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?