yan Jaeger, of Missouri Breaks Ranch (MBR), was born and raised in Montana. He grew up competing and showing Quarter Horses in AQHA, Open and 4-H shows. He earned numerous multiple State Championship titles in 7 different events, with his mare “Carrie” and gelding “Stetson”. He was a State Champion in Horse Judging and traveled to National 4-H Congress in Denver to represent the state, his junior year of high school.
Ryan grew up and around Quarter Horse and Angus cattle ranch of AQHA Hall of Fame Breeder’s Doug and Nancy Dear’s famed Birdtail Ranch. His show mare and gelding were both Birdtail bred. Ryan grew up with the Dear grandchildren, showing their horses, assisting with the breeding and foaling of the mares, breaking colts to lead and prepping them for the Dear’s annual production sale for nearly 20 years.
Ryan was a contributor of information for the late equine writer and historian Frank Holmes, for his article “Birdtail Ranch Roots” which appeared in the National Foundation Quarter Horse Association Magazine Collector’s Edition Vol. 2.
When Ryan was 8 years old, his collection of Breyers began when his great grandmother gave him his first models. They were the Clydesdale Family, Paint SHS, and of course the infamous Palomino Western Horse with saddle Breyer #57 for Christmas. His collection reached nearly 500 models; mainly Breyer traditional scale and remain in his bedroom, at his parent’s house.
For a kid growing up in Montana, and long before the Internet, meant isolation. There was no one around who also collected plastic horses. There was only one store that carried Breyers in his hometown, and once a year, the Sears and JC Penny’s Christmas catalogs. He had no access or a way to attend any type of model horse show be it a live or photo one. Just About Horses magazine was his only link to others in the hobby. Communication was always snail mail plus you always had to send LSASEs!
In one of the JAH, he saw several ads for Sire and Dam Lists. He sent off his LSASEs for the first S/D lists from Cory Hartung and Daralyn Wallace. Their lists and early assistance in pedigree assignments was Ryan link into the model horse hobby. Ryan started his on S/D List for Missouri Breaks Ranch, and his focus was to promote and infuse correct and real horse bloodlines into the hobby. All of his models were “sired by” or “out of" real horses that Ryan researched. He specializes in stock breeds bloodlines, and is a member of IPABRA, and The Express Racing. Eventually, this S/D list has been cut back to only Quarter Horses, Paints and Appaloosas.
When Ryan started college, the hobby began to see a shift with Artists Resins and customized models took off. Ryan has always been very artistic and his eyed turned toward customizing his models. He really began to dive to repainting his models using Acrylic paint and soft pastels, which he applies many of the techniques from making ceramics. Ryan has started to move into some major customizing and sculpting, and is enjoying. He just purchased pan pastels and his first airbrush gun and is looking forward to learning how to play with those two techniques
Ryan attended his first Breyerfest in 2015, and participated in his very first Breyer Live Model Show at Breyerfest 2016 with the debut of four of his own customized models.
Ryan’s favorite has been creating portrait models of dogs and horses. His favorite size to work with is the Traditional scale.
Ryan currently lives in San Jose, CA where he is middle school Social Studies teacher. While in California has been 4-H Trail course judge, and gives riding lessons when time permits Ryan is also working on a book, actually it is researching, collecting and compiling data phase for a new and never before published studbook for old Appendix AQHA horses.
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Photo Credit:Childhood memories, first Breyers, age 8.
All images provided by Ryan Jaeger unless otherwise indicated. Owned by Ryan Jaeger unless otherwise indicated.
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