For many people, model horses are a fun and educational medium to learn more about real horses. The model horse hobby was started in the 1950's when the Breyer™ company made it's first horse figurine to go on top of a clock produced for the MasterCrafter Clock Company. When the clock company was unable to pay their bills, Breyer kept the molds for the horse and sold the horse alone. Fifty years later, the model horse hobby is bigger and better than ever.
Today there are two main manufacturers of plastic horse figurines. The newest is the Peter Stone Company™, started by the man whose father founded the original Breyer Molding Company in 1950. Peter Stone, and his wife Elaine, have based their company on the slogan "Model Horses for Real Horse People"™. The figurines produced by the Peter Stone Company are sculpted by top equine artists to represent real horses. These models are painstakingly crafted in the small Amish community of Shipshewana, Indiana. Every year Peter and Elaine host the Model Horse Country Fair during the first week of May. The MHCF is a great time to meet other Stone enthusiasts, tour the factory, and of course get a great special run model limited to participants of the MHCF.
The second main manufacturer of plastic model horses is of course Breyer™, which is a subsidiary of the toy conglomerate Reeves International. Breyer is probably the most recognizable name in the plastic model horse business today. They are the sponsors of a yearly trade fair called BreyerFest, held in Lexington, Kentucky. BreyerFest is the figurehead event for Breyer- hobbyists come from all over the world to see what's new at Breyer and pick up the highly sought-after BreyerFest model.
Other Types of Model Horses
There are other types of horse figurines besides those made of injection-molded acetate plastic. There are several companies which produce figurines made of ceramic, china, or porcelain. The most well known of these companies is Hagen-Renaker. The Hagen-Renaker company produces a wide range of ceramic miniatures, including some horse figurines. From 1950-1980 the company produced a range of larger figurines, some of which are now produced by Breyer in their current line. These larger equine figurines are highly sought after by collectors. For more information on Hagen-Renaker's current figurines, go here.
Another material type is known as "resin", these are figurines largely produced by NorthLight and Border Fine Arts. The material these pieces are made from is a composite of ceramic and plastic. This allows a greater amount of detail than can be found in plastic, and it makes these figurines fairly heavy as well. These figurines are highly detailed. In particular, the Border Fine Arts draft horse pieces are incredibly detailed. If you would like more information on these figurines, go here.
A special subset of "resin" is the Artist's Resin. These are made of a plastic resin, and are typically produced in very limited numbers by equine sculptors. You might think of these very fine reproductions as a canvas upon which an artist can paint any variety of coat patterns. These resins are very popular in the showring today, and most shows place them in their own division. Go here to learn more about Artist's Resins.
An excellent web site for looking at the myriad forms of model horses is the acclaimed internet site "The Model Horse Gallery" (now maintained by Gail Berg). You can explore the diversity in model horses easily from this site.
Many people simply collect their model horses, trying to get all the color variations and other rarities to complete an original finish (i.e., factory finish) collection. Often collectors have more than one manufacturer's products that they collect. Some folks collect customized pieces as well.
The natural outgrowth of wanting to collect model horses is the need to show them off. During the 1960's, a group of particularly avid hobbyists in the Chicago area got togther to exhibit their models in the first model horse "show". This later grew from a single show into a series of shows throughout the country as the popularity of the hobby increased. During the mid-late 1970's the Breyer Molding Co. began their publication known as Just About Horses. In this, hobbyists throughout the country could meet, and show holders could advertise their shows so that more than just the local collectors could attend.
Somewhere during the 1970s, model horse shows became competitive venues where a model horse was judged based on its conformation (how closely it resembles a real horse), its condition (lack of damage such as rubs or scratches) or its rarity (how old or collectible it is). The importance of various criteria changed between shows and between judges. Because these exhibitions were few and far between during the 70s and 80s, a separate type of show, based on sending photographs of the models, was developed. This lead to the distinction of 2 types of model horse showing: one known as "photo" shows where photographs of the models were judged, and the other known as "live" shows where the models were actually judged in person at a model horse show. Today both photo and live shows are very popular with hobbyists. The most important advent in the world of model horse showing came about in 1995, when the nonprofit organization called the North American Model Horse Shows Association™ (NAMHSA™) was formed. Through the tireless (and thankless) work of the original member showholders and the NAMHSA™ Board of Directors, the model horse hobby launched into a new level of respectability. Winning a first or second place award at a NAMHSA™-sanctioned show allows a model to be shown in the North American Nationals™ show, held in Lexington, KY in odd years and Ontario, CA in even years. Overall class winners are awarded a gold or silver plaque and are regarded as "National Champions".
Today's collectors and exhibitors spare no expense to show their models. The show season for the most participants revolves around the NAMHSA™ show calendar. The NAMHSA™ North American Nationals are held in June (CA) or July (KY), with May 1 as the qualifying deadline. Most shows seem to be held in the springtime, however.
NAMHSA™ also provides a resume service for model horse judges. To be a successful judge, you must have a thorough understanding of how real horses are put together (i.e., conformation). A working knowledge of how the different breeds of horses are conformed requires time and effort spent studying breed-specific books. In addition, the model horse judge also needs to know when a model was produced, for how long, and how many were produced in a given color to be able to judge collectibility classes. A model horse judge must know much, much more than a one-breed real horse judge in order to be competent in their field.
Photo showers have an equivalent to the live-show nationals known as the Model Equine
Photo Showers Association or MEPSA.
MEPSA is a grass roots organization of model horse hobbyists, joining together to
promote the hobby of model horse Photo
Showing through a series of Qualifying Photo Shows.
The new guy is here
From left to right:
Border Fine Arts "Champion of Champions"
OF (shown as "Doura Gael Force")
Ann Harris' "Bob" resin (shown as
"Shady Oaks Tristan")
Stock-type mule john by Linda Lima (shown as
"CF Cudjoe" <now sold>)
BHR Resin Performance QH (shown as "Impressive
Phase")
Horsing Around The largest European model horse publication
RESS The Realistic Equine Sculpture Society
Rio Rondo Your source for model horse tack-making kits and western miniatures
IPABRA The International Pedigree Assignment and Bloodline Research Association
This page last updated 01/14/2006. Contents copyright © 1999-2005 K. A. Bjorgo and may not be used without permission.