My Favourite AQH Moulds

Today we are looking at the lovely American Quarter Horse (AQH). The AQH is one of the oldest American breeds with the history of its breeding dating back to the 1600s. A stock horse breed it was named after its ability to run at speed over a quarter of a mile.

There are a wealth of AQH moulds out there but today we are going to focus on Breyer AQH moulds, if we went into resins as well I'm afraid we would be here all day! I've also tried to limit myself as again, we would be here all day!

In no particular order here are my favourite Breyer AQH moulds:

1. Bobby Jo

OK so I said in no particular order but there are no surprises as to who I have put first on my list. Bobby Jo was first released as part of the Premier Club in 2015 and is sculpted by Morgen Kilbourn. Originally released as a Paint Horse there have been seven solid colour releases which would suit an AQH

BreyerFest 2016 special run 'Sheila'

2. Roxy

I have a real soft spot for the Roxy mould. I think it's a lovely representation of the AQH but with a much softer feel than many other sculpts, which can often feel harsh in their heavy muscling. She also just has the sweetest face. Released in 2009 and sculpted by Susan Carlton Sifton there are 16 solid colour releases that would suit the AQH

Regular Run release - Bet Yer Blue Boons

3. G4 Reining

A little Stablemate now, I really love the WEG set of Stablemates and particularly the cute little reiner. Sculpted by Kathleen Moody and first released in 2010 for the World Equestrian Games this mould has ten solid colour releases that would suit the AQH breed.

Mystery Horse Surprise - Series 4 - G4 Reiner in grey

4. G4 Loping Quarter Horse

Another little Stablemate now. I know this mould is not everyone's cup of tea but I really like him, I think he's such a cute little mould. He was sculpted by Jane Lunger and was originally released in 2013. He has been released in solid colours five times and all would suit the AQH breed.

Horse Crazy Surprise - Series 3 - G4 Loping Quarter Horse in chestnut

5. Lady Phase

No list of Quarter Horse moulds would be complete without everyone's favourite, the Lady Phase mould. An older Breyer mould it was sculpted in 1976 by Chris Hess and has been a firm favourite of collectors ever since. She has no less than 46 solid colour releases so if you are after a new AQH you  are bound to find a Lady Phase that you will like.

Stock Horse Treasure Hunt - Grey - Long Tail Variation

6. Zippo Pine Bar

I also feel no list would be complete without good old Zippo. Zippo Pine Bar was sculpted by Sommer Prosser and was first released in 1999. He has been released in 13 different solid colours.

Custom Zippo Pine Bar in palomino

7. M1 Smart Chic Olena

When I was making the list I originally included Smart Chic in my selection, but then I thought I actually prefer the Stablemate shrinkie than the Traditional model. So the Traditional scale model went out and the shrinkie came in. Smart Chic Olena was originally sculpted by Susan Carlton Sifton and released in 2005. In 2020 he was first released in Stablemate scale as part of their new range of Shrinkie models. He has been released in five different solid colours which would suit the AQH breed.

70th Anniversary Mystery Horse Surprise - Palomino Smart Chic Olena

8. American Quarter Horse Mare

No list of anything would be complete without a few classics. First on my selection of classic scale Quarter Horses is the newer Quarter Horse Mare mould. This mould was sculpted by Kathleen Moody and first released in 2005. She has eight solid colour releases which would suit the AQH breed.

Regular run Dun Quarter Horse

9. Hollywood Dun It

This is definitely my favourite classic scale Quarter Horse. Hollywood Dun it is a fun mould in a dramatic reining pose. He was sculpted by C.M. Herden in 1998. He has eight solid colour releases which would suit the Quarter Horse breed.

Game Day Surprise - 2025 BreyerFest Limited Edition

10. Reining Stock Mare

I thought I'd finish off with a Mini Whinnie, because why should the big horses get all attention. The model I've picked is the little Reining Stock Mare, she is a really cute little model (if not a little wobbly at times) and reminds me of the Bobby Jo mould with a similar pose. She has nine solid colour releases that would suit the AQH breed and make a cute addition to your CTF show string.

Mares Collection - Palomino Reining Stock Mare

Which is your favourite Breyer AQH mould? I'd love to know whether you agree with my choices or whether you'd pick someone else.

Also you'll note I left out the G2 Appaloosa, but don't worry, I'll make sure to do another stock horse post at some point and leave the poor boy in. To make up for it I have used him for tomorrow's Facebook post.

Three New Resins

I've been busy painting recently and have started to try and put a dent in all the unpainted micros. Probably pushed on by the fact that I literally do not have any more space for unpainted micros (although it is worth noting that I also don't have any space for painted micros so we are in a little bit of a predicament).

I've got three finished over the last few days, two heavy horses and a Morgan. I prepped these models over a year ago with a plan to take the Shire to Recycled Live. But, like many things, when I fell pregnant again that got pushed to the bottom of the todo list and nothing got painted until I went on maternity leave seven weeks ago!

So let's go through and see what I completed

First up we have CRS White Marble aka Pierre.

Pierre is a Maggie Bennett Donner resin from 2017 (yes that is how long some of these horses stand unpainted on the shelf for, I'm pretty she he is not actually the oldest one). He was sculpted as a Boulonnais and as I don't actually have a Boulonnais in my collection I decided to go for a standard grey and keep him.

He has been painted to a fleabitten grey. His base colour was done with pastels and then he has hand done fleabites with pastel pencils across his whole body. He was finished off in hand painted acrylics. I went with a heavy metallic grey for the base to contrast his light body colour.

Second we have CRS Blakemore

Blakemore is a CF Micro Pewter Shire (Winston). I purchased the full set of CF micros when they were released, this is the third one to get painted and joins my Exmoor and Welsh D. 

He has been painted to a traditional Shire black with four even white socks and a white stripe. I really just wanted your bog standard traditional Shire colour for him. He has plenty of shading and some lovely sunburnt highlights in his mane and tail. Blakemore is also staying with me as I didn't have a single ARC Shire before I completed him.

Finally we have 'On My Own'

As the name suggests this is the only sales piece of the batch. He was painted with the intention to sell but I fell increasingly in love with him the more work I did on him. I very much want to keep him but he was done as a sales piece and I think should probably be sold. I have, however, put him in my micro cabinet and can't say I'll be disappointed if he ends up staying with me for some time!

On My Own is a Maggie Bennett Armstrong micro pewter. He was sculpted as a very angry Morgan Stallion. I love how much character he has and I think the fiery chestnut really suits his personality.

He was painted in airbrushed acrylics with pastels and pigments for shading. He was finished in hand painted acrylic with white flecking across his flanks, four white stocks and a white blaze. I think this dramatic colour works so well for such a dramatic little horse.

He is available now at Chestnut Ridge priced at £100. Click here to give him a new home.

Which is your favourite from this batch? I hope you like the colour choices as much as I do!

Celebration of Breyer Live Prizes & Raffle Prizes

I am very proud of myself in that I got everything for the show finished tomorrow. My horses are all packed, certificates are all cut out, prizes are all painted. Everything is packed and sorted. All I need to do is collect the food this evening and we are all good! This is a level of organisation I don't normally achieve so I'm feeling quite smug about it.

With less than 24 hours to go I thought I would share with you some of things that I've created for the show.

We are going to start with the section champion prizes. Each section champion will get a custom Breyer stablemate. I tried to pick slightly unusual colours for each one. I haven't decided which section will get which and will just pick random ones on the day. I know the MFT is definitely the most popular (I actually thought about painting another because I wanted to keep him so badly)! Let me know which one you want to win!

Anyway, here they are :D

First up is a Breyer G4 Paradressage to a bay blanket spotted (probably a pintaloosa). This mould works so nicely as a stock horse and I love this colour on her.

Next we have the only decorator in the bunch. I mean I had to do at least one unicorn! This is the Breyer G5 Warmblood Mare (unicorn variation). She has been painted to a black and pink unicorn. She actually has pink shading in her coat if you look carefully. Her hooves and horn are in a metallic pink paint.

Next we have a G2 Standardbred. This guy has been painted to a max white overo. I love how pink he is! You just know this horse is going to be a nightmare in the sun! He's a really unusual colour and something a little bit different for your show string.

Fourth is another extensive white pinto. This is a G2 Saddlebred that has been painted to an extensive splash white. I went with purple for her ribbon to pick up the blue in her eyes.

And now everybody's favourite, this is a Breyer M1 Missouri Fox Trotter that has been painted to a gorgeous shaded black sabino. I picked a reference I'd saved because of the horse's face marking. Although the horse in the reference was bay I went for a faded black instead and then copied the markings. I adore a black sabino and this guy is to die for, he is just gorgeous. He's definitely the one I want to win!

The final prize is a G3 Stock Horse that has been painted to a silver dapple with white markings. I wasn't too sure about this girl at first but I'm actually really happy with her. The shading is just beautiful.

I have also painted two models as prizes for the raffle. The first is a Breyer Paddock Pal, although I went with a very simple shaded black colour for this guy I thought it was quite cool to offer a custom Paddock Pal. You don't see many custom Paddock Pals around so I thought this would be a fun thing for someone to win.

Secondly, I wanted to offer a painted resin or pewter micro. I was going to do another piece but I had already decided I would probably sell this girl and thought instead I would offer her for the raffle. This is the Maggie Bennett Escape Foot Callie pewter. She has been painted to a lovely dun colour with no white markings.

All of these models will be available at Celebration of Breyer Live tomorrow. I always like to go all out for the shows I run and this one has been no different. Which one would you like to take home?