more, so it is nice to know that I can still hold my own, especially when showing against Sande, the best of the best.

Shrinky Dapple Grey Running Mare and Foal

Teresa asked me if I might be interested in purchasing this set from her. I used to own it, and had been looking for them. They are shrinkies, but I told Teresa that I was fine with that.

 Graceful Mare and Foal set, #491212, 1987 Sears SR, $20, Teresa Rogers, California, 10/2016.

 Just look at the difference!

There is a pretty stark contrast, but for the most part, the mare and foal are shrinking proportionally instead of more in one area and less in another. They don't look grotesque (although that could happen.)