Show Stoppers: Traditional Paints

It’s no secret by now that my collection heavily favors Stock molds. I’ve rotated quite a few models in and out of my show string over the years, trying to spread the love, mostly between my Lady Phases ... and trying to figure out what judges like in stock molds, with only moderate success.

Here are six models I’ve shown in the Paint class over the years.

 

 

This Lady Phase, #1214 Palomino Pinto, was part of the 2006 treasure hunt. I took a drive out to a closing Breyer dealer in Blairsville, PA (Horse & Rider Etc.) in May 2011 when they were liquidating their inventory and mentioned having a bunch of her for sale. I think she was $15.

She only brought home a single 6th place ribbon in her first half dozen times out in the show ring, so I retired her. Her show name was Fashionably Late.

 

 

This Lady Phase from the #1446 Overo Paint Mare & Foal set has been one of my most successful stock horses. She’s placed in some massive classes and has about a 50% success rate in getting a ribbon. Of the 21 times she’s been on the table, she has 10 ribbons, 2 breed NAN cards, and a section reserve champ. I hand-picked her from my friend Bonnie’s Breyer dealership (Breyers By Mail) in February 2012. Her markings are some of the cleanest I’ve ever seen despite the intricacy of her pattern, which might be part of why she does so well in the ring. Her show name is Alice.

 

 

#711161 CC Shuffle Surprise was a BreyerFest special run in 2013. This gal, the blue roan pinto, was the rarest matte color. She’s now retired due to some slight yellowing, but got a couple breed ribbons and a couple collectibility NAN cards in her show career. Her show name was Sheza Lil Loopy, which you can read more about back in my Nov 2025 Show Stoppers post where I talked about goofy names.

 

 

#90174 Bobby Jo is one of my favorite Premier Club releases. I think the sculpt is conformationally excellent and she looks good in a lot of colors. I wasn’t in the Premier Club that year, so I bought her secondhand from my friend Kelly W. in May 2016.

She’s been on the table 15 times so far, placing in breed six times, earning 4 breed NAN cards, and cleaning up at the 2024 NY Breeders Show in Region 10 with a section champ and overall division champ.

 

 

I first talked about #90122 Hope N Glory in my February 2026 Special Effects post, where I discussed the few Connoisseurs in my collection. She has a cool acquisition story; you can read about it back on the other post. Her show name is Phrenology. She gets into the show ring quite a lot because she’s both a good breed horse and a contender in collectibility. She does okay; as I mentioned in my February post, there’s another Hope N Glory in my region that she’s often up against, and that one is a little nicer.

 

 

This #711400 Seven Arts Surprise in glossy bay maximum sabino was a run of 325 pieces at BreyerFest 2019. He was just featured on my blog back in July when I talked about glossy surprise models. He’s been on the show table 7 times and has four ribbons and a section reserve champ so far.

I like naming my horses something analogous to their issue names, so it was a no-brainer to assign him as Bob Ross. I grew up in awe of the real Bob Ross and regularly watched The Joy of Painting on WQLN (our local PBS station in Erie) as a kid. I couldn’t (and still can’t) believe what that man could do with a canvas and oil paint in just 30 minutes.