160 SIDELINES JANUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Jan Westmark
Although I have had horses most of my
life, I started my equestrian career like many
young horse-obsessed children – by owning
and collecting Breyer horse statues. I have
been very excited over the years to meet
several horses who have been immortalized
as Breyer statues, and I always add the
statue to my collection if I have met the real
life version.
It’s great fun knowing a horse who has
become a Breyer, so I was thrilled when
Debbie Garcia-Bengochea of Gentle
Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses let me
know that their therapy horses, Magic and
Hamlet, are now Breyer statues.
In addition to becoming Breyer statues,
Magic had the opportunity to tour the famous
Breyer factory (now that’s a fun field trip!) and
meet the artist who worked on her original
model. The visit to the factory took place
when Magic, and therapy horse Catherine,
were returning from a trip to Sandy Hook in
Newtown, Connecticut, and went to visit a
child with a life-ending illness in New Jersey where the Breyer
factory is located.
When Magic and Catherine arrived at the Breyer factory
(Reeves International, Inc.) the staff descended on the little
horses and started taking photos. While the employees make
horse statues all day long, there’s something wonderful about the
furry, breathing versions. Or, maybe it was the fact that Magic and
Catherine were the first real horses to ever step hooves inside the
factory.
The horses and staff at Gentle Carousel have been able to
help so many children and adults over the years, and Debbie was
pleased to report that instead of the Breyer box focusing on just
Magic and Hamlet, Breyer made a beautiful Gentle Carousel box
that focuses on the charity also. Well done Breyer!
Debbie said they started working with the artists at Breyer
almost a year ago, sending photos of the horses (each
side of each hoof, and on and on) so they could create the
It’s Magic! Breyer Statues Come To Life
e
The Bottom Line
details. “The model horses begin as artist’s sculptures and
are then handcrafted and hand-painted with airbrushes and
paintbrushes. About 20 different artisans handle each individual
Breyer model from start to finish, so no two Breyer models are
ever exactly alike,” Debbie added.
Magic and Hamlet have been invited to be special guests
at the 25th Silver Celebration Breyerfest (the world’s largest
model horse collector and equine festival) in 2014 at the
Kentucky Horse Park, which means more than 10,000 horse-
crazy kids and adults will get to see the statues and the real
horses as well. Breyer has strong ties to the real horse world
and said they like to create statues featuring “the latest and
greatest stars” in the equine world. Breyer did a great job by
adding Magic and Hamlet to their stable of horse statues. Now
I will have to add them to mine as well.
Magic and Hamlet come to life as Breyer horses.
Photos courtesy of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses
Magic does her best imitation of a Breyer statue while visiting the
Breyer factory in Pequannock, New Jersey.
Is she real or is she magic? It’s Magic – one of the Gentle Carousel
horses who has had her likeness turned into a Breyer statue.
