20/ FEBRUARY 2026 THE RIDER Model Horse Hobby Alive and Strong after 52 Years
By Diana Macdonald Back in 1974 two teenagers
read an article about showing model horses in Western Horse- man. They became PenPals as one lived in Ontario and the other in British Columbia. Due to the difficulties of doing photo show- ing in the US, they decided to start the Canadian Model (Horse) Club and Registry (CMC&R). Within a few months they had a newsletter, 12 members across Canada and from there the hobby grew. From toys to limited edi- tion collector models there is something for everyone. Model of horses have been
around for years – the Vogelherd (circa 32,000-35,000 years ago), to Tang Horses (618-907 CE) to the more modern Beswick chinas (1894 - ) and the more affordable tenite plastic Breyers (1954 – ) into today’s world of limited-edi- tion resins and 3-D printed mod- els.
Through the efforts of An-
drea Pratt (BC) and Valerie Har- graves (ON), a core group of 8
Ann Johnson with a Performance Winner
Ontario young ladies, a cousin in the Maritimes and 3 in Alberta the model horse hobby in Canada has survived and thrived. Many of the original enthusiasts are still involved 52 years later. They may have stayed the course or dropped out and returned. Back in the early days,
mailing photos of your models naked and in their hand made tack was very popular. These shows were advertised in home produced newsletters like Inter-
make sure the photos arrived at their destination on time. The CMC&R run shows were so that Canadians could show without the major hassles. As was “registering” them
while assigning these models with sires and dams. The CMC Registry held a record of all these early animals and the registration part of the club faded away in the early 2000s. Shortly after the CMC&R
started the small clusters of hob- byists got together to hold “Live” Shows in backyards and living rooms. Again, show hosts and participants would share the judging duties. Over time the gatherings got bigger and bigger and soon were renting halls and people came from all over. The first recorded big Live Show in Canada was 1982 in BC. Ontario didn’t hold their first big Live Show until approximately1986. Since 1994, most Live Shows are governed
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national Model Horse Photo Showers Association or the Breyer magazine Just About Horse that was included with purchased models from the mid- 1970s. Show hosts judged the photos as if they were real horses doing real things. Once judged your photos would be mailed back to you or on to the next show with the results. It was challenging getting US stamps to do paid-postage return from the US and acquiring US money to afford the entry fees, let alone
NAMHSA (North American Model Horse Show Asso- ciation) where models qualify for the biennial Cham- pionships shows. For years Ontario hosted 1-2 Live shows a year, in 2026 there are cur- rently 4 planned and a possible 5th is in the works. Most of these are being held in the Guelph area – two of our long running shows: Luck o’ The Irish Live (May 16, 2026 in Milton)
and Mischievous Masquerade Live (Oct/Nov in Milton) and adding in 2 new Live Shows – Winter Whinnies Live (April 18, 2026 in Guelph) and a new show by a long-time host is Grand River Live (Sept 27, 2026 in Elora). These live shows offer classes for Original Finish Brey- ers, Stones, other makes plus China, Other Animals, Medal- lions and Customs and Artist Resins of all sizes as well as Open and Novice Performance
have been remod- eling, repainting and re-hairing models to cus- tomize them. We have
many
renowned artists across the coun- try with their c o m m i s s i o n books filling up every year. In ad- ditional to model making there is tack and props as well.
Interna-
tional self chal- lenge groups are also hosted on- line (primarily Facebook)
–
NaMoPaiMo (In- ternational Model Painting Month) is every February, I n t e r n a t i o n a l Model
Tack Breyer model shot in realistic background
divisions. Some of the biggest events
in Canadian Model Horse history are the 1st and 2nd Official Brey- erWest shows held in 1999 and 2000 at Spruce Meadows and more recently the Breyer Collec- tor Club VIP Event Hoofbeats and Maple Treats held in Ontario this past October. Many Breyer models have been released to ho- nour famous Canadian horses like Big Ben and Trooper. Over the years Canadians
Month is April, ICEE (Interna- tional Customiz-
ing Equine Event) runs every October and November, The Lit- tle Rider Doll Making Challenge runs in March. Select Arcane has great
YouTube videos on the hobby here in Canada and is currently working on a living history series as well as how to tutorials. If you want to check out the
hobby or the live shows, you can find all the news and links on Facebook in the “Ontario Model Horse Enthusiasts” group.
Author herself and her 2019 show herd (pic by Wayne Brethour)
The Canadian Quarter Horse Journal was first published in 1972. It merged with The
Canadian Western Rider in the late 70’s and then with English Rider, 31 years ago in August 1994
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