Tibbi's BCC entry

Last year, Tibbi Searcher took an old Hess Man O' War and "glowed him up" for the BreyerFest Best Customs Contest.

This year, she did the same thing for the Hess Secretariat.

Here he is in all his new found glory!

What a great glow-up!

Here's a pictorial overview of the creation process.

Tibbi writes: I don't know why, but Man O'War and Secretariat have always captured my fancy. I don't follow the sport, recent or past, yet those two horses make my heart happy.

Congratulations, Tibbi. I guarantee your interpretations of these iconic racehorses have made a lot of people's hearts happy, myself definitely included. Good luck at BreyerFest!

Horse daddy

Before he met me, Seth's life was completely horse-free.

He was pretty sure he'd touched a horse at least once - probably at the American Royal - but he'd never  sat on one or spent any real time in their presence. I found that completely unacceptable, so almost immediately, I took him to the barn, took him to a horse show and took him riding. 

on Sadie, 2009

Seth has had a lot of horse time in the years since then. 

with Santana, 2015

In truth, it's probably more than he ever wanted, but - like Carol - he adapted.

on Tom, 2019

In November 2021, I finally got a horse of my own.

Within a month, Seth let me know that Olive was his horse, too.

He didn't have any interest in riding her.

Theirs was a relationship built on leading,

feeding...

and construction projects.

Every so often, he'd send me selfies of him and Olive while I was at work.

"What are you doing at the barn without me?" I'd ask.

His answer: "I'm visiting my horse."

Olive was a lot of horse, but Seth wasn't afraid of her...

even when he probably should have been!

Olive died in December 2024. 

Six months later, Sage joined the Buxton family.

Sage is a much easier horse than Olive.

Still, for whatever reason, Seth is not as confident with her.

It's okay. These things take time.

Time and repeat exposure.

Seth came to last Sunday's barn party to take pictures of Sage and me. 

After we'd worked our way through the most difficult obstacles, I tossed him the lead rope and said it was his turn.

"I'm not wearing the right shoes," he protested. "What if she runs over me?"

"This isn't Olive," I reminded him. "Your feet are safe."

And they were!

Sage was mildly concerned about the Bozo the Clown punching bag.

But being Sage, she got over it quickly.

Seth's feet were never in danger.

"Hold it up higher!"

"As high as you can go!"

Just a man, his new pony and Bozo the Clown.

Happy Father's Day, Seth! Your wife and your one thousand pound daughter sure do appreciate you!

Caroline's BCC entry

You know what? I like performance. 

Let's look at another entry from the Excellence in Performance category of the BreyerFest Best Customs Contest.

This lovely Working Equitation set-up was created by Caroline McCall Horton.

She writes: This is “EOS Primero”, my BCC 2026 entry in Performance Excellence! 

This is my first time ever entering the BCC and challenging myself to make all the pieces of a performance scene. 

Resculpting and painting a traditional scale model was way outside my comfort zone, as I’m primarily a tack maker. 

I am happy to have challenged myself artistically with this entry and can’t wait to see all the amazing pieces created for this contest!

Congratulations, Caroline. This is a wonderfully accomplished entry, and I am not the least bit surprised that it was created by a tack maker! Good luck at BreyerFest!

Mikayla's BCC entry

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

That's Mikayla Herrera's strategy for this year's BreyerFest Best Customs Contest. In this guest post, she tells the story behind her new and improved Escaramuza entry.

The Remaking of Dulce

by Mikayla Herrera

This entry may seem a little familiar, but let me explain!

Last year after BreyerFest, I decided that I wanted to try the BCC Finishwork category next. I was doing full time semesters and an externship so I thought it would be easier. Unfortunately, I got sick at the start of the year. I debated not entering due to the circumstances, but after surgery, I am finally getting better. I picked up my Finishwork entry again, but got frustrated. I started looking at my 2025 entry, which I wasn’t completely satisfied with. I decided she needed a touch up, but somewhere between 1 and 3 am on May 18th, it turned into a complete overhaul.

It was time for a drastic custom of a drastic custom of Roxy!

Since I already had the doll and tack figured out, I focused solely on the horse. The sliding stop is a very dynamic - and difficult! - pose to create, and I really wanted to get the anatomy right. The goal was to make her more correct and fluid. 

Everything on this horse was sanded down and resculpted. 

I was originally going to add more markings to her airbrushed coat, but the solid color really was striking to me.

Here's my new and improved Best Customs Contest Excellence in Performance entry.

I’m really proud of how she turned out. She represents change, which can be hard and unpredictable, but often results in something more beautiful and a new story to tell.

Congratulations, Mikayla. You've taken your good entry and made it even better. That is one of the secrets of successful performance showing! Good luck at BreyerFest!