Lucky

Here’s a picture of the Marney Test Color that I spoke of earlier, that I bought from the Black Horse Ranch sale booth at the Horse Park Sunday afternoon. I was taking one last look-see at what was left – to pick up another Appy Performance Horse, maybe, or a foal of some sort – and here this guy was, sitting nonchalantly on the table, like he was no big deal:

At first glance he looks like a basic, run-of-the-mill Bay Stock Horse Stallion, with gray hooves. The gray hoof variation is somewhat uncommon, though classifying it as “rare” might be a bit of a stretch. 

But he’s not that guy.

First, he’s Mahogany, not the Brown or Red that’s more typical of a Bay SHS. He also has an elongated, masked star and shaded (ahem) boy parts.

He’s not a Preproduction Test for the Bay release – the mold marks say otherwise – but I could see him being a possible Test for the Special Run “Sam I Am”, that is a very similar shade of Bay.

Or he could be something that Marney just whipped up on a slightly subpar body she pulled out of a cull bin one day. (He does have a few minor molding issues.)

I do consider myself lucky to have found him, and recognized him, even when my BreyerFest was essentially lost. Yay, me!

Speaking of losses…

Nope on Milky Way, and nope on the Chicago waitlist. The former is only a slight annoyance: the Bluegrass Bandit mold is very popular right now, and other hobbyists wanted her more than I did. She’s a cutie, but I can live without her.

But the latter hurts more, if that’s even possible.  Rejected twice: now I feel like I have cooties.

In the abstract, I do understand that I have had an otherwise enviable hobby “career”, and a collection that would have many of you Googling my address if a meteor were to take me out tomorrow. (Good luck getting past my brother, though: he’s been to BreyerFest and he works in retail.)

I’ve been to 25 BreyerFests, I attended three Model Horse Congresses. I own a few dozen Test Colors, and I know – or have at least met – most of the major players in the hobby, some of them before they were famous. Some of the things I’ve done or experienced are the stuff of hobby legend. 

I knew Marney. I met Chris Hess. I consider Linda Walter a friend. Peter Stone has left me voice mails. I had a private tour of the Breyer factory in New Jersey. Breyer once came to my house.

Some of my models and ideas have been translated into Breyer releases. My name has graced multiple issues of Just About Horses. I’ve been interviewed, photographed, and (so I’ve been told) appeared in at least one Breyer video.

I was the original Ninja, and once first in line for the NPOD. I wore a cape to the Horse Park, and tromped around the Covered Arena in six-inch high vinyl platform boots. I’ve won everything at least once.

And this year, I officiated my roommates’ wedding, in the presence of two Kentucky Derby winners.

I acknowledge all this is awesome, and am grateful – and so lucky! – to have had such experiences.

But in spite of all that, I can be – and still am – disappointed by the outcome of recent events. I have a competitive spirit, and not one to rest on my laurels. And I am also not the kind of person who will tell you that I am fine, when I am not.