Hello!
My name is Stormy, and thanks to my wonderful friends Afuze and Xenocanid, I am now a part of Xenolabs! It's an honor to be a co-author of this model horse blog.
Now, I will properly introduce myself. Some of you may know me as StormySkye13 on DeviantArt or as StormSergeant on BlueSky. I'm a twenty-something horse girl from New Jersey, USA with several passions including horses and equine language, digital and traditional art, meteorology, and writing. I am unable to own a horse of my own, but I spend nearly every morning at a local barn. Most important of my passions, I am a model horse hobbyist. I am a hardcore fan of Breyer models, and they take up the vast majority of my collection.
My introduction to the world of model horses started when I was very young. I still have the 2007 Breyer mini catalogue that came with my first set of models. My very first set was gifted to me by my mother: Let's Visit Baby, a Freedom/Classics scale set. Naturally, I had little to no interest in the human doll and focused my energy toward my model horses whom I named Kasey and Caramel.
Kasey (mare) and Caramel (foal). Keep reading to find out why they are in such rough shape.
My next model came soon after, the Red Roan Pinto on the Andalusian Stallion mold. His name became Dash.
It isn't hard to see why I named him Dash!
A few years later, I got Stevie and Belle from the Saddle Club, and again, my poor Stevie doll sat without any kind of play while Belle was named Starlight.
Starlight, the black mare with a star.
Lastly, one Christmas morning, I found the Veterinary Care Gift Set under the tree. I had Kasey and Caramel with me when I opened the horse I would name Stella, and my mom asked me to bring my horses upstairs to my room. With Kasey in one hand and Caramel in the other, I was so excited and ran up the stairs... and immediately tripped because I was a clumsy kid. I held onto my precious models as I fell, but Kasey's hind legs hit the edge of the stair breaking them off and sending them flying. I must have SOBBED for hours, but since uncovering my original five models, I discovered Caramel had suffered a similar fate at some point. I truly don't know how. XD
The culprit of the stairs incident, Stella.
As I grew, my interest in my models began to fade a little as I dedicated my time to my stuffed animal collection. My model horses were lost among my treasured toys likely somewhere in the basement. However, in 2016, my family was moving out of my childhood home, and as I sorted through my belongings to pack, I found all of my models. I spent the rest of the day distracted by my horses! I began to wonder if this old company was still around. Little did I know Breyer Model Horses is one of the largest model horse companies (celebrating its 75th anniversary this year in 2025). With a quick Google search, I found the holy treasure trove of model horses. Immediately, one model caught my eye: the web exclusive Cosette. I begged my mom to buy her, and because she wanted to do something nice for me during a tough time, she agreed. Cosette is the model that officially started my obsession with plastic ponies. She also remains the only model horse that was ever shipped to my childhood home and the last mail I received there.
Cosette has earned her place among my most beloved models, and my original five models still stand on my shelves today (though Kasey still struggles to keep her back legs on, and her foal, Caramel, has lost his back legs which have been replaced by "prosthetic" pen caps XD). In the nine years since, I have been extremely fortunate in my collecting. I have some favorites including the "King of my Collection", Fireheart. He is my only Premiere Club model, and he will forever be the most expensive model I own. My most recent obsession in the model horse hobby is customizing. I am just beginning my repainting journey, but I am so happy to have my amazing friends Xenocanid and Afuze to guide me as I take my first steps. Someday, I will make a post on that.
In the meantime, I am so excited to be a part of Xenolabs. No matter how far we go, I will always remember the models that started my journey: my original crew.
