Breyer Grab Bag

I love surprises. I love Breyer model horses. So when Breyer sent out an email offering Grab Bags, I couldn't resist! I splurged, spent the money and waited for my package to arrive. The pack would include various retired Traditional models, and a "Special Surprise".

One afternoon, I heard the knock on my door... the delivery man! I rushed to get it, sign for it, and brought my box in. YAY!

They had offered two Grab Bags, "K" and "L". They hadn't asked me which I wanted-- maybe one was sold out-- but sent me "L".

I cut open the tape on the box, and opened the flaps without looking in. I wasn't to be surprised! It was light Christmas morning. Without peeking at what it was, I carefully pulled out the first box...

Teddy O'Connor! Not a model I had.

Teddy's story is a sad one. A pony (yes, legitimately small enough to be a pony!) ridden by Karen O'Connor, he was supremely talented. He frequently won over horses much bigger than him in various jumping competitions, including the Kentucky Rolex Event and the Pan Am Games, both big deals. He would have gone on to great things, perhaps the Olympics. Heartbreakingly, he was injured on his home farm, lacerating his leg, and had to be euthanized. A friend of mine had met the O'Connors at an event before Teddy was on the scene, and said they were really nice people. I can only imagine how hard that must have been for them.

Moving on to more cheerful topics, though... next Breyer in the box!

Ooh, Ideal, the Oldenburg stallion! This is another model based off of a real horse. He's the number one Oldenburg stallion in the US. He's a gorgeous, talented gray, and I was quite happy to add his model to my collection!

Next up... Flicka! A familiar horse-face in the literary world. ;) Unfortunately, I'd recently bought this model for myself in a crazy-good State Line Tack sale. (Yes, yes, I have no self control.) But my misfortune at getting a repeat is my niece's gain; she'll be getting this one as a birthday present as soon as I go visit my family in the north. (She's also horse crazy, as is only right!)

A shiny-boxed Best In Show Classic sized model was next out of the box. I don't have any of these, so that's good! In general, I have less Classics, though there are some really neat ones. This one in particular has actually "hair"-- not something I normally go for, but the model itself is quite lovely!

Newsworthy appeared in my hands next. A rather nice one, I like the pearlized gleam to him and the clear jump/stand. He's another one based off a real pony who's competed with young riders in some big competitions.

I discovered a package of Mini Whinnies, Breyer's smallest toys, next. While they may not be the same as the big Breyers, there's just something so fun about miniature things like these! And I liked the fact that it was a set of Draft horses.

Lastly, came the special surprise!

The other side of the bag actually had a sticker that told me what it was, but I did open the bubble wrap to make sure. Yep...

Buttercream! He was one of the Special Runs created for and available at BreyerFest this summer. Unfortunately, I'd already snagged him there, but I'm hoping to trade the extra model for another. And, as Sassy Cat and I had discussed, at least it wasn't the horrid little pink poodle model they'd had there! ;)

I get the feeling that these Grab Bags are going to be addicting for me. Heck, this collection is addicting in general. I'll have to start putting aside the Breyer Model Horse Fund so I don't go broke, haha! ;)