BreyerFest Recap Pt 3: Equilocity!

For the second year in a row now the Stone Horses event, Equilocity - Art of the Horse, was held at the Marriott Griffin Gate. I am so excited that they are back to using this venue. For years they were over at the Embassy (I think? I'm not even sure, but it wasn't the CHIN or Marriott) and every year I said I would take the shuttle over but never, ever once made it there in all the rest of the BF chaos.

Now it's back to being just an easy walk over from the Clarion and that makes it simple to plan it in to your schedule. I've also been able to attend the Art of the Horse dinner on Friday for the past two years because I haven't participated in the Breyer Friday Open Show at the horse park.

But the festivities really kicked off on Thursday evening with the welcome party and first night of shopping. Unfortunately I missed out on getting a shopping wristband for the second year in a row - last year we were held up at Resin Renaissance and this year I was judging the new Thursday open show day at the KHP. They go quickly and in fact this year there was a record turnout of over 400 people!

Even without getting a wristband the free welcome party is a great event. There was food (a meat carving station!) and a cash bar and just being in an air conditioned space with friends and plentiful seating is a real luxury. If you were shopping, wristband times went until 10 but the Stone staff promised to stay open afterwards as long as people still wanted to shop - and they ended up keeping the store open until Midnight!

I'm an older person and my bedtime is 9:30 😆 After judging at the mini show all day I was exhausted, so I never made it over to shop on Thursday night. However, one other thing I love about the current Stone setup is that they preview everything online! So I was able to view all of the One-of-a-Kinds and runs ahead of time and luckily this year there wasn't anything I absolutely needed. I figured my top picks would be gone in the first group anyway, but I still made a small list of models that I would like to have if they were still around.

Friday was the dinner! I was quick enough earlier in the year to have snagged a shopping ticket, so this time I was hopeful I'd have a chance at some of the runs. This dinner is always a good time - the food is excellent and many of us, myself included, enjoy dressing up for the event. It is a nice change of pace from the rest of the weekend where I feel more like a sewer rat most of the time. This year the dinner was also emceed by Hayden Kristal and she was amazing - so fun to have an equestrian comic. It really was a fantastic evening.

I always love seeing all the award winning art as well, and of course all the Stone releases inspired by them. It is fabulous that they honor not only customization skill but also the flat, digital and 3D artists as well as writers with the literature category. There are so many talented artists in the hobby that work in other media and it is great to see that elevated and appreciated at Art of the Horse. I felt that the pieces created by Stone this year were also a level up even from last year - some really incredible art turned out by the factory too.

There were two dinner models offered this year and I had a tough time choosing between Literally Little Chicken Nugget and Mini Lady L'Ongears. I don't yet have a pebbles drafter but I did love the pattern on the mule so I ended up going with her in the end and I chose gloss this year.

The runs for AotH were also stunning and it was hard to even make a short list - but I was particularly excited about the FCM Irish Draft, the Bunny, and the large Mule. Last year all my top picks were sold out by the time my number was called but this year I was able to snag the beautiful mule, Mothy, and in gloss! The other two had sold out, but that was OK because it just made my decision easy, ha. Getting a nice large mule has been on my ISO list for awhile, so I was excited to check that off this year. I love the belled tail and the grulla markings are so beautifully painted.

After dinner we wandered over to The Mansion where the rest of the Stone store and the Dappledown Soiree was taking place, fully expecting almost everything to be gone. First off, what a cool venue to have the store! I felt like I was shopping at Tiffany or something - very high end and fancy - I loved it. Many models had sold but shockingly a few of the models I had picked out from the online albums were actually still there! In fact, all the friends I walked over with also found something they had been looking for. You always figure it's meant to be when that happens.

I bought this adorable OOAK chips foal "Brooks" painted by one of my most favorite Stone artists, Julie Keim. I didn't have a chips foal yet and splash pinto is one of my favorite patterns. This little guy is just so cute and has amazing detail for such a tiny model. I was excited to get him. We also wandered up to the Dappledown Soiree - I say up because it was upstairs in The Mansion! It was quiet and this may have been a trickier spot for the artists this year, so far from the other activities - unlike last year when they were in the heart of the hotel. I only really collect OF so it was just admiring and window shopping for me anyway.

On Saturday there was the Art of the Horse show! This is an all workmanship show which is really cool to see and fits perfectly with the theme of the event in honoring the art itself. I didn't enter since I am more of a collectibility focused person but I heard it was very well run and a fun time for all the entrants.

Next year's theme is "Dazzle" which is super fun and the base model for the customization divisions is the Trotting Draft! Unfortunately I sold my Trotting Draft body literally the night before in room sales, D'oh! But I really am not a customizer. I'm going to try my hand at the traditional media division again this year. I was as little stumped on Harmony but I love Dazzle!