The last few days have shown to me that tensions are undoubtedly high. Everyone has their opinions and on a personal level, I respect them all. However, I have to make a stand myself for my group, for the company that I very vocally fan girl over, and for a part of the equine industry that I am involved in. Please read this all before you make a decision as I have always asked people to make informed decisions.
The choice of Celebration Horse was a Halter Horse. I have been in the Stock Horse Industry for 27 years and proudly admit that. The horse, while he had some conformational flaws, was a nice example of a very loud and colorful horse. Make sure to read that last sentence carefully. He was loudly colored and was a prime example of the BreyerFest 2021 Celebration, Horse of a Different Color. He certainly was that. However, people that are not in the Stock Horse Industry decided to make a judgement call that they did not have the right to make. They called into question his HYPP Status. For stock people, that is exceptionally important. Horses that are positive for HYPP cannot be registered as a breeding horse in AQHA. Horses that have Carrier Status are allowed to breed, but responsible breeders will check the status of the mare, if the carrier is a stallion. HYPP needs two copies to pass on. Intuit was HYPP NN. The website that was used to check his status is the Wikipedia of the Horse Industry and can be changed on a whim. He does however have PSSM1, which is a genetic disease in multiple horse breeds. Breyer chose for color, but members protested due to claims they did not research. But my feelings and personal words will not be brought into this group and blog, so please do not ask.
Politics and Religion was also brought into the fight. The owner was a Republican and he was a Christian. He did not support the LGBTQ+ members. But no one asked him personally. However, in my humble opinion, that does not matter. Those things do not matter to a horse. They do not matter to a hobby. Hobbies, especially here in RTB, will always be a safe place for everyone and I mean everyone. Anything otherwise, especially in our FB group, will result in harsh re-education on tact and etiquette. Hate mail and death threats were all sent to the owner as well as people swearing that they would kill the horses on his property and much more. While not all of this came from the model horse community, it sure did not make the hobby look like an ideal place to showcase any horse.
That all being said, I stand with Breyer. I am and will likely be for some time, their biggest Fan Girl. I would not be surprised if they chose to cancel BreyerFest 2021, especially since they do not have a Celebration Horse now. Of course, things can and will change in less than a day and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
In my FB group and here, I absolutely do NOT allow Politics, Religion, Harassment, Bullying, Real Horse Breeding Practices, Real Horse Genetic Diseases, The Pandemic, and topics associated with them. The consequences for breaking this rule is harsh, believe me, because I am tired of the hate in the model horse hobby and I am tired of the hobby being absolutely ridiculed.
Make sure to use common sense before you post a comment. Will your thought hurt someone else? In a time when everyone preaches inclusiveness and equality, is what you are about to say taking into account everything surrounding the situation? Will you be able to start a change and stick with it? Will you be able to find out where you need to start the change? You cannot start a protest and leave because you did not get your way immediately. You absolutely must start in the proper channels to voice change and sadly, the model horse hobby is not it, especially not at this time. Think before you act and you will have supporters behind you that you would never believe!
Another side note is that all of our BreyerFest information and help will now be located on the FB group. I did not want to have to say that, however there are a few groups that are doing what we do now. While I wholeheartedly support everyone in all of their endeavors, I ask that my hard work not be plagiarized. I do not mean the blog posts from Breyer, I mean the behind the scenes information that I have provided over the years. I am sorry for the drama on that end, but it did need to be said.
I am sorry for this absolute depressing post and I hope that you will continue to stick with Road To BreyerFest for all of your BreyerFest information.
Just wanted to let you know that I stand with you and Breyer. Honestly, I'm so angry right now that I can't think straight! And I'm trying to avoid most hobby related social media right now!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I'm deeply deeply saddened at the behavior of "so called" adults! I feel embarrassed for us and I feel badly for Mr. Bradshaw who thought he was doing a nice thing for a company that his daughters enjoyed! Who knows what he and his family must think now and if he were to share his experience with other "live" horse showers and breeders, what they would think of a small minority of unknown people raising such a big stink??
(And if you're going to complain about Intuit--don't ever release any TB models ever! How many horses broke down and died at Santa Anita last year and earlier this year? Where was the vitriol then??)
I do not follow Facebook so didn't get to read all of the vitriol that went with it - but I heard about it! There's a particular model horse blog that most of the posters thought it was their "right" to castigate Intuit and proudly boasted bombarding Breyer with their indignant letters!
I most certainly hope that you're wrong about Breyer cancelling Breyerfest 2021 altogether(altho I wouldn't blame them if they did!) It would be most unfair to the young children and others who know nothing about the model horse hobby and are only there to enjoy the day and the animals--and to the ones of us who may be in the hobby but feel the same way and want to have that time to spend with their friends and add new horses to their collection!
If Breyer were to cancel, I hope they would take a very hard stance and not do it virtually either! Like you, I was really looking forward to getting a chance at my very own version of another "Ambrose" That these complainers ruined it for everybody and have no remorse for their actions is nearly unforgiveable!
I sincerely hope that it's the environment in which we all find ourselves that is causing such ugliness from people to come out! I wouldn't count on "common sense" much tho! I hope Breyer will re-evaluate how they deal with certain customers though and let them know "enough is enough"! Breyer is first and foremost a business company and while it's nice that they sometimes takes their customers suggestions to heart, if everyone decided to pull an "Intuit", where would they be as a company?? How long would they last?? No--the better option would be is "We're putting out this model, it's being released in this color. If you don't like it, don't buy it!"
In closing (sorry for the long post) I'm very sorry to read that you're taking your messages mostly to Facebook. I find Facebook hard to navigate through and like reading your blog to get the latest Breyerfest news! Thank you for this blog post! Your points were well said and excellent! (I would say more but I'm afraid that you wouldn't approve of the language that I'd like to use! Heh!
Oh, thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteI didn't support Intuit as the Celebration Horse, but I don't support the hatred and anger either!
Yes, I posted one short comment on their Instagram, stating I did not approve of his conformation. Another lady responded in disagreement, and we had a respectful, wonderful conversation about it, without all caps, angry emojis, and hateful language. Yes, I learned a few things and my stance on halter horses was somewhat shaken. Maybe hers was too. But the result was a calm conversation that hurt no one and educated me.
This is what people need to do rather than jumping to conclusions. A person cannot draw a correct conclusion without knowing about the other side of the story!