Janice Cox / Identify Your Breyer

 You know me…I always try to keep my blog posts fun and upbeat.  It’s why I don’t talk politics and have mostly not spoken of the virus.  I also try not to speak negatively about other hobbyists because I want people to enjoy the time they choose to spend here.  Unfortunately, I don’t want this to go by unacknowledged because it pertains to someone in the hobby and a resource many of us use.  I know I do.

The resource is called Identify Your Breyer and it’s managed / owned by Janice Cox.  The website is a wealth of information about model horses and the models, both equine and non-equine, as well as collector events and many other things affiliated with the hobby.  I have used it more times than I can count and will continue to do so as it’s really the only resource, that is current, we have for finding what models were made on the different molds.

Recently on Blab, a couple of people noticed Janice hadn’t posted in awhile nor had the website been updated.  Several people said they had sent her submissions but hadn’t gotten a response.  Wednesday  we found out from a local friend of hers that she was in the hospital in ICU.  We all wished her well and a speedy recovery.  I remember her mentioning in the past that she had medical issues but she didn’t say what they were that I remember.  Today we got an update that, sadly, Janice had passed away last night.  Obviously not the outcome we were hoping for.

I try to include a photo in every post, but I don’t feel like that would be appropriate here and I wouldn’t even know what kind of photo to use.  I’m not even going to sign off like I normally do.  I’m just going to ask you to keep a thought for Janice’s family and friends during this difficult time.  

Thank you.

Recreating the French Fry…

 While perusing Facebook this morning I came across a post by Breyer that caught my eye and I stopped to read more.  It was a “Throwback Thursday” and featured an article from Just About Horses that was originally published back in 1982.  At this point, I just want to throw in there that I REALLY miss the old mini magazine that was published monthly.  Even bi-monthly was better than the yearly big sized one that’s put out now and I know I’m not alone in my feelings as I see the subject come up fairly regularly on Blab and a lot of people express the same thing.

Anyway, back to the subject at hand…

The article was called Model Trail Horse and was written by Kathleen Maestas.  I started live showing in the late 80s and I want to say we attended at least one show…maybe my very first one hosted by Linda Bell…but we didn’t compete against each other because she showed custom models and mine have always been Original Finish.  Back then, customs were referred to as RRH for repaint / re-hair.  I vaguely recall most, if not all, of her horses had the word Diamond in their name.  I also knew how to pronounce her last name, but that was about the extent of my “involvement” with her, aside from what I’ve already mentioned along with envy over her models.

So…the caption of the Just About Horses article on Facebook says that while the article is almost 40 years old, plenty of the advice can be used in model horse setups today and if you want to try to recreate “that French fry obstacle”, be sure to tag us.  Upon reading that I immediately went to look for said photo…

There’s just one problem…I don’t see it photo with a French fry in it…unless it’s the log-looking object in the top right photo…?  Of course, I imagine the obstacle isn’t going to be obvious that it’s a fry, huh?  And hey, it can serve double duty…if you get hungry you can just eat your trail obstacle when your class is over.  Hahahaha.

Even though you could use these set-ups today, I decided to try to find a more modern representation of the trail class.  Since it’s become more popular in the real horse world I figured I’d find all sorts of examples, but surprisingly only found a couple that looked like they’d fit the bill, so to speak.  These are from Seunta and Pinterest…

Both are real nice set-ups but not very practical for live shows, in my opinion.  Great for photo showing, however, if you have room to set it up.  I’m kind of surprised Breyer never made trail obstacles.  They have several different jumps, a dressage arena and even a barrel or two, though you can’t buy them independently of the horse that comes in the set.  I think they kind of missed the boat on that.  Maybe one of these days I’ll make my own crappy obstacles and finally get back into photo showing.  Lol.

Well, by now you’ve heard and possibly seen the mid-year release of Breyers.  Nothing I need to have or plan to buy.  Breyerfest is coming up soon and we should be getting our preference list thingamajig soon.  I only want the no longer secret Marwari and a surprise model.  I only have one ticket because none of the other special runs.   Oh and I want the stablemate set.  But truth be told, I still haven’t unpacked my models from last year.  Lol.  Except for Thorn, whom I got in a trade.  She got my Oak.  I have a bunch of horses that still need unboxing but nowhere to put them.  <le sigh>

*UPDATE* the preference list email has gone out and I’ve made my choices.  I actually picked a third because I saw one that I decided I liked.

I’m tired so I’m gonna take a nap.  Til next time…