I went to BreyerFest and Brought Home a New Horse

Every year thousands of Breyer model horses arrive in Lexington, Kentucky, for BreyerFest, hoping to be selected by a new owner. After three days celebrating horses, people depart home with new Breyer models in tow, excited to introduce the newest horses to their existing herd. This year, Betsy Groff went above and beyond bringing home new Breyer models and a new Arabian gelding, Spot. Breyer talked to Betsy about her BreyerFest experience and how she found one very special horse during her 3 days in Kentucky.

When did you start going to BreyerFest?

"I went to BreyerFest for the first time in 1990, with my grandmother, then not again until 1995," Betsy started. "Since 1995, I have not missed a year, attending BreyerFest with my mother until she passed away, and now I attend BreyerFest with my son. BreyerFest is great because you get to see all of your friends and meet new ones!"

What is your favorite part about BreyerFest?"

My Favorite part of BreyerFest is volunteering in the Hands-On Hobby Booth. I enjoy meeting people and demonstrating skills I have learned related to painting and restoring Breyers. Additionally, it is great to meet the real horses that Breyer has made portrait models of and seeing all of the different breeds in the covered arena," Betsy said.

Thinking of more favorite moments, Betsy continued, "Other highlights include talking to other artists and learning about new techniques. It is always interesting to see models in person that I've only seen photographs of."

How did you develop a passion for horses?

"I have been riding my entire life," Betsy laughed, "Honestly, I think that I was born loving horses. My mother had horses before I was born. She also got me started in collecting Breyers, buying me my first Breyer when I was three."

This year at BreyerFest you left with not only new Breyer horses, but a real horse as well!

Betsy started out by explaining that when her friends asked if she was looking for a horse, her response was "No, the right Arabian will find me." At BreyerFest, the ideal flea bitten grey Arabian gelding that Betsy had imagined found her at the Kentucky Horse Park.

"On Friday at BreyerFest I had some free time before the evening performance so I went to the barns to look at the horses. I saw the "For Sale" sign on the door for This Spots Taken (Spot) and he sounded like the Arabian I was looking for, so I saved the contact information," Betsy began.

Betsy went on to explain, "Saturday morning I made sure I was in the covered arena to watch the Arabian demonstration, hoping that Spot would be there. I liked what I saw in the demonstration, plenty of energy, but still slowed down willingly when asked. After the demonstration I went to talk to his rider and watched how Spot handled the crowds and interacted with people."

"At the conclusion of BreyerFest I went out to the farm where Spot was staying for a test ride. He was so happy to be ridden that he barely walked the entire ride. It was obvious that he had found his person. As far as our future, we will do what Spot loves doing, which is lots of trail riding. I also plan on training him in some lower level dressage for fun," Betsy smiled.

You bought an Arabian horse at BreyerFest, is this one of your favorite breeds?