I'm sure by now you've heard the news: BreyerWest is moving.
This event was brought back from the dead by Erin Corbett in 2016, and was held in conjunction with the Northwest Horse Fair and Expo in Albany, Oregon for four years.
I attended every single one of the Denver BreyerWests.
The answer is, it won't. Instead, BreyerWest is hitching its wagon to EquiFest of Kansas.
No matter how you define it, Kansas is solidly middle.
But also, I know this was a business decision. Breyer has to go where the people are, and in 2025 at least, that's Salina, Kansas.
Farewell, BreyerWest. It's been a fabulous journey. Welcome, BreyerMidWest!
A quick glance at the EquiFest website indicates this is a much bigger and more vibrant expo, with A list clinicians and speakers. I can see why Breyer made the move. The only issue: Kansas isn't West.
Accordingly, this year's event has a new name.
I understand why this is disappointing to so many people on the left side of the country. I live here, too, and I know how long it takes to drive to Kentucky.
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It was really nice having a big Breyer event right here in our backyard.
I will miss this so much.
I am excited for all my midwestern friends who will be attending their first big Breyer event - or at least their first big nearby Breyer event - next year.
I've always said that BreyerWest is truly BreyerBest, and in the capable hands of Heather Malone and the Breyer Events Team, I expect BreyerMidWest will be just as wonderful.
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BreyerBest, indeed. I’m also sad. I get it too, but feeling that anticipation + excitement for 2025’s event crumble at the announcement of BW moving further away from us Westerlees hurt quite a lot. I’m sure it’ll be wonderful for whoever gets to attend though, no matter where it’s held. Wish I could go.
ReplyDeleteI certainly love having it West! But I think the other thing to note is how different this event is from Breyerfest, and in my eyes, in a positive way. As a smaller, more intimate event, you have a chance to meet everyone attending, to do more workshops, to really interact in a way that is deeper and narrower than Breyerfest. It's wonderful to have the Breyer sponsorship and the ability to focus on fewer things, a less crowded and frenetic way to be around some of my favorite people. So in that sense, once it's a day's travel away from me, it hardly matters where it is - it's still a fabulous model horse event that provides a very different kind of experience from Breyerfest. Much easier to get time with new people I want to meet when there are 100 people vs 10,000 or whatever that number is now.
ReplyDeleteI also am excited for people, especially kids, who maybe have never been to a Breyer event who will suddenly Find the Magic as they get a taste of what our hobby can be for the first time.
Never been to any Breyer event. Visited the Kentucky horse park the same weekend as Breyer fest, but I was like five, I didn't know what it was, didn't know what Breyer was. The very next year I got into the hobby after receiving my first stablemate and realized I could have gone to Breyer festðŸ˜. I am very glad that the midwest people can visit, possibly for the first time though.
ReplyDeleteI'm SO excited to have this event (almost) in my back yard. Denver and Lexington are about the same drive time for me - I am willing to drive 8 hours for a smaller, more intimate BreyerWest event but not for Breyerfest - it's way more chaos than I'm up for!
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