Tails from the In-Gate: Part 4

Lil’ Ricky Rocker was a BreyerFest icon and the event was honored to be able to host him, and his incredibly generous owners the Georgyi family, for 17 years.   We were devastated to learn of his passing earlier this year, but there are so many happy memories of him that we wanted to share some of Ricky’s quirks with his fans.

A few stories from owners, Ron and Donna Georgyi -

 “Ricky was a cookie monster!  One year at a show, a vendor was selling horse cookies and, in an effort to drum up some business, left some samples at all the stalls.  Well, Ricky tried one sample, and then another, and was so enthusiastic about them that if he spotted one on a vacant stall ledge would snatch it!  It turned out that he loved these treats so much that he would actually drool while he was eating them!  We decided that we needed to find this vendor and buy Ricky some of these treats since he was so hooked.  He was, after all, beloved to us.  When fans found out about his obsession, they would bring him these treats to BreyerFest and you could see the joy in his eyes.”

“Another fun memory was that Ricky just absolutely loved to have his rump scratched.  It took us a little while to figure out that that was what he was after, too!  We were out in the field one day and I gave him a scratch and he started backing up towards me.  I was worried I might get kicked, but he just kept on backing up!  It turned out he was just after more rump scratches.  What a character he was.”

“Ricky just loved the spotlight.  He loved cameras, he loved having his photo taken, and he loved performing for his fans.  I caught him many times at BreyerFest posing for the camera, both at the autographs tent and while performing in the arena.  Once, at another event, we were in the middle of his demo and he caught sight of himself on a huge video screen and actually stopped to look at himself.  At the time I was mortified, but looking back, it was just so funny and so characteristically him.”

We loved reminiscing about Ricky!  What is your favorite story about Lil’ Ricky Rocker?  Post in the comments below!