Christmas Ponies & the Last of the Advent Minis

Where do I start? There is so much to share and I don't know where to begin.

So, rather than sorting through hundreds of photos from yesterday, I'm going to begin with yesterday's and today's Yuletide Challenge prompts and then share those Mini Whinny Advent Horses.

December 25: What was under the tree?

See what I am holding?

The 2025 Pony for Christmas, Cuddles! I also got a Breyer gift card from Jessica and my first Merry Dancer!

Pink! I would've been happy with the green or purple, too. As for Coal, I like the other colors much better. (Although from a collectibility perspective, Coal would be a nice addition to my collection.) On December 23 Breyer gave collectors the opportunity to order a second one, and my order is in. Fingers crossed for anything except another pink. LOL

December 26: Original Box(ing) Day - models with their original packaging.

This was an easy peasy one for me - I didn't even have to think about the model I would use.

Kipper, still is his original box.

Over time, the box has become very fragile and so I stopped taking Kipper to shows years ago. 

I keep him on the top shelf in the darkest part of the room of my office where direct sunlight will not damage him or his box.

The Last Mini Whinny Advent Surprises

Boy howdy, has this advent calendar ever grown on me. I was not happy with it when I began opening it (having a bunch loose in the box did not help.) But by the third day, I was all in.

Day 10, a miniaturized Adriano in a gorgeous glossy Family Stallion bay.

That FAS it is modeled on was one of my first pieces in my collection. I named him Dark Star.

Using one of Breyer's most popular vintage colors, Day 11 was a knock out.

The pink hooves are a bit bright, but having struggled with pink hooves for my second NaMoPaiMo piece, I am sympathetic.

The last piece was the decorator, and I received the silver filigree on the Sherman Morgan Mini Whinny. I expected one of the original four decorator colors (gold charm, florentine, wedgwood, or copenhagen) so this was a surprise. 

He looks like a chalky - that white mane, tail, and stockings are not bare plastic. Neither are the dapples - they are painted on over the silver coat.

Having not read anything on social media about these pieces when the calendar first started arriving (I didn't want to spoil the surprises), I missed out on any oddities and other information that collectors noticed and shared.

I sure hope that Breyer does another one of these calendars. I like it much better than the others done previously. 

Back to making order out of chaos, be it the house, the photos, or the Christmas food and gifts!

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?

An Unusual Kipper

I was cruising eBay last week when an unusual piece popped up on my "You might like this" feed. 

 A flocked piece, clearly meant to be Thelwell's Kipper.

I thought his price was high, especially for an unknown-to-me model, but there was a Make an Offer button, so I did and ended up winning him.

My new Kipper arrived yesterday and he is clearly not the cheap trinket I thought he might be. He's fairly light as most cheap plastic pieces are,  but there is a better quality to him in the details.

I quite like him and am glad I took the chance. Having said that, though, I cannot find any information about him. I am going to post him on a Facebook group or two and see if anyone can help me figure out who manufactured him, when he was made, etc.