Collections within My Collection: Thelwell Ponies!

No doubt about it, some of the cutest ponies in the world originated in England. 

There are Julips (Photo from Google Images and attributed to Model Horse Manufacturers,)

and RubberNedz (made by Donna Chaney of Animal Artistry),

and then perhaps the cutest of all (and most definitely the SASSIEST,) the Thelwells!

Based on the books written by Norman Thelwell, the Thellwell ponies, be they made from rubber, china, or plastic, make me smile. I am lucky to have all three mediums in my collection.

In 1986, Breyer's catalog listed three Thelwell ponies in its catalog, Pumpkin, Midget, and Kipper.

(Photo from Google Images.)

Kipper, the bay had a very brief release but the mold was changed and the product did not match the picture. The other two ponies were never released. 

I was lucky to find a Kipper still in box at a model horse show in the late 1980s/very early 1990s. 

At that time, Kipper was more of an oddity than a sought after collectible like he has become. The seller didn't want much for him, so I snapped him up. With the passage of time, the plastic on his box has yellowed and gotten very brittle, so Kipper lives on a top shelf in my office, away from any direct sunlight. I feel very lucky to have him.

In 2018 I found a flocked Thelwell pony on eBay.

There are several versions of this piece

including one with a white bridle and a saddle, and another with the black and white halter and a saddle. I have no idea who made this piece, and it's lightweight and feels like it's made of hollow plastic.

China collector and long time hobbyist Lois Bennington had this Beswick Thelwell Kick Start for sale at a live  show that I attended years ago.

I didn't buy it that day, but several months later I reconsidered, contacted Lois, and asked if it was still for sale. It was, and it now resides in my downstairs china cabinet.

When Pony Pal Mila was younger, she loved to have me open that cabinet and pull out pieces she wanted to see more closely. Here she is holding Kick Start (which made her giggle.) Cherished memories!

Totally by chance, I came across a rubber set of Thelwell ponies and riders for sale on eBay several years ago.

They were cute, they were inexpensive, they became mine. And are they fun to play with!

I've even shown them - twice!

In August, 2020, Jennifer Buxton held a photo show called Pandemic Performance Panorama.

Using some appliqués I had in my sewing supplies, I created a scene of dedicated fox hunters heading out despite a looming hurricane and entered the scene in the Teeny Tiny Performance class. I don't remember if I placed or not, but I sure had fun creating that scene! 

Then, since 2018 was the 60th anniversary of Norman Thelwell's Kipper books, I created an entry to honor that in the Anything Goes class at  the August, 2018 Great Lakes Congress Show.

I forgot to put out Kick Start, but I still won the class. (That was the last time I ever took the Breyer Kipper to a show.)

Here's the info sheet that accompanied the entry:

In my dreams, I'd love to find Pumpkin or Midget, the two other Thelwell ponies that Breyer originally planned to release. Apparently they were never made due to poor sales, but every now and then rumors fly about one on eBay or being found in a sale of some sort. So far those have all been proven to have been made by another manufacturer and not Breyer.

Still, you never know, right?

Indy Blooms: Showing

There were ten divisions at Indy Blooms with  50+ entrants. The competition was at the hobby's top level, even in the smaller classes. More than once a judge lamented as she pinned a class, "There are several horses that deserve to win this class, but I could only pick just one."

(Leslie looked at several classes that were out on the table and ready to be judged and asked me, "How on earth will the judge pin that??" She was right.)

I went in with a small show string and hoped for the best but I wasn't expecting much. I figured this was the kind of show where winning any ribbon would be an achievement and hoped I'd get one or two and maybe even a NAN card.

Regular Classes

I was surprised to do as well as I did. (Thank goodness for Leslie who helped me listen to calls for classes in the four divisions I was showing in!)

Chinas was the smallest division, but it was still very tough. (The Grand Champion of Show was a china.)

I was pleasantly surprised at my placings.

Most of the chinas I'd brought were not the best in my cabinets. I've shown for years and just did not want to risk breakage on my best pieces anymore. So, I brought ones I did not usually bring.

I was surprised when these did so well - I guess I have been letting the others overshadow them in the past!

My Performing Misty was named the Draft/Pony Division Champion. 

I'd brought several foals and was happy with their placings.

Gold Nugget is a fairly recent find and this was only his second show.

All the foals that I'd brought together, although you can just barely see my Hagen Renaker Donkey foal, Harry, on the right.

Gold Nugget was the Reserve Champion of the Foal Division.

And Oreana won the decorator class. That little pony on her ribbon meant she was a judge's favorite. (Hmmm. I need to check that card. It should be a yellow collectibility one.)

I showed some Stablemates including the lovely Abby that Equiden gifted me with just before Abby unexpectedly died. She did not place but I did not mind - with the anniversary of Abby's Gotcha Day looming, I was happy to be showing her regardless of her placing. It was like a little bit of Abby was still with me.

Fun Classes

I love fun classes, and you just never know what is going to show up on the table.

For the Fabio class (models with lots of mane), I entered my two RubberNedz.

That class was huge and Mr. Nedz won 6th place. 

I entered Pepper in the Dogs class.  Candy was also used by judges to indicate their favorite entry.

Grand Champion & Reserve

Indy Blooms has a Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion of Show. There are callbacks for all the Division Champions and Reserves, and the slate is wiped clean. Any of those twenty models were now in contention for the biggest prize of all.

Including my little Misty who not only had been a sectional Champion, she was the Reserve Champion of the China show!

I had packed her up and was loading my car when Liz found me and told me to bring her back - that she was in the running and was needed.

I quickly pulled her out of her haversack and set her on the table next to Liz's gorgeous dapple grey china Arabian. (I couldn't find her NAN card, her class ribbon, or the medallion she'd won so she went without.)

The way the Grand and Reserve Champs are chosen is that every judge lays a paperclip by the model they think should be Grand Champion. The model with the most votes wins, and the one with the second most is named Reserve.

I was more than a little surprised to have received a vote! And the winner was Liz's Arabian! (Very well deserved, too.)

By that time, I was worn out. I'd been invited to go out for dinner, but I just was not up to it. Fortunately the drive home took less than an hour and I got home before night settled in. 

Robin and Chelsea put on a really good show and there was cheering, laughter, and chattering heard throughout the day. I am so glad I got to go.

Hopefully I'll be back next year and up to participating in the swap meet, too.

Indy Blooms - Friends & Family

As I worked on today's post, I realized that there were simply too many photos for one reasonable length blog post. So, I've split it into two, one for today, the other for tomorrow. And, to make it even more easier to read, I divvied the photos up into categories. 

The Show Hall

Indy Blooms is held by Robin Mangus and Chelsea from Chelsea's Model Horses at the Boone County Fairgrounds in Lebanon, Indiana.

Set up near the entrance to the show hall was the table of awards - aren't those spring colors lovely?

Robin's boyfriend had made the medallions for the show, the smaller for the sectional champions, and then two biggies for the Overall Grand and Reserve Champions of the show.

The show hall is spacious and Robin maps out the placement of the show tables

and seating for the entrants. Judges are seated close to the tables for the division they are judging, 

and requests to sit by friends are honored as much as is possible.

I was seated with my Great Lakes Congress friends, Liz Cory, Jamie Rott, and Marilou Mol as well as two long time hobby friends, Pat Reed and Michelle Evans.

Robin took the time to make a photo booth for entrants, but sadly I never made it down there.

Friends & Family

Socializing and connecting with hobby friends is one of the absolute best things about model horse showing. While I enjoy winning a ribbon or two, that's more the cherry on top to being with friends.

And family! Leslie came down for part of the day to help me set up, put horses on the show table, and more. This was the second live show she's been to with me, and she's learning the ropes. We had fun together and as she said later in the day, "Wow. Breyer has really stepped it up. These model horses are gorgeous." And she's right. 

I was delighted that Liz and my tables adjoined each other and we could chat all day. Kelsey Kramer, a Lafayette townie, was across the room, most likely because she was showing resins and was placed near those show tables. Still, she came over and ate lunch with us and we got to see quite a bit of her.

Kelsie, Jamie, Marilou, and me. 

My friendship with Michelle Evans goes way back to live showing in the 1980s.  

She and Leslie hit it off, too.

Pat Reed's show, Indycon, was one of the very first live shows I ever attended, if not the first, also back in the 1980s.

Kammie Fenwick and I met about five years ago at a show and have been friends ever since. 

Jan Jordan is a friend from Ohio and is wearing a show apron that I made. (I love the pins she added to the top of it.)

Another dear friend also wearing a show apron that I made. She works in a profession where secrecy is a must and when she gave permission for me to use her photo in the blog, she asked that I not show her face or name. 

Tomorrow I'll show photos of my models and how they did. Not only did I have a good day with friends, 

I had a good day in the show ring, too.

Stay 'tooned!

The Next Day

Second Post of the Day

I'm tired and everything I took to Indy Blooms is still in the car. But what a fun day it was and I have a lot to share.

Leslie and I had a great time together, although I had to smile occasionally - every time she referred to a china horse, she used our childhood term of "glass horse." But I didn't mind. That phrase is a bond between us and harks back to when we were kids.

I'll write about the show tomorrow. My heart is more than a little low right now as I remember Abby on her gotcha day. (See previous post.) I just don't feel like writing much more today.

Remembering Abby

May 27 has been a day of joy for me since 2012. It's Abby's Gotcha Day.

Here is the post I wrote about the day I fell in love with her: Puppy Eyes and Horsey Hips

Even better, there was a double bonus the day that I bought her home: Home! 

Me with the "twins" as they came to be known. 

Happy Gotcha Day, sweet girl. I miss you so much.