Via Breyer History Diva comes this mind-bending collection of blue horse-itude.  As you probably already know, Lexington Kentucky is hosting the World Equestrian Games this year.  The World Equestrian Games are big news in Breyer world.  Breyer is one of the main sponsors of the games, and has released a flurry of World Equestrian Games-related merchandise and models.  The best of these is Esprit, who is Breyer's mascot for the games. 

Lexington is right in the heart of Kentucky's "Thoroughbred Country," where some of the world's best Thoroughbred horses chomp Kentucky's famous bluegrass.  Lexington was founded in 1775, and was named after Lexington, Massachusetts.

One of the most famous horses of the mid 1850s was a Thoroughbred named Lexington.  Lexington The Horse was one of the first horses inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.  A famous oil painting of Lexington The Horse depicts him standing, glossy and proud, on a slight ledge overlooking Kentucky bluegrass country.

(Kentucky bluegrass, by the way, is said to have a bluish sheen in spring.  However, Wikipedia says it's called "bluegrass" because its flowers are blue.  Bluegrass is unusually nutritious compared to other grasses, and is known as "sweet grass" in the UK.)

Now when I read about the next part, I had to keep scrolling up and double-checking the date.  Then I went Googling to verify that it wasn't an April Fool's prank.  If it is one, it's a wide-ranging prank!  

Long story short, Lexington The Town is switching up history a little, and pretending that it was named after Lexington The Horse.  It is furthermore pretending that "nibbling on all that bluegrass turned Lexington blue."  As in, cerulean blue.  And really really big, too.

A special version of the famous oil painting has been commissioned, with Lexington tinted in a rather shocking shade of  peacock blue.  And there is a treasure hunt happening in Lexington The Town - spot Lexington The Blue Horse, and submit your sighting to win a prize!  

Furthermore, design company Pentagram is proposing giant statues of the bright blue Lexington, to commemorate the game.  The Photoshop mock-ups on the Pentagram web page depict Lexington standing astride what appears to be a bucolic suburban street.  Lexington is draped with various banners, to promote whatever event is coming up next.  

And, in case you were wondering what the point of all this is, Breyer is releasing a special resin model of Big Lex.  I wasn't able to find any pictures of the Breyer Big Lex, but I did find a handful of dealers online who are offering it for pre-sale.  One dealer described it as being 5.75" L x 5" H, which makes it a fairly small keepsake - approximately Stablemate size.  It is apparently mounted on a base, and is selling (in pre-sales) for about $15.

Will Big Lex be a big seller? Probably not - this kind of ephemera often fails to appeal to collectors.  And it is, when you get right down to it, a municipal promotional item.  It's an interesting story though, that's for sure!