Meet the Open Show Judging Staff!

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BreyerWest is coming up quick!  In three short weeks, our Open Model Horse Show participants will be in the midst of showing – and several of them will have already won some fun prizes!  With a sold out show this year of 60 participants, we’ll have a packed house, too! 

If you’re participating in the show this year, we’ve got an awesome lineup of judges this year who can’t wait to see what participants will be placing in the rings. 

Judging Original Finish Special Run Halter classes will be Kristin Arendt. Kristen has been horse crazy as long as she can remember and collecting Breyer horses has been a part of that since she was 6 years old. Way back then, her mom bought her first model horse, the ever-popular palomino Family Arabian Mare and her second was another copy when the leg went missing on the first! She still has that model to this day!  Aside from collecting and showing Breyer horses, and in addition to showing and hosting her own model horse shows, Kristin enjoys touring around the country judging at various hobby events including the NAMHSA championships. These days Kristin has enjoyed jumping into the deep end of customizing horses for her own show string. 

For those entering Original Finish Mini Halter classes, Chris Wallbruchcan’t wait to judge your models! Chris is an active shower and judge in Region 8 and has hosted the Meows and Minis show for many years (and will again once a new hall is located!).  Chris has judged Youth Model Horse Show at BreyerFest, at NAN, online for BreyerWest in 2021 (the original Breyer Boot Camp), virtually for BreyerFest, and many shows in Region 8.  Chris currently serves as both the Region 8 rep and the Member Show Of The Year chair for NAMHSA.  Outside of the hobby, Chris is a middle school band director and rescue cat parent. 

If you’ll be showing in Custom Halter Classes, Melanie Miller looks forward to judging your incredible creations!  In addition to the work she’s done for Breyer (she’s the sculptor behind the Freedom Series scale mold for Mighty Muscle and Solaris), Melanie is an accomplished painter and sculptor in her own right.  Melanie has made her life's work studying horses in order to create the most realistic pieces possible. Anatomy, color, behavior, the myriad breed types and activities, as well as the materials and methods of creating provide an endless opportunity to learn, and to pass on that knowledge for others to use. It is her hope that the model horse community will continue to grow and collaborate alongside the fun of competition.

Judging our Regular Run Halter classes, Eleanor Harvey began collecting model horses after years of pleas for a real pony fell on deaf ears. Her parents caved and gave her a glossy dapple grey Running Mare, only to watch in disbelief as she grew the herd to its present state, numbering over 2000 models. She began showing and judging model horses in the 1980s. Her specialties are English performance, harness, and collectability.  When she's not playing with her model horses Eleanor is an art museum curator in Washington, DC, where she organizes exhibitions and writes books about American art.

Judging Performances classes will be the fantastic co-host of the Mares in Black, Jackie Rossi! Jackie has been a hobbyist for four decades and loves performance showing! She particularly likes setting up off beat, out of the box entries and enjoys offering critique to entrants in her classes – so don’t be afraid to ask.  She is very excited to be coming back to BreyerWest for the first time in several years.  Alongside her Mares in Black co-host, Heather Malone, Jackie will also be hosting Resin Renaissance this summer at BreyerFest.  In the outside world, Jackie is a small animal/exotics veterinarian and very much enjoys the Legend of Zelda. 

Rounding off this excellently qualified team will be Robin Roberts,who will be judging our Original Finish Collectibility and Limited Run classes.  Robin has been collecting for 35 years and showing for 17. It all started with her Aunt Harriet who convinced her mother to buy Robin her first Breyer models for her fifth birthday. She somehow talked her parents into taking her to BreyerFest in 1993 and started showing at the BreyerFest Open Show in 2006 (a great big first bite!).  As an Original Finish-only collector who specializes in collectability, she's judged at three Kentucky NANs, the BreyerFest Open Show, and local shows across Regions 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, and 10. Outside the hobby, Robin owns two Siberian Huskies and is married to a fellow collector, Shira Roberts.

Registrations for BreyerWest close on Monday, February 6^th, including access to pre-purchase your exclusive Glossy Chardonnay model, so be sure to make your purchases asap!  See you soon!