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Business & Tech

Local Business a Horse of a Different Color

Model horse retailer adapts to marketplace changes in supporting hobbyists.

It's not uncommon for Des Plaines residents to hold a second job for some extra income, and many retirees work a part-time job for the same reason. But for one Des Plaines couple, Stuart and Arlene Bentley, selling model horses is more than just a job. It's a passion.

The self-proclaimed "horse nuts" have enjoy the hobby throughout their lives and sell Breyer model horses through their home business, Bentley Sales.

"We're holding on," said Stuart. "We're not galloping, but we're trotting along."

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The traditional-sized model horses are one-ninth scale, stand roughly a foot tall and may cost $40 apiece. Most are highly detailed replicas of real horses, and while some children do play with them, no one should make the mistake of thinking of pint-sized copies as just toys.

Horse History

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The Bentleys have kept Bentley Sales going since the 1980s, when Stuart's mother and father began taking more frequent vacations in Florida.

In 1969, Stuart's father was one of the first Breyer model horse sales representatives. He worked at Sears--as his son did until 1989--in a department that carried plastic items including socket covers and other products made by Breyer Molding Co., a Chicago plastics manufacturer.

Breyer produced a model horse for a clock and received requests from customers, primarily girls, who wanted to purchase the horse separately, according to its website.

When Stuart's father retired from Sears in 1969, Breyer asked him to reply to the requests and fill the orders. He agreed, and Bentley Sales has been a fixture among model horse hobbyists ever since.

Today Bentley Sales continues as a home-based mail order company that sells and ships worldwide. Volume has sharply dropped, in part because Breyer began selling its entire line of model horse products directly to the public several years ago, according to Stuart.

Model Horse Shows

About 10 times a year the Bentleys pack up a portion of their wares for sale at model horse shows and real horse shows across the Midwest. On Aug. 28, they traveled a few miles up the road to attend the "No Frills Model Horse Show" at a Huntley Park District building. The event was sponsored by the nonprofit club Great Lakes Congress.

About 50 hobbyists attended the show, and there was a close-knit and welcoming family vibe to the event. At one point in the middle of the day, the board members presented the club's president, Jamie Rott, with a wedding gift, and a warm moment with smiles and hugs was shared.

The Bentleys are a part of this model horse family, and they have watched many of their customers grow from children into adults over the years.

Sue Hallwas, secretary of the Great Lakes Congress, judged, showed and sold model horses at the show with her niece, Kaitlynn Camardo. Though the Bentleys offered models commemorating the 2010 World Equestrian Games sooner, Hallwas said she waited until July to patronize a small business that had supported her club and hobby for many years.

"They're the small business people that we hope don't go out of business right now in this economy," Hallwas said. "They've always been supportive of the hobby and the people in this area who are into it. And they're very sweet people."

Samantha Bledsoe attended the "No Frills" show with her friend Marissa Creviston, both 12. They enjoy playing with their models at home by setting up courses with Jell-O boxes to jump and filling the bathtub so the horses can go swimming.

The two girls share space in boarding real horses, and Samantha says she understands that not everyone can enjoy owning live horses because of the expense, allergies and other limitations.

"It's a good hobby," Samantha said. "If you can't own a real horse, you can always use those, and act like it's a real horse and do things like brush them."

"They really look real," Marissa said. "They have good details, and they might be a little expensive but they're worth every penny."

Stuart and Arlene Bentley enjoy the people they meet running their business more than any other aspect. Arlene said at a show in Wisconsin last year, a girl with a developmental handicap approached the couple's booth as her mother waited outside.

"This was maybe a 16-year-old or 17-year-old, and she came up to the booth all by herself--her mother was waiting outside. [She] picked up this model and asked how much it was," Arlene said.

"We told her. She got all her money out, paid for the horse," she recalled. "We put it in the bag and gave it to her. She walked out of the booth and she said to her mother, 'I did it! I did it! I did it! All by myself.'

"She was so happy that she could do something on her own," Arlene said. "Maybe that's why we do it."

At this time the Bentleys, both 77 and the parents of three, don't have firm plans for their business' future. For now, they are content with the size of the company and number of customers.

Stuart cited another reason selling model horses fits his lifestyle.

"Let's put it this way, it keeps me off the streets and out of the taverns," he said.

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