All Shall Be Well

Everything is packed, the last minute details are being hammered out. Lists of things are being made, lest I forget something somewhat important. (There’s always something.)

You all know I am not a particularly religious person, but this famous quote by Julian of Norwich has been running in a loop in my head the past couple of days:

…All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.

Because it is true. Regardless of what happens, everything is eventually going to be made right. I can handle this. I’ve handled it before. I got this.

Most of you who have been - or have planned - for BreyerFest before know the rules, the routines, and what advice needs to be taken seriously. The only bit of advice that I can give that hasn’t necessarily been offered or emphasized before is simply this: be considerate.

Not everyone goes every year, and not everyone goes for the same reason. Not everyone has the same tastes, same budget, same resources, or same socio-economic background. The hobby (in general) and BreyerFest (in particular) serve different purposes for different people.

It may be a pleasant diversion with friends for some, but for others it is a place of refuge. Or even a dream.

Please remember this.

Also, because I drank an ungodly amount of Diet Mountain Dew and had the crazy-weird energy that comes with, I compiled a list of the Auction Horses, and categorized them by which ones I think are most likely to be the Volunteer model:

1    Sooty Dappled Buckskin Wixom
2    Blue Roan Desatado/Criollo
3    Red Dun Appaloosa Smart Chic Olena
4    Splash Spot Leopard Nokota Horse
5    Bay Roan Carrick
6    Glossy Black Tobiano Big Ben
7    Raffle Totilas
8    Dun Sabino Smarty Jones
9    Dapple Gray Indian Pony
10    Extreme Splash Pinto Ethereal
11    Dapple Gray Appaloosa Andalusian
12    Gloss Palomino Clydesdale Mare
13    Chalky Dapple Gray Flash
14    Dappled Liver Chestnut Sherman
15    Open Show Grand - Bay Roan App Giselle
16    Palomino Pinto Marwari
17    Glossy Dappled Bay Cantering Welsh Pony
18    Silvery Metallic Grullo Idocus
19    Glossy Dappled Chestnut Sham
20    Blue Denim Quarter Horse Yearling
21    Buckskin Giselle and Gilen
22    Red Roan Pinto Othello
23    Blue Dun Pinto Bouncer
24    Glossy Bay Cleveland Bay
25    Sooty Buckskin Sabino Performance Horse
26    Purple Bandana Fighting Stallion
27    Dappled Buttermilk Buckskin Ruffian
28    Raffle Brishen

I eliminated (in red) all the molds that have been Volunteer Models before; all the molds/models that are being used as Raffle items, Live Show Prizes, or BreyerFest SRs; and all the models that are quite obviously Tests for another release (Bouncer = Poseidon, for instance). I then eliminated all the models specifically designed by artists, and the Carrick because he’s a Premier Exclusive mold for this year (and a roan, because they had a bay roan two years ago.)

The only two iffy decisions: I did no eliminate the Performance Horse because I am in denial; the Ruffian was only deleted because they haven’t done a Volunteer Special with a base before.

The most likely candidates it seems to me are either the Idocus or the Cleveland Bay: newer molds in pretty but not overly complicated paint jobs.

I could be wrong. I probably am. If so, I blame the Mountain Dew.