Also on Thursday

It's impossible to do everything at Breyerfest, but on Thursday, I was still giving it my best shot. So instead of catching my breath between Old Friends and NoNANSense, I headed downstairs to the CHIN ballroom where the Breakables show was being held.

BreyerFest Breakables Live is a Breyer sponsored show for China models.

Unlike the Open Show on Friday and the Kids Show on Saturday, entry is not restricted to models made by Breyer.

The show was a smaller than I'd expected, but the quality of the pieces on those tables was absolutely mind blowing.

I love these three so much. 

I left Breakables thinking the same thoughts I'd have a couple hours later in regards to NoNANSense: I'm glad I went. I wish I could have stayed longer.

 After Breakables, I went to NoNANSense, and after NoNANSense, I spent several hours conducting room sales. We closed our door at ten pm, but I was still in do all the things! mode. Instead of going to bed, I ran downstairs to visit the Artisan's Gallery.

Also held in one of the CHIN's ballrooms, the Artisan's Gallery is the place to rub shoulders with...

Jennifer Buxton and Maggie Bennett

and buy work from some of the hobby's most elite artists.

My friend, Jennifer Scott, was there with a dazzling display...

Jennifer Scott, photo by Heather Malone

of painted Covergirl resins.

This is a typical reaction to all those Covergirls!

Morgen Kilbourn and the Covergirls

The Artisan's Gallery is also the place where the finalists for Breyer's Best Customs Contest are displayed. I will cover this event in my next post.

The Artisan's Gallery closed its doors at eleven pm. I stayed until the end, then got distracted several times on my way back to my room. It was after midnight before I finally went to bed. The first day of Breyerfest was finished, and I had done almost all the things.

Room sales

During the week of Breyerfest, the Clarion Holiday Inn North (CHIN) is transformed into a temporary shopping mall.

Signs cover walls...

and doors throughout the hotel, 

some of which are pretty funny. 

An open door signifies the room is open for business. 

Shoppers all welcome to wander in and peruse the wares.

In addition to models, you can also find props, 

Natalie Spittler of Enterprise Props

big and little tack... 

and wearable horse tails! 

I shared a room with Tiffany Purdy and Sandra Gibson. Our room was a sales room. 

We had an amazing selection of Purdy horses, 

some high-end performance items, 

all of Rachel Fail's Etsy shop, 

Bobbie Allen's saddle stands... 

and, of course, all my sales tack. 

We opened our doors at six pm on Thursday and found a whole line of people waiting to get in.

photo by Sandra Gibson

This was The Best.

photo by Sandy Sanderson

It is so much more fun selling tack in person than it is online.

Even though I did not sell out, I sold enough to pay for my trip, and I am grateful for every single person who stopped by our room.

Tiffany Purdy and Sarah Foster

Thanks, everyone. I can't promise it will be next year, but I'll definitely be back!

No NANSense

For various reasons, most of which should be familiar to anyone who was paying attention, NAMHSA cancelled NAN this year. In its place, the board organized a hobby party called NoNANSence, which was held on Breyerfest Thursday at the Rupp Arena in downtown Lexington, Kentucky.

Most of my day was devoted to Old Friends and room sales prep so Tiffany, Sandra and I didn't make it to NoNANSense until much later in the day. By that time, the party--and Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig's A Good Vintage--were very nearly over.

Despite the late hour, we were warmly greeted by event organizer, Sarah Townsend...

and incoming NAMHSA president, Pat Coulter.

Like me, Pat is also tack maker, who specializes in English. I enjoyed seeing her saddles in various stages of construction and sharing tips and ideas. 

I'm going to remember this one. 

I also spent some time chatting with Laura Skillern (p.s. to Laura: Finish that guest post!)...

and admired her models, tack and props.

Then it was on to Kristian Beverly's table.

Kristian is one of my very favorite bloggers, so I was extremely happy to meet her in person.

I was also happy to see her newest and Best Saddle, which is, in fact, worthy of that title. 

All of NoNANSense was good, but perhaps the best part was meeting one of the hobby's original tackmakers, Sue Rowe.

She showed me her NaMoPaiMo horse...

and we took pictures together.

And just like that, NoNANSense was over. It was time to pack everything up  and head back to the CHIN.

I may have missed most of NoNANSense, but the part I attended was pretty awesome. Thanks to everyone who organized and presented.

Few more Old Friends

The stallions at Old Friends live alone, but the geldings are turned out in pairs. 

My favorite Old Friends/best friends pair are Catlaunch and Game on Dude.

Catlaunch is a three time Ohio Horse of the Year, a hard working gelding who was still racing--and winning!--at age twelve. He is a friendly, noble looking horse.

His buddy, Game on Dude, is a multiple Grade 1 stakes winner with earnings over six million dollars. He is also the only horse ever to win the Santa Anita Handicap three times. 

 Game on Dude is really, really sweet horse and extremely people oriented.

I'm pretty sure he'd pose for pictures all day long. 

He solicits kisses, too. 

photo by Jill O'Connor

The smallest horse at Old Friends is also the only non-Thoroughbred. This is Little Silver Charm. 

He performed a few tricks for our group,

but mostly he looked cute and posed for pictures. He is really good at both these things. 

Mackenzie's pretty good at them, too!

Here's a picture of Little Silver Charm with big Silver Charm in the background. I don't know if they have a personal relationship, but they are definitely name friends.

Our tour also included a visit with some departed friends. 

I remember Precisionist. 

And, of course, everyone remembers the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, Charismatic, who died earlier this year.  

My visit to Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farms was one of the highlights of my Breyerfest experience. It was great to see so many famous and not-so-famous racehorses living out their golden years in such a wonderful place. Thank you, Old Friends. I will be back.