A Collectors Dream | Triple Mountain Model Horses

Triple Mountain Model Horses is a place where you are sure to be able to find that one elusive model you have been looking for. Started by a couple of friends trying to sell off a collection, Eleda is now one of the go to stops where Breyer® horse collectors can find what they are looking for.

The Breyer® team caught up with Eleda to find out a little more about her story and how she first fell in love with Breyer and Horses.

Eleda, Owner of Triple Mountain Model Horses

Eleda, owner of Triple Mountain, got thrown from her first horse at age two (it was a spring horse in the family's living room), got back on, and never looked back.  She started asking for a horse at a young age but her parents wisely presented her with model horses instead of a live one.  She received her first Breyer at age 4 - a glossy grey Appaloosa Family Stallion.  When, a couple years later, a family member gave her another Family Stallion, this one a glossy palomino, the epiphany occurred that set her life's course: "They make these in more than one color?!?!"  Collecting, customizing, and showing models became a hobby that persisted even after she finally got that first live horse, and the second.  Currently, no live horses reside on the Triple Mountain, but her personal collection now numbers over 1300 models.

Triple Mountain Models Store

It was through a national hobby newsletter as a teenager that she discovered another hobbyist nearby.  She and June became close friends, and in 2012, June became the catalyst for opening Triple Mountain.  June had decided after decades in the hobby to reduce the size of her collection and asked Eleda to help sell some of her models.  Eleda built a website named for the tri-topped mountain where she lives, and began offering June's models for sale there.  With a few weeks, they had been contacted by another collector asking if they sell models on consignment, and Triple Mountain was officially in business!  

The next logical step was to become a Breyer dealer in addition to selling retired models, so in 2015, Eleda's whole family and several friends pulled together to move and renovate the building that would become Triple Mountain's store.  They received their first load of models from Breyer in December of 2015 and the store opened to much fanfare.  It has often been called "like Heaven for horse lovers" by amazed visitors, and Eleda calls it a dream come true.  As Maine's only Breyer Flagship Store, they carry all the Flagship and Brick-and-Mortar Specials.  They also list new models to their online store every Friday night at 8pm Eastern.  As a result, Triple Mountain has a large following of collectors around the world.  They ship models worldwide, with regular customers as far from Maine as Norway, the UK, Japan, and Australia.  It is always a big deal to add a new pin to the world map in the store showing where they've sent horses!  Recent additions include the Channel Islands, Barbados, and another location in New Zealand.

June and Eleda 

Triple Mountain's sales are now divided just about evenly between current-run models and retired models.  They are known for their huge variety, with over 3,000 models on hand, safe packing, and personal customer attention.  Eleda often says she feels they are more like adoption agents than retailers, helping beautiful horses find great homes.  June is still here as well, helping with incoming consignments and social media.  Since she often encourages Eleda to buy incoming models for her personal collection, she has been given the title "Chief Instigator" of Triple Mountain!  Because all they do is model horses and horse-themed gifts, they know Breyer models inside and out, current and retired.  They've become a resource for collectors who need help identifying models, and have contributed many hundreds of photos to the reference site www.identifyyourbreyer.com 

They have been honored by some famous horse owners, like the family of BHR Bryant's Jake, who bought several of his portrait models for friends and family, EZ To Spot's owners who advertised that his model was available to purchase at Triple Mountain, and by Prue Critchley, owner of champion Arabian stallion Empres, who had Triple Mountain send his portrait models to the studs in Poland where he was born and raised, and to one of his early trainers who now lives in Australia.  In turn, Empres has become their best-selling Traditional model ever!

Eleda with Silver

In 2018, they decided to take the show on the road.  They purchased and outfitted an enclosed trailer as a mobile model store, and attend events around Maine and New Hampshire, selling Breyer and CollectA models, along with other horse-themed items.  Their last event of this season was Skyline Farm's annual Great Pumpkin event, where they sold models and hosted the last day of their year-long Breyer horse-drawn vehicle exhibit in the carriage museum.  They are now booking events for 2019.

Triple Mountain Model Horses Trailer

If you are in the New England area, make sure to be on the lookout for Triple Mountain Model Horses trailer and make sure to visit them online to check out their amazing collection of Breyer. Just getting started in the hobby? Eleda is a collector that can teach you, or a young collector you know, about the wonderful world of Breyer.