Episode 5: Kerri and Model Horses

Did you know a single model horse once sold at auction for 20,000 USD?

In this episode, we chat with Kerri — a professional show dog photographer from the Barossa Valley in South Australia — about her other passion: collecting model horses. Kerri has been at it since 1997 and has around 200 horses in a dedicated model room at home. She takes us into a hobby that’s far more creative, community-driven, and valuable than you’d ever expect.

In this episode, you'll find out:

• How Kerri caught the collecting bug while heavily pregnant at the Royal Adelaide Show in 1997 — and bought her first Breyer model on the spot
• Her biggest regret ... selling the Phar Lap replica that now fetches up to $1,500. She’s still not over it.
• Yes, model horse shows are a real thing — complete with breed classes, tiny hand-stitched saddles, and miniature roping scenes
• The Horse’s Arse Trophy: what it is, who wins it, and why Kerri is quietly proud of her win
• Why this hobby is as much a creative outlet and mental health break as it is a collection

Find out more: search ‘AIMHC’ or ‘Breyer Model Horses Australia’ on Facebook — but be warned, you will go down a rabbit hole.

Mel Loy is a storyteller, community enthusiast, and host of this insightful exploration into the power of individual passions. She’s dedicated to highlighting stories that connect people and inspire action.

You can connect with Mel on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Do you have a weird or wonderful hobby, or do you know someone who does? Then get in touch! Email hello@cuttlefish.group.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to Wait, You Do What? The show where we unearth some of the weird and wonderful hobbies of the people in our communities. I'm your host, Mel Loy. I'm recording this on the lands of the Yavera and Terrible People here in the Engine Brisbane. And I love sharing stories. So sit back, relax, enjoy, and laugh, and maybe be a bit inspired by some of the hobbies our guests share with us on this show. Let's get into it. Harry, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me. So before we get stuck into your weird and wonderful hobby, please tell us a little bit about you.

SPEAKER_02 0:40

Well, I'm a 57-year-old wife of one son called Sam. And uh yeah, we've been married for 29.5 years. Wow. So almost our 30th wedding anniversary. Congratulations. Um I'm a professional photographer. I photograph show dogs, so there's another weird and wonderful thing about me. Um and we live in the Barossa Valley.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Amazing.

SPEAKER_02 1:07

And I and I collect weird and wonderful model horses.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

I'm so excited about this chat. I will go back to the the dog photography though, because I reckon there's a lot of people listening to this who are dog fanatics. Do you have dogs yourself?

SPEAKER_02 1:22

I do. I have two Jack Russell's who are at the moment banished because for anyone who knows Jack Russell's, they bark at the slightest thing. So they're banished at the moment.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

And just before we get into your horses, how did you get into? I mean, dog show dog photography is very niche, right? Like it's like there's lots of different types of photography out there. So how did you get into the show dog photography?

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Um, yeah, I started out with show horses, actually. Um, yeah, I used to photograph the show horses at um a lot of the major shows, um, Show Horse Council, ESA, and the Royal Shows. And then um, that's where I actually met Um my friend Ingrid, um, who has had dogs for a million years and is also a photographer. She um happened to meet her by chance, and I started getting her to help me at horse shows, and then she started getting me to help her at dog shows, and now we we have this little team and we travel around Australia. Um, we do all the major, well, most of the major royal shows like Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, um, and a lot of big shows. There's always dog shows going on, and dog show people absolutely love their photographs. And I let me tell you, I've had an education since doing this because there are dog breeds out there that I didn't even know existed.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

I bet. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:51

And the yeah, over the years I've you know learnt so much more, and yeah, um, it is it is a very sort of niche photography, but you'd be surprised how many, many people out there that do do dog photography. Oh, look, it's gotta be better than having to deal with people, so hats off to you.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

Oh, give me a dog person any day. Now let's get into your hobby. Tell us about it. What is your weird and wonderful hobby?

SPEAKER_02 3:18

My weird and wonderful hobby is I collect um replica model horses. Um I I started collecting probably about uh I'd say 27 years ago. Um I come across um them at the Royal Adelaide Show, actually. Um, I was actually heavily pregnant with my son. And uh they were holding, they had this big stand, a lady by the name of um Karen Hampton, she was one of the first importers of model horses um from Brea into Australia, and um she was uh she had a stand there and they had all these model horses, and I was just in awe, and that's the when I bought my first model horses. Um I used to do a lot of show uh show horse, horse riding, sorry, um many years ago when I was a lot younger and a lot fitter and uh could actually get on a horse. Um and having like been in love with model horse like horses and models for years, this was just like heaven to me in this stall. And that's when I bought my first Brayer model. So that was back in would have been 1997. So yeah, because that's when I was pregnant with my son. So wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

And I know before the show we were chatting and you said you've not actually you've never counted them. Do you have a guesstimate of how many you've got?

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Uh there's gotta be at least 200. Four. Okay. I think there might be more, there might be less. That depends if I'm counting the little stable mates. So there's some little ones that are about this big.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

So that's they're like yeah, they tend to. I I think these things breed in my sh on my shelves because they keep doubling.

SPEAKER_00 5:09

So what is it about them that that has inspired you to keep collecting them? What do you love about them?

SPEAKER_02 5:16

Um, I think it's the the detail that goes into them. Um, see all of these, like even if they're mass-produced, they're all still like hand painted and they're never the same. Each one is the s is never the same. Um, I can have I can buy two models of the exact same brand and colour, and there'll be something different about each one of those. Um and it's a way of connecting, having having a horse without hav having a horse, if that's what I if if I can use that term. You sort of um you can have a horse, you can admire the horse, and you don't have all the work that goes with it. That's true. Like when it's pouring with rain and I don't have to go out and feed a horse, and I don't have vet bills either.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

That's true, yes, yes. How many different types are there? So you mentioned there was like little ones and there's sort of the big ones you collect. What what kind of model horses are there out in the world?

SPEAKER_02 6:19

Oh, so many. Okay, so there's there's the the main two brands of models are the Braya Company, which has started in America uh back 75 years ago, 78 years ago, uh sorry, 76 years ago now. Um so that's the one brand, and they have um mainly three different sizes. So you've got your stablemates, which are your your small, just a bit smaller than your average coffee cup. Okay, yep. Then you have your classic sizes, which are a little bit, they're a 112 size um model, and then you have what they call the traditional size, which is your one nine uh one six.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

So are they more like um, you know, where we think about the horse, the Barbie horses, for example, you know, like that kind of size or not a Barbie horse.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

No, but is that the kind of size or um no, the Barbie horses do tend to be a little bit bigger than the traditional ones. Okay, gotcha. Um, these ones are just a little bit smaller than that. And uh yeah, a lot more detailed.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

Okay. And on the economic side of things, what do these things range from in terms of pricing?

SPEAKER_02 7:26

When I first started, they were averaging round about your probably your $60 to $90. Um Peter Stone brands were um when they were doing um regular runs and things like that, they were about your $90 mark. Um and yeah, your brands. But nowadays, um, because we get them in, we have to get them in from the US. Nowadays you're looking at anywhere between $100 to $120. Oh, okay. That's just for a regular run. Um, and then you've got your um, so they they h have clubs within the Brea um store that are like the Premier Club, the Stablemate Club, and the Vintage Club. Those models tend to be even more expensive. Um the last one I bought, just trying to think, would have been the Vintage Club one. Um that would have cost me, I think that cost me around about between $280 and $300. Wow. Okay, you must really like some.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Yeah. So I've just done some quick math there. If you've got about 200 horses and let's say minimum 120 bucks each, $24,000 worth of model horses in your house.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

No, I don't know. Not saying that. My husband might hear this.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

You better insure them, that's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Yes, I do. I need to catalogue them, insure them, but uh, yeah, yeah, we just cut that bit out when he's listening, that'd be great.

SPEAKER_01 9:01

That's fine, that's fine. Have you got a favorite?

SPEAKER_02 9:04

Have I got a oh yeah, I think I do. I probably no, I have two favourites. There's the first model that I ever bought, which I still have. She sits up there, and the second one um would be a more modern one, which is what they call a premier club release uh gypsy cob. And um at last year's we held a show, model horse show last year uh here in Williamstown, and it was um in celebration to for Brayer's 75 years, and uh she actually won Supreme Champion original finish. So okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

So she's a prize-winning horse.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

Oh, she's she is a prize-winning horse, but she is absolutely like the moment she came out of the box, uh, the detail that they've put into that is far surpasses anything I've ever seen them make. And yeah, she she would be a favourite for sure.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

So she does she have a name? Do you name them?

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Well, her basically I just name them whatever they came come to me as. So she was actually she was actually part of a mare and foal set. So the she's she's just called Rihanna because that's what she was called.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Kind of like the cabbage trash dolls, they all came with names and you just had to you just had to wing it. Um so yeah, you mentioned that there was a show in Williamstown last year. Can you tell us a bit about the community of collectors?

SPEAKER_02 10:32

Oh, we're all a little bit crazy. We all love our models, and we love a good model horse show. It's it's um it they're super fun because uh you can get together with your friends that we all do the same thing, and we all, you know, we all have our little niche collections of things that we like. Um you know, there's certain moulds somebody might like more. Um and yeah, we just we just all get together and have a good laugh and a good fun, and we show our models and and uh we have you know prizes. Takes a bit to put together, but yeah, um it's it's just a real fun community of people. And uh, you know, we all we all go all go round and look at each other's models and drool over them, and sometimes we pretend we're gonna steal them and off we go. Like we have classes we call performance classes, which is people will do setups of um people that have handmade tack, little tiny saddles and little tiny bridles, and it's like a a small scene, I suppose. So you'll have um uh let me say you'll have a western class basically, and it'll be like somebody's putting a a Western horse on the table, got Western saddles and everything, has a Western rider on it, and it'll be looked like it's actually roping a calf. Um so they the they go to a lot of trouble to make these scenes and the more they make them look really realistic as well. Um because of course the more realistic the more you know you're likely to win. Um and you have your English classes, of course, and yeah, so they do all of that, that's all the performance, and then the others are just like you would have at a normal at a horse show, um, you have your breed classes. Um and yeah, they just go down on the table and they get judged and awarded on their breed qualities and that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

It sounds like there's a real artistry to this.

SPEAKER_02 12:47

Absolutely, yeah. The people that go into that that do the the painting, the repainting, the re-sculpting, um the tack making, um, the scenes that they set up. It's really like it's it's a hobby that they can just sink their teeth into. And yeah, it's there's also photo showing as well, they do that, where they set up basically scenes and then they photograph it and they get sent off to shows. Um in America, they have a thing called Breyer Fest every year, and that is huge. Um, the model horse community in America is a whole lot bigger than what it is in Australia. Um, and uh they go to this, they have this Brayer Fest. They have actually quite a few different um, like there's Brayer West, and there's so many different things they have over there, which they're really lucky.

SPEAKER_00 13:45

Um, I'd love to get there one day, but I don't know if I will, but maybe get a brand brand sponsorship out of this.

SPEAKER_02 13:55

Nah, don't need Bray.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Breyer, if you're listening.

SPEAKER_02 13:59

Yeah, Breyer, if you're listening.

SPEAKER_01 14:05

This feels like a good time to interject with a bit of history of model horses and a few fun facts. While the horses Kerry collects are made of plastic, figurines of animals date back a really, really, really long way to figures carved out of stone and wood and animal bone. The oldest known carving was found in a cave in southwest Germany. It was a tiny mammoth figurine carved out of ivory, and it's believed to be about 32,000 years old. The ancient Chinese were also known to create elaborate pottery horse figurines which were placed inside tombs of the elite. Fast forward to 1920 in the UK, where Britain's Ltd. became one of the first companies to mass-produce model horses, initially as accessories for toy soldiers and model farms. But the modern-day hobby of collecting model horses really kicked off, so to speak, in the 1950s in America. It's the brand Kerry mentioned Brayer. At the time, they were the Breyer Molding Company, a Chicago-based plastics manufacturer. Their first model, known as the number 57 Western Horse, was produced in 1950 as a special order for the FW Woolworth Company. And it was designed to sit on a mantelpiece clock. But people weren't interested in the clock. They were frothing over the horse, and Breya was inundated with requests from people who just wanted to buy the horse. That kick-started a brand new direction for the company. Since 1950, Brea has produced model horses consistently with more than 6,600 distinct models documented in collector guides. There are now four major manufacturers of model horses in the United States alone, plus hundreds of toy stores and online dealers worldwide. In fact, the annual Breyer Fan Convention, known as Breyer Fest, started 26 years ago and now attracts over 10,000 people each year. In 2013, Breyer actually sold out of three-day tickets before the event even began. And there's big money involved too. Items auctioned at Breyer Fest have gone for upwards of $65,000. One horse sold for $22,000 at a Breyer Fest live auction in Kentucky in 2019. Now this particular horse was known as Al as the Alborozo model, which devout in 2008 as a super limited edition. So super limited, they even destroyed the mould. So no more could be created. But they kept a few on hand with unique colourings, which was one of these horses. You could say some people need to drain in their spending. And on that terrible joke, let's get back to Kerry. So when you're looking to buy one, what are you looking for?

SPEAKER_02 16:52

What I something I like. So there's a mold called the Fireheart mould, which to me is absolutely gorgeous. Looks like a wild Mustang, which is what it was meant to look like. And I have quite a few of those. Pretty much if it comes out in a different colour, I will be having it because it just catches my heart very much so. But there are others that if they bring out, I'm just like, yeah, nah, I don't like that. When I first started collecting, it was like I've got to have all the models, you know. But as I've got older and my tastes have refined, my collection has changed over the years. I've, you know, I've bought and sold. Um, I really only think I have two models left here that are the original ones that I first bought. Oh wow. So you really have done a big turnover. Yeah, yeah. My one regret was Target many years ago bought out Brea did a replica of Farlap, you know. Oh yes, yeah. Great Australian horse. Yep, turns 100 this year, apparently. And anyway, I bought one of those. They were only like $40 or something from Target. Really wished I'd bought a lot more of them. They now sell for anywhere between $1,000 and $1,500. Wow. Those horses. Yeah. And they have a markup. Near impossible to get. Yeah. Um, yeah. Shoulda got a waters. I shoulda, I should've who knew at the time. Yeah. I mean, you know, they were just because they were only sold in Australia, too. Oh, okay, right.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

So they are limited.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Who would who would have thought that anything back then? I wasn't that smart, apparently.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

Apart from your Far Lab, is there another model that you'd really love and you haven't been able to get your hands on?

SPEAKER_02 19:14

There is. There's a a Clydesdale mould called Shannon Dell, who was it was the first one they bought out. Uh it was a a Premier Club model. Um, I haven't been able to get my hands on one of those, and I'd really like to. However, again, I'm gonna be looking at about because I would be buying it from probably from the US. So yeah, they'd probably sell it for about a thousand US dollars. And then I've got to also get it in here. So yeah. I've seen it, you very rarely see them for sale either. They're okay, they're like as you as the saying goes, they're like hens teeth. You you just don't see them up for sale. And when you do see them for sale, boy, are they costly.

SPEAKER_01 20:04

Wow. Well, it sounds like there's some profit in there if you've if you know how to buy and sell. Um what is your what do your family think of your hobby?

SPEAKER_02 20:13

James gets like he comes and helps us, my husband's James. He comes and helps at the shows. Um he actually made a program um so that we can actually enter the shows online. Awesome. Um yeah, he he's sort of he does get into it. He's helped build my shelves in here, and yeah, I think he admires them. Um I think he thinks they look all right. I'm not sure he goes much on how much they cost, but you know, this happens.

SPEAKER_01 20:43

How do people typically react when you tell them about your hobby?

SPEAKER_02 20:48

Um, mostly positive, you know, it's like, oh, you know, wow. And when they see it, they're like, like really kind of blown away. Um yeah, there's been a few times where, you know, you have people, door-to-door salesmen or real estate agents, they knock on the door and you open the door. And previous to this room, if you open the door, the first thing you saw was a massive cabinet full of horses. And their their reaction is usually, I'm guessing you like horses. Correct. Not sure what gave you that impression. Yeah. A lot of people, when you say, you know, I'm doing a um going to a model horse show, they do look at you a little weird, like, okay. And they wonder if you, you know, galloping them around the table like you. It's like, no, no, we're not that weird.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

That's not the hobby horse races. I've seen those. But it does sound like a really nice way to bring together a community over something that is fun, is creative, is special to people.

SPEAKER_02 21:57

We even have a at a model horse show. We even have a horse's ass trophy. I want that one here. Cheering the laptop pretty much just making an ass for yourself. I love it. I love it. Everybody should have a horse's ass trophy. It's actually the back end of a horse program. Just the just the rump of the legs and the tail.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

It sounds like it's not just something uh you do. It's almost like a mental health break for you. It's a bit of a yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Being able to and being a photographer, um, it's a creative thing. Being a photographer, you're very creative in your mind because you're always creating a picture of what you want in your mind. And this is sort of something that yeah, it's that creativeness. It's that creativeness, I suppose, is is what um so I suppose that's a bit of a skill set of being, you know, the creativeness of taking photographs of something and making it as realistic as possible. Yeah, um keeps the mind sharp for work, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

And the other thing too, it gives you the opportunity to make connections all over Australia and all over the world, probably.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, it certainly does. Yeah. Um, not you know, there's a lot of people that I have on my Facebook that I've never met before, but you feel connected to because it's you're talking to them in a model horse group, it's a great little community. I I you know really enjoy the people that I've met through the community, got to know them, and you know, got to see some of the stuff they've created. Fabulous. That's really cool.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Well, Carrie, thank you so much for your time today. If people wanted to find out more about collecting model horses, what you do, um the shows, where's the best place for them to start?

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Well, we do have the model horse club, um, which is also on Facebook, um, which is the uh let me see, let me h c stands for October International Model Horse Club. Um, they have a Facebook page. Um we also have um a Facebook page called Private Model Horses Australia. Um something's gonna come up.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Harry, thank you so much again for being on the show. Thanks for having me.