Boot Camp 2026

ABOUT THE SHOW: Held entirely online, Boot Camp is a photo show geared to people at least 15 years old looking to learn more about model horse showing. This show is sponsored by Breyer and entries must be original factory finish or customized Breyer and CollectA horses and animals. We want to encourage as many people as possible to learn how to show model horses. We hope you will enter this show and gain confidence from the experience. Our ultimate goal is to see you at other photo and in-person shows, like the BreyerFest Open Model Horse Show, hosted in Lexington, KY, in the summer.

LOCATION: This year, the photo show will be held on the Online Model Horse Photo Shows (OMHPS) website, a PonyBytes partner. OMHPS provides an improved entry experience by helping to steer you to the correct class for your horse based on the information you provide about it. Your entry fee includes three months of premium access to the site, allowing you to upload documentation photos.

CONTACTS: If you have any questions about the show, please contact show holders Jamie Rott and Liz Isham Cory using the Contact Show Holders form. If you need technical assistance, please use the Contact Technical Help form. Please like and follow the Breyer Boot Camp Facebook Page to get updates. Questions go to the Breyer Boot Camp email (BreyerBootCamp@gmail.com).

ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS: You must be (1) at least 15 years old, (2) never entered the Breyer Online Open Photo Show (BOO!), (3) never shown at North American Nationals (NAN), the BreyerFest Open or BreyerWest/Midwest Open (the live in-person shows). New this year: If you have earned a total of five or more overall champion/reserve champion and sectional champion/reserve champion awards in any previous Breyer Boot Camp, you are not eligible to participate in this show. Your impressive achievements have set you apart, and we encourage you to take the next step by entering advanced shows like the BreyerFest Open Show so that you may continue to fine tune your showing skills!

ELIGIBLE MODELS: All plastic (no resin or porcelain) Breyer and CollectA horses, fantasy equines, and longears/exotics available for purchase in multiples (more than one). Special Runs, including BreyerFest Special Run and Limited Edition models, may enter. One-of-a-kinds/tests, raffle, auction, and prize models unique to a show or event (volunteer, custom contest, diorama, etc.) may ONLY enter class C09. Animals may only enter “Animal” classes (C15, C16, C17). Customs must be customized by the entrant using a Breyer factory-made body as its foundation. All scales (Traditional, Stablemate, etc.) show together.

ENTRY: Before you pay for the show, register for an OMHPS account if you do not already have one. Then you will go to this link at BreyerHorses.com to enter and pay your show fee. The entry form on Breyer’s site will ask you to identify your OMHPS username. The entry fee is $45 per person, which includes access to all classes and a three-month trial OMHPS "Premium" membership. Breyer is not able to edit the entrant roster after 12 p.m. ET, May 1, 2026.

JUDGES & STEWARDS

Foals

Judge: Heather Jackson-Lain
Steward: Natalie Siedschlag

Light

Judge: Kerri Johnson
Steward: Natalie Siedschlag

Gaited

Judge: Tiffany Purdy
Steward: Kate Cabot

Spanish

Judge: Melissa Hart
Steward: Kate Cabot

Sport

Judge: Dorothy Jacobs
Steward: Kristin Arendt

Stock

Judge: Marilou Mol
Steward: Kristin Arendt

Draft

Judge: Karen Hoagland
Steward: Amanda Reed

Other

Judge: Melissa Shaw
Steward: Amanda Reed

Collectibility

Judge: Sara Roche
Steward: Amy McCudden-Widman

Performance

Judge: Jackie Rossi
Steward: Margie Juergensmeyer

Custom

Judge: Lara Heidkamp
Steward: Heather Malone

AWARDS: 1st to 10th place flat ribbons will be awarded for each class. Overall and Intermediate Champions and Reserve Champions will each receive a rosette. Overall Champions and Reserve Champions will also receive a special model from Breyer. Championship winners may pick up prizes, ribbons and rosettes at BreyerFest from the Breyer Booth (bring your ID) or Breyer will mail these items, at the winner's option, but once an election is made, it cannot be changed. Breyer will mail ribbons at no cost to entrants who have not won a championship. Please allow 12 to 16 weeks from the conclusion of the show for mailing. If you elect to pick up your prize models, ribbons, and rosettes at BreyerFest and fail to do so, you will be charged shipping by Breyer to receive your prizes.

ENTRY LIMITS

Each entrant is limited to 60 entries.
You may enter a single horse in breed, collectibility, and performance, but note that each entry counts against the 60 entries limit.
A model may only enter one breed class and one collectibility class.
Only one photo per model per class is allowed.

ELIGIBLE PHOTOS

You must be the current owner of the model and use your own photo.
No filters, digital enhancements, digital backgrounds or “touch ups” of models allowed except the BreyerFest Midsummer Fair Scene class.
Please do not show models in boxes.
Do not put watermarks on your photos. The watermark added by OMHPS is fine.
Do not use halters in halter classes. Molded on tack is fine.
All photos must not be private. Please make sure to select the "public" or "watermarked" options on your model's OMHPS page.
Do not include your name anywhere on the entry.

CREATE YOUR ENTRIES

After you register for an account on OMHPS, you can start adding your photos to the site. Premium features such as uploading documentation photos, will not be available until you have paid your entry fee, and we have enabled the "premium" status for your account.
For tips on taking photos and resources for picking breeds for your horses, see our Resources page.
The Add Photos page provides complete instructions on the mechanics of adding photos to the OMHPS site, including how to:
- upload photos;
- add breed, gender, or collectibility information;
- add documentation photos and text to your entry.
The Documentation page identifies the documentation you need for most of your entries and the areas on OMHPS where you can enter and store this information. Please review this page before you start adding photos to the site.

ENTERING PHOTOS: The Enter page provides complete instructions on how to enter your photos into the show.

EDITING ENTRIES

OMHPS Notifications: In the upper right navigation area of OMHPS, there is an email icon that will turn red when you have new notifications. You can see them by tapping the icon or by going to your special Notifications page (they're a little easier to read there).
Class Placement and Moving Entries

Before judges go to work, stewards will try to make sure each entry is in the right class. When a steward moves your horse to another class, you will receive an OMHPS notification.
You may email the show holders to ask questions about the move, but please understand that we cannot hold up the show to achieve perfectly satisfactory entry placement. If a steward has moved your entry to a particular class, please do not move it again as you risk disqualification.

Other Entry Corrections - Important Deadlines

No later than Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the show holders will send you an email asking you to edit or provide clarification regarding your entries to correct any errors that we have detected. When you receive this email, you must respond by email to correct any errors no later than Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at 5 pm ET, 4 pm CT, 3 pm MT, 2 pm PT, or your horse may be disqualified. Check your spam folders.
Given that most of our "errors" in previous shows were missing genders and given that OMHPS requires you to add a gender before you can upload a photo, we expect the number of errors to be relatively small and so you may very well have nothing to change.

Apart from making the edits requested in the email referenced above and fixing obvious typos, we generally discourage editing entries. That is because you may edit your entry after the stewards have made a final pass, and if so, you may make an edit that will cause a judge to conclude that the horse is ineligible for the class. If so, it will be disqualified.

DISQUALIFICATION: If your horse is disqualified, you will be notified through the OMHPS Notifications process near the end of the show.

JUDGING

Criteria. After the stewarding period is over, judges will review your horses and judge them according to the show's Criteria.
Champs. Any horse that wins first or second place in a class is eligible for an intermediate championship. The judges pick their overall champions from the intermediate champions and reserves. The overall championships and reserves will be disclosed at the end of the show.
Critiques. After the judging is completed, the judges will prepare narratives that will help you understand the judge’s pinnings. We hope this information will help you understand what the judges were looking for, so you can learn from this experience, and improve your entry for the next show.

SHOW TERMS FOR ALL ENTRANTS

By registering for this show, you agree to follow the rules and treat staff and other entrants courteously. Entrants may not contact judges directly. A breach of the rules subjects an entrant to disqualification.
By registering for this show, you release and hold harmless the show holders and all other staff members, Breyer/Reeves, OMHPS, and PonyBytes from any and all claims regardless of foreseeability and you indemnify these people and entities against your own conduct, including unlawful, negligent, reckless, and criminal conduct.
By registering for this show, you specifically grant Breyer into perpetuity a non-exclusive license to publish, display, reproduce, modify, edit, or use any entered image for commercial and editorial use including advertising and/or promoting Breyer, Breyer Boot Camp, BreyerMidwest, BreyerWest, BreyerFest, and/or any related Breyer products or services, without compensation or the obligation to credit you.

SCHEDULE
Date	Time	Activity
04/17/26 (Fri)	5 pm ET	Online Show Opens1
05/01/26 (Fri)	12 pm ET	Last Day to Pay Entry Fee
05/08/26 (Fri)	9 pm ET	Last Day to Enter Photos
05/13/26 (Wed)	5 pm ET	Emails to Entrants to Correct Entries
05/20/26 (Wed)	5 pm ET	Deadline for Entrant Corrections2
05/25/26 (Mon)	5 pm ET	Stewarding Concludes3
06/01/26 (Mon)	5 pm ET	Judging Concludes3
06/08/26 (Mon)	5 pm ET	Judge Narratives Published3
1You will gain access to the show as soon the show opens and we have confirmation of your entry from Breyer. If you believe you should have access but are not yet able to enter photos, please use the Contact form and let us know. 2The Deadline to Correct Entries is an important deadline. Please see the highlighted area in "Editing Entries" below. 3These dates are approximate.