Play Sets: The Saddle Club Rides Again

Waaaay back in 1994 Breyer had a brief fling with Bonnie Bryant's The Saddle Club book series. In 2008, coinciding with the airing of the third and final season of The Saddle Club TV series, Breyer released a line of merchandise tie-ins with plushies, Mini Whinnies, Traditionals, Classics, and of course, Stablemates.

All of the Stablemate sets are based on episodes from the first season which aired in 2001.

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Gift Sets: Mare and Foals - The Morphing Mares

* The 'Blab' mentioned below refers to The Model Horse Blab, a popular model horse community. *

On August 03, 2006, I spotted four mysterious mare and foal sets at my local Target in the Southwestern US. I didn't know if they were special runs, regular runs, or some sort of fluke release (a girl can dream, right?), but I did know I would be buying them all that day.

I have since found a Blab post on July 27, 2006 from an East Coast member mentioning these sets, so people were finding them on the shelves at least a week earlier than I did.

It is well that I purchased the models when I did because two of the four sets saw some fairly major changes very soon after their release.

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Gift Sets: Fun Foals - They Still Travel in Packs

The Fun Foal collections continued as well as the adult sets; the G3 Standing Foal filled the hole left by the G1 Thoroughbred Standing Foal

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Gift Sets: Stablemate Collections - So Happy Together

The Stablemate Collections continued after the introduction of the G3 Molds with regular and special run sets.

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Gift Sets and Singles: BreyerFest Store Models

The BreyerFest Store offerings increased in quantity and variety over the years.

While it wasn't the first time Breyer released their Stablemate molds in porcelain, but it was the first time a new Stablemate mold appeared in porcelain before being released in plastic.

#711075 Isabel and Chloe (2005) featured a pair of pearly grey unicorns on a grassy, flower-strewn base. This was the first time collectors would see the G3 Walking Arabian and the G3 Lying Foal. 725 of these sets were released.

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After a two year hiatus, the Stablemate keychains were back...at least a Stablemate keychain. #711985 Stablemates Keychain (2005) is a G2 Prancing Morgan in what is called "charcoal" in Breyer-lore; the closest horse colour it resembles is called "black silver". This glossy model had four socks, a bald face, and gold keychain hardware with a small fob with the Breyer Logo. Around 2,000 of these models were made.

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There was a distinct lack of keychains at the 2006 BreyerFest, but they returned in 2007. 2,500 of the #711307 Cream Soda (2007) keychains were made. The model is a G3 Belgian as an American Cream Draft Horse in gold champagne with four socks, blaze, red and blue tail ribbons, slightly metallic finish, and silver keychain hardware.

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#711077 All American Tribute (2007) consisted of representatives of three American Breeds. 1,250 of these sets were produced.

The G3 Standing Stock Horse is a Colorado Rangerbred in flaxen liver chestnut blanket appaloosa with star, eye-whites, and hind pasterns with striped hooves. The G2 Paso Fino is a bay dun Florida Cracker and the G3 Tennessee Walking Horse is a....Tennessee Walking Horse in black tobiano with four white legs and purple ribbons.

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Our final model is something a bit different. Some do not consider the Chang'An mold an offical part of the Stablemate line, but he did start life as a Stablemate, the G2 Andalusian to be exact. Some re-sculpting turned the spirited Andalusian into an iconic Chang Dynasty Horse. Only 800 of #711078 Chang'An - Tang Dynasty Horse (2008) were released, though actual numbers in the wild are likely to be significantly lower as breakages were very high due to the thin legs and the lack of support from a base.

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Many thanks to Sharon Walbridge and Deb Walsmith for providing pictures for this post!

Birthday Week: Gift Sets - BreyerFest Store Models

At first the only special model available at BreyerFest was the celebration model and the test run auction models. Then they tried out a few surprise special runs which sold out very quickly and caused quite a bit of bitterness in those who had missed out.

Later special runs were usually announced in advance and sold in the Breyer store, but some things found may be surprises such as samples, test, and assorted warehouse extras.

Gift Sets: The One Everyone Wants - The German Special Run

Generally, the more recently and item has been released, the easier it is to acquire. The G2 models tend to follow this rule, even the rarer of the releases can be easier to find than more common, but much older G1 models. One of the exceptions to this rule is the German special run set, which was almost impossible to obtain from the start.

Gift Sets: Just the Two of Us - Mini Me Stablemates

Once Breyer really came to grips with the idea of the Stablemate line being more than impulse buy items, the ideas came thick and fast. "Mini versions of Traditional models? Why didn't we think of this before?"

It started small with a single Toys R Us special run in 2000.

Gift Sets: Horses in Unfamiliar Places - Retailer Special Runs I

Breyer certainly keeps collectors on their toes. There are certain stores where we've learned to expect a yearly batch of special runs such as Target, Walmart, Tractor Supply Co, etc., but there are times when we're thrown a curve ball.

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Now, there was a period in the 1990s and early 2000s when QVC, the television home shopping channel, would have Breyer segment. Collectors with cable would eagerly tune in for their chance to snatch up one or more of these limited special runs. In 2002, the first Stablemate scale specials were offered, a set called the Silver Cup Series.

Gift Sets: Mares and Foals - New Foals on the Block

With the popularity of the Generation One Mare and Foal sets and the addition of a small herd of G2 foals to the line, a new collection of Mare and Foal sets was the only logical choice. The first collection of the new sets, released in 2000, followed the usual Breyer formula: frame, tobiano, appaloosa, and solid.

Gift Sets: Stablemate Collections - All Together Now!

After the success of the Saddle Club Collections, a collection of the new G2 molds seemed a logical step. The first set, #5651 Stablemates Collection, was released in 1998 and consisted of five models in a range of interesting colours.

Regular Run #5651 Stablemates Collection 1998-2000

Gift Set: Just About Horses Special Run - Return of the Old Plastic

The picture of the Stablemate Assortment was not the only attraction in the 1998 July/Aug issue of Just About Horses; the announcement of a new special run was bound to steal the show.

5,000 sets of the complete line of the new G2 molds in special run colours were offered to Just About Horses subscribers. The sets were to come in presentation boxes, complete with a certificate of authenticity. As if this weren't enough, as icing on the cake, these models would be produced, for one time only, in old plastic!

Gift Set: What's With All the Fanfare?

In 2000 Just About Horses subscribers were offered the opportunity to purchase an exclusive special run on the Traditional sized Iron Metal Chief. The run consisted of the big four decorator colours (Wedgwood, Florentine, Copenhagen, & Gold Charm) which would be distributed as a gambler's choice - you wouldn't know which one you had until you opened the box. All four models went by the name of Fanfare and were in celebration of Breyer's 50th anniversary.

Birthday Week - Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - Ads and Stats

After our romp through the 90s with the Sears and JCPenney Special Run assortments I thought it might be fun to see the catalogue pages which inspired collectors back in the day. I've also included some fun statistics for each year's collection. I was surprised by how expensive the sets in the early 90s were.

Gift Set: Reigseckers G1 Draft Horses: Look-Alikes, Profiles, & Mini Variation Gallery

One of the major grails of a serious Stablemates collector is undoubtedly the special run set of seven G1 Draft Horses sold by Reigseckers of Indiana. The Reigsecker family of Middlebury, Indiana were responsible for some of the most highly sought special runs of the 1980s, though this set was their only special run in this scale.¹⁵ As legendary as this set is, it seems odd that it doesn't have an official name, collectors just refer to it as the Reigseckers set or the Reigseckers draft horses.

Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - Many Minis from JCPenney

Collectors held their collective breaths when the 1995 JCPenney Christmas catalogue came out; would there be another Stablemates Assortment this year? Why, yes, yes there was! There, nestled in amongst the other Breyer holiday offerings was the Set of 12 Miniatures, and weren't they lovely?

1995 Set of 12 Miniatures

Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - Passing the Torch

Unbeknownst to collectors, 1992 would mark the end of the Stablemate Assortments issued through the Sears Wish Book. The assortment this year would be one of many firsts: it was the first special run assortment issued in the new plastic, it featured the first unequivocally appaloosa stablemates, and it also contained the first non-grey dappled stablemate. The colour palette for this group was a bit drab compared to past years, but the models were still lovely.

1992 Stablemate Assortment IV
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1994 JCPenney 12-Piece Stablemates Set

Gift Set: Mares and Foals - Return of the Thoroughbred Foals

1996 was a bit disappointing as far as Stablemate fans were concerned. The excitement of the new singles line had worn off and the big Saddle Club switch didn't exactly make headlines. When the 1997 line was announced the mini doldrums would be completely forgotten . Not only were there new sets, but the sets contained the long-lost Thoroughbred Foals!

Gift Set: Special Run Stablemate Assortments - the Sears Years

Mail order special runs were a long-established institution, but in 1989, Breyer and Sears teamed up to bring collectors a little something new. This was the year a gift set of twelve Stablemates was included amongst the special run offerings in the Sears Wish Book. Granted only five of the twelve were models exclusive to the set, but still, twelve models all at once!

Later sets would bear the title "Parade of Breeds", but for now they were just the Stablemate Assortment with a roman numeral indicating release order.

1989 Stablemate Assortment
Missing: black Saddlebred

Gift Set: The Saddle Club - No Longer Single

1994: The First Gift Set