Mares in Black!

@breyermodelhorses

@maresinblack . Live at BreyerFest 2021. It’s happening. ⚫️ ##breyerhorses ##breyertok ##breyerfest ##modelhorses ##horsegirl ##fyp

♬ Back In Black - AC/DC

The Mares in Black model horse podcast streamed its first episode three years ago, in June 2018, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate that anniversary with their fans than by announcing that the Mares themselves will be appearing as guest hosts LIVE in our studio at Breyer HQ, answering fan questions and chatting about the hobby during BreyerFest weekend.

"The Mares," Jackie Rossi and Heather Malone, are both real horse enthusiasts and model horse collectors since childhood. 

Jackie (left) moved from being obsessed with dinosaurs to horses when she was in middle school, and started collecting Breyer models when no one wanted to buy her a live horse. She got very involved in 4H and later pony club and was into eventing and fox hunting until she went off to college. She shows mostly performance and custom/artist resin halter, but the bulk of her collection – over a thousand pieces! – is original finish Breyer models. She has been a past co-chair for North American Nationals and actively judges both live and photo shows. She never really left the hobby, despite trying before grad school in 1994, and today spends her days repairing broken real-life animals as a vet.

Heather (right) received her first Breyer at age four, a palomino Western Prancer, and she was in love. As an Army brat who moved all the time, she could not have a horse of her own, so Breyer models were the next best thing. Heather started riding lessons at a young age and showed hunters and jumpers, then moved on to dressage. Heather collects everything – plastic, china, resin customs – and is especially proud of her Valegro conga. She has held several MSOTY-honored model horse shows and has been an active judge and volunteer in the hobby since 1994.  Heather spends her days not in the hobby communicating “about space and planes and stuff” for her company.

The pair has been friends for ages and after many years of being involved in the model horse hobby, both admit to tossing around the idea for a model horse podcast for an embarrassingly long time. They felt the hobby needed a new way to get news, interact, and communicate. So, with encouragement from some friends, they finally decided to get on with it and Mares in Black was born!

The show focuses on all aspects of the hobby from a collector's and shower’s perspective and promotes diversity, inclusion, and welcomes new hobbyists and youth into the fold. Mares in Black airs at least bi-weekly covering news, new releases, interviews with artists and influencers, Instagram in Progress, and model horse shows and events, like BreyerFest! 

The team at BreyerFest is thrilled to be able to host this dynamic duo for two guest host spots during BreyerFest weekend – they will also be airing post-event wrap-ups on their MIB podcast in the evenings during BreyerFest weekend, just in case you didn’t get enough of them during the day.  The full schedule for BreyerFest weekend will be released closer to the event, but in the meantime, you can check out the Mares in Black here!

 Don’t have your tickets to BreyerFest yet? Get in on the action here!