Monthly Archives: May 2016

Just a reminder that my Breyer 39 Appaloosa Foal Spot will be ending on eBay on Sunday, May 29th at 6:39PM PST. There is no reserve. You can see my original blog post here.

The direct link to the Breyer 39 Appaloosa Foal Spot eBay auction is:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222123522477

Even if you aren’t interested in bidding I encourage you to take a look. This is a very rare foal and he is a neat part of Breyer history.

Memorial Day Sale

We are having a Memorial Day sale in our eBay store. Buy One and Get One at 15% Off EVERYTHING in the eBay Store. The sale is active through Monday, May 30th. This is a new promotional feature that eBay has offered to stores. However, I quickly learned that there are a number of nuances and glitches. One of the confusing things is that, you as a buyer, MUST use the Add To Cart feature to checkout with a minimum of 2 items in your Shopping Cart. You CANNOT use the Buy It Now button. You cannot Request An Invoice. Doing either of these things will void the sale discount. It is also recommended that you checkout using the Shopping Cart at the top right of your screen. Paying directly from your Awaiting Payment screen can bring on a whole new set of errors. Lovely! Lastly, using Best Offer also voids the 15% discount but I was told that this was intentional. I want to clarify, I have no control over this. The Promotional Sales are programmed like this by eBay. But it would be great it you could take a moment to provide eBay with some feedback and maybe this can get fixed.

Aidan’s Toy Trove eBay Store

You will also find that several horses in the Breyer

2016 line up have had price drops in our

Website Store.

Have a great weekend all!

Aidan’s Toy Trove Website Store

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman

Recently, I read The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, The Horse That Inspired A Nation written by Elizabeth Letts. This was the best book that I have read in a long time. Several reviews expressed disappointment in the lack of character development of Henry and Snowman. Personally, I did not feel this way. I enjoyed the unique personalities of both horse and owner. I highly recommend this book to both horse lovers and to <gasp> non horse lovers. You can purchase the book in both print and digital editions from Amazon’s website.

http://www.amazon.com/Eighty-Dollar-Champion-Snowman-Inspired-Nation/dp/0345521099/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1464370517&sr=8-2&keywords=snowman

Breyer also released a portrait model of Snowman which is for sale on my website.

Breyer 1708 Snowman

Amazon’s description of the book reads:

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a truck bound for the slaughterhouse. The recent Dutch immigrant recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up nag and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, he ultimately taught Snowman how to fly. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend.

A Letter from Author Elizabeth Letts

A writer is always on the lookout for a good story, but the first time I saw a striking old photograph, I didn’t realize that I had stumbled across a tale so extraordinary that it had the power to change lives.

The old black and white photo showed a horse and rider team in the midst of a crazy feat–jumping right over the back of another horse. What stopped me in my tracks was the expression on the jumping horse’s face. Even in the vintage picture I could see that the horse had absolute trust in the man who was asking him to make such a tricky leap. I wondered why.

Unable to forget the photograph, armed only with the rider’s name, I tracked down an address, not sure if I would find him there, or even if he was still alive. Just a few days after I mailed him a letter, my telephone rang and a voice on the other end said, “Hallo, this is Harry de Leyer.” The man in the photograph, now in his eighties, was on the phone. The first time we spoke, Harry told me a story that gave me butterflies in my stomach and made my palms sweat–that’s how badly I wanted to write about what he’d said to me and share it with the world.

Walter Farley, author of The Black Stallion, was once asked why horse stories were so popular. His answer was this: “When the books have been read and reread, it boils down to the horse, his human companion, and what goes on between them.” The story of Harry and Snowman, is at its essence, a love story. A man, a horse, and a lucky encounter on a bleak winter day that led to a second chance for both of them. Together, they shared a dream so big that only their combined courage and heart could get them to their destination.

That moment, when the pair of them stood under the spotlights of Madison Square Garden and listened to the thunder of the crowd, was simply unforgettable–the kind of triumph that ripples forward through time. I heard it coming across a crackling phone line, the first time Harry de Leyer told me about Snowman.

Read the book, and I’m sure you will hear it too.

Breyer 1755 Patriot

I was so very excited to be receiving my order of the Breyer 1755 Patriot. I think he is one cool dude!

My order was submitted and I thought it was finalized. I was ready to announce Patriot’s price for those on my wait list. As it turns out, my distributor was shorted on the number of Breyer Patriots that they received and I will not be receive my full order . I hear that this happened to a number of Breyer Dealers. I wonder what’s going on? From what I hear, this is a rather common occurrence with Breyer. My distributor is unsure if they will be receiving the remainder of their order which includes the remainder of the Patriots that I reserved as well as several others that were reserved for others.

On the upside, I do think that I will have just barely enough Patriots to cover everyone on my wait list. The bad news is that my price will be a bit more than anticipated. I was unable to get free freight shipping with the reduced number of horses shipping from my distributor. They are charging $30 to ship 1 case of 6 horses to me, yikes! This certainly adds to my cost.

Pending any other changes from my distributor, I will have the price for the Breyer 1755 Patriot finalized this week. I will send everyone on my wait list the pricing and ordering information. I won’t be able to offer the lowest price that some bigger dealers are able to offer but I hope that my good reputation, speedy shipping and safe packaging might make up for this.

Thank you all! Have a wonderful end to the week!

Original Breyer 1755 Patriot Post with more information about this Independence Day Special Run!

My Breyer Distributor Has the Breyer 1755 Patriot In Stock. Hurray!

I am finalizing my order and will have the Breyer 1755 Patriot on the way to me shortly. Several of you have requested to be placed on the wait list and you will be receiving pricing information shortly. If anyone else would like to be added to my Patriot Wait List, please email me at aidanstoytrove@gmail.com It looks as though I will have enough Patriots to cover all of those that have requested one thus far. If you have been debating, please to let me know so that I can be sure to order enough Patriots to cover all potential orders. My best guess is that his price will be in the low $60s. Any left over Patriots will likely be priced a bit higher, now is your chance to lock in the lower price. No payment is due until I have Patriot in hand.

If you missed it, you can read more about the Breyer 1755 Patriot on my Blog:

Breyer 1755 Patriot Limited Edition Independence Day Saddlebred!