Old Friends Part

Old Friends was founded in 2003. It’s a non-profit that focuses on giving a retirement home to ex-racehorses and breeders, the successful ones and the lackluster ones. After the premature death of Ferninad, Old Friends took off and gained ground in giving these horses a last home. Not all horses have sad backstories, and you can read more about them here.

It was my first time coming to Old Friends but Mel had visited before. One of my favorite parts of the tour, if not my favorite, was the seemingly unlimited amounts of carrots we could feed the horses. 
Twins
Afternoon Deelites 
Silver Charm
I was excited to see Silver Charm, but the horse I was most excited to see was Genuine Reward. I learned about his story through one of my favorite authors, Laura Hillenbrand. He was found on craigslist for 500$, and is one of the only foals of Genuine Risk. Genuine Risk was the second filly to win the Kentucky Derby. 
Mel and Genuine Reward
War Emblem
Popcorn Deelites was one of the horses that played Seabiscuit (on the right).  
But his friend knew how to get treats!

(I think I correctly identified the horses, but if not and you notice, feel free to correct me!)

*I’m currently away for the week, so if you try to contact me or have sent me a message, I won’t see your message until August 7th.

Breyerfest Children and Youth Show

I helped out at the C/Y show this year and brought my camera along to take pictures. Since phasing out, I love seeing the creative entries that everyone enters. The focus of the show is to learn and to get entrants ready for open level competition with rules and restrictions to help teach and make the playing field level. Enjoy! And if any of these belong to you, please comment. I’d love to give credit. 🙂

 Look at the following customs!

 I loved this winged custom!

 Isn’t this a beautiful costume?

*I’m currently away for the week, so if you try to contact me or have sent me a message, I won’t see your message until August 7th.

Breyerfest Customs Contest

One of the most exciting parts of the artisan gallery was seeing the finalists of the Breyerfest Customs Contest. There were different divisions to the contest, and it was exciting to see who’d made the cut! Here are some of them. Aren’t they great?

By Kimberly Bleecker
By Emily Foltz
By Tiffany Purdy
By Monika West

By Sovae

By Laura Skillern

By Christina Riley

This custom won the competition!

By Melanie Miller
By Kylee Parks

*I’m currently away for the week, so if you try to contact me or have sent me a message, I won’t see your message until August 7th.

Breyerfest Part 1

I came home from Breyerfest on Monday and am still catching up on sleep! It was a great weekend. 🙂

I traveled from Pennsylvania to Kentucky with fellow hobbyist, Melissa, just like last year. We stayed from Thursday to Monday.
Before Breyerfest began we made our way to Old Friends and fed carrots and gave rubs to retired Thoroughbreds.
Next came plastic ponies. Lots of plastic ponies. 

Custom by Monika West
And some real horse mixed in with plastic ponies.
So there will be more pictures related to Breyerfest!