Back in 2012, I was able to afford to go to my very first Breyerfest. After years of dreaming about the mecca of model horses, I realized that nothing was holding me back anymore from attending. I grew up in California and between the distance and showing real horses, Breyerfest was a distant dream for me. When I moved to Kentucky when my parents decided it was time to move, I hesitated to realize how close that I was to my dream. Even though I arrived in Kentucky in 2003, it was still many years before I was able to live a dream. Through marriage and divorce and kids, my model horses lived in my shelves and my dream was still in the back of my mind. Finally, one fateful day in 2011, I had to give up showing my real horse due to his arthritis and once again, my eyes turned to the plastic ponies that lived on my shelves. Maybe they would become my new outlet for weekend boredom? Little did I know what rabbit hole I was falling into! In January of 2012, a model horse friend of mine asked if I was going to Breyerfest since I lived in Kentucky. I had not thought about it! So I worked out vacation time from my job, started saving money, found a friend to go with me, and purchased my tickets. Pushing the Buy Now button on the Breyer website started a whole new level of anxiety that I had not experienced at the time. I did not know ANYTHING about this event! I quickly joined all types of model horse groups on social media. I poured over videos on Youtube. I tried to figure out just what was going to happen.
No one answered my questions. I did not know what a Special Run was and I certainly did not know what the Ninja Pit was. The week before Breyerfest 2012, I tried to plot out my trip to Lexington with my dad and the friend that was going to go with me. We tried to guess the times that I needed to get down there, the best routes to take to be able to come home each night since hotels were out of the question. All the time, I was extremely nervous and scared, especially since no one answered my questions! The night before Breyerfest, I saw a video that was being uploaded about the Ninja Pit. I told my dad that I needed to go and go now so that I would have a parking spot. I picked up my friend and arrived at the Kentucky Horse Park around 10 PM on the Thursday before Breyerfest that year. The line was already forming and I was number 25 in line. Was it worth it? I am not entirely sure because I did not get anything great because I had no idea what was going on! But I had fun!
In 2013, I decided that I wanted to go back, but knew that funds would be limited due to me now living with a roommate who would later become my husband. However, life had a different plan for me and I was shocked when I received a phone call in January while I was at work one day. I had seen where Breyerfest would be a Western Event and I had emailed Breyer about perhaps showcasing Western Horsemanship with my horse and show the event that not everything is about Western Pleasure, chasing cans, or chasing cows. They had reached out to another member of the horse community and had learned about what I had done in my time of showing my real horse and had agreed that Western Horsemanship had a place in their demonstrations. So my horse, Someone Trespassed, and myself were headed to Breyerfest! I was shocked and more nervous than the last year, but I had great advice from my riding instructor from out in California. She told me that I was now my own trainer and I just needed to treat this like a large horse show where I might not get a place, but I still needed to wow the judge, the judge being the large crowd. So 2013 was different, but I had an absolute blast! I got to share my real horse passion with the world and give my horse an event that he loved since people petted him and fed him every two seconds. I did not know that I would lose my horse just four years later at the time and that this memory would become one of my absolute favorites. But sitting at the gate, ready to ride into the arena, I heard so many people asking where this tent was or what the Special Run line was and they were as confused as I was the first year and still was, even though I was riding my horse! Road To Breyerfest was created then and there as a place to share pictures of my collection and to be a place where people could go to learn about the event. I decided that if I could not show my real horse anymore, I would dedicate myself to learning about an event that I was quickly learning to love!
So now that you have read my story and how nervous I was, I want to tell you something that you will hear many more times. Relax! Just take a step back and take a deep breath. Road To Breyerfest is here to answer your questions and to help you understand just what is going on at Breyerfest and Equilocity. Some of the most well known veterans of the event and some amazing artists have come together to bring you the answers to any questions that you have about the mecca of model horses. Our best advice is literally to relax, take a deep breath, and know that not only do you have help, but you have friends that will be with you at the event, if you do not want to be alone. It is ok to be nervous, I still get nervous each July and my heart races as I drive the 45 minutes that it takes to get to Lexington. Before I walk into the Clarion or the Kentucky Horse Park, I still get a rush of adrenaline that screams at me to turn around and run because I might make a mistake. I have social anxiety and it screams at me that no one wants me there and that I do not matter, but I know better in my mind. Just know that even the veterans get nervous still and we are always around to help you out!
