Collections within My Collection: The Outlier Hasty Horses Star

Second Post of the Day

I had not heard of Lynn Haste and her Hasty Horses until late in 2018. I was doing an online search for circus ponies and this photo had popped up.

It reminded me a lot of the old Precious Moments figurines in its chubbiness, lack of detail, and nearly all-white coloring. 

The price was very reasonable and so I ordered one. I was very curious as to what it would look like in hand.

The pony arrived in a blue box with the Hasty Horses logo and a factory label.

There was also a signed COA. Apparently the piece was produced in 2004. The information online said that it was made of porcelain and that this was the last piece left. 

 It also said that she had originally planned to sculpt a circus rider for it but had never gotten it done.

There is a label on the underside of the base with the model's number, date, and the sculptor's name and trademark.

 

He's cute, but he's also pretty unremarkable. Still, I am glad to have added him to my collection. He may be unremarkable, but he is also quite rare.

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A New Circus Pony

Reader Dana Donnelly sent me a lovely gift in the mail that arrived yesterday. It belonged to her grandmother and she wanted it to go to someone who would really appreciate it.

Knowing my love of circus ponies, Dana contacted me and asked if I'd like to have it. You bet I did!

This cute circus pony cookie cutter!

I'd date it around the late 1940s/early 1950s. I inherited a whole slew of cookie cutters like this from one of my grandmothers - made from plastic with the body filled in so that details are cut into the cookie dough and then bake into the cookies. None of those are circus ponies, so I am really, really excited to have this one!

Thank you, Dana! I look forward to calling up the Pony Pals and having them join me for a baking session!

New Circus Pony

Thanks to Nancy Falzone, I have a new circus pony!

I could not go to her gathering earlier this Fall as it was the same weekend as The Feast of the Hunters' Moon. Someone there had this piece for sale there and, knowing how much I love circus ponies (this is my 14th Hagen Renaker circus pony), she snagged it for me.

Sorry for the lighting, folks, but you can still see how lovely these pieces are.

Thank you, Nancy for your thoughtfulness. And in an ironic twist, one of the Christmas cards I got yesterday was horsey, and guess who it was from? Yep - Nancy!

Christmas Card of the Day

 

A New Circus Pony!

Nancy Falzone held her annual collectors gathering in October. Unfortunately, it was the same day as The Feast of the Hunters' Moon and so I could not attend.

Knowing my love of circus ponies, Nancy had this photo of a head down circus pony sent to me and asked if I wanted it.

You bet I did! 

I already had this piece, but mine has had a hard knock life.

The new piece is mint and has beautiful detail - I am happy to add him to my collection.

Thanks, Nancy!

Note: there will be a second blog entry posting later this morning. Stay 'tooned!

A New Freeman Leidy!

I don't check eBay much, but I do check for circus horses and ponies once a week or so. Lucky for me, I just happened to stumble across a new listing for a Freeman Leidy Circus Pony! It arrived yesterday.

Out of all the circus horses and ponies that I have, the Freeman Leidys are my absolute favorites.

They're chunky, glammed up (those eyelashes!) and absolutely charming.

The new one (on the left) is an upgrade to my very first Freeman Leidy (on the right.)

My original has two breaks in her blue ribbons. I've shown her before but I don't think judges have noticed - there is just too much frou-frou going on with these pieces!

There are differences between the individual pieces, too. My new one is taller and her plume is higher on her head.

From what I can tell, the Freeman Leidy Circus Horses came paired (head up, head down) but then were color paired, too. 

The one on the far left has a green mane, tail, spots, and socks and is accented by purple ribbons. The one of the right is the flip - it has a purple mane, tail, spots, and socks and then green ribbons.

A view of the Head Up purple with green version Circus Horse. (Those eyelashes!!)

Its counterpart, the Head Down purple with green ribbons version.

This is the only green with purple version that I have ever seen in person or online. And when I found him and discovered that it was the reverse of my other pair, I realized that it was likely there were reverse versions of each pair.

The Head Up mold seems to have been used more than the Head Down, with the purple/green version turning up most often. (There is also a wagon for them. I have that in the purple/green version.)

I have found online photos of the Head Down Circus Horse that goes with my new pink/blue version as well as its matching circus wagon. (They're actually planters.) Some day I hope to add the Head Down pink/blue to my collection. I'm still searching to see if there is a reverse pair. 

I've also seen a pair in blue/yellow online and I wonder if that means there is a yellow/blue pair, too. And, never have I seen any photos of the green/purple pair aside from the Head Up one I have, and I'm positive that there must be a Head Down version to go with it. As for wagons for each pairing, I haven't a clue.

Researching and hunting for pieces is one of the best parts of collecting. And truth be told, even though this new one is an upgrade, the other one is staying with me, too. I just can't bear to part with a Freeman Leidy!

My New RubberNedz!

Donna Chaney of Animal Artistry  has been making lovely china and resin pieces since 1983. I especially love her circus horses and have several of them:

 A small Striking Arabian Circus Horse in resin,

a Limited Edition Rearing Circus Horse in bone china,

and Tagus done as a RubberNedz Circus Horse. This was my first RubberNedz. But it wasn't my last.

I stopped by Donna's booth at BreyerFest last year and chatted with her. She told me that she had begun making her Rearing Andalusian Stallion as RubberNedz Circus Horses and showed me the one she had brought as a sample. (Sadly, I did not take a photo of it.) It was beautiful, and sure gave me something to think about.

Later that summer, I wrote Donna and asked if I could purchase one. She was willing to take my order, and agreed to paint it bay with orange and gold tack to match my other piece. I knew it would be a while before I got it; Donna once wrote that the RubberNedz were time consuming to make, but I knew it would be worth the wait.

Last month Donna wrote me and said he was nearly done and that she would be mailing him soon. A week or so later I received a tracking number and began watching its slow progress from Herefordshire, England to Indiana.

It took almost three weeks to arrive, and went from New York to Miami before coming to Indiana.

But at last that box arrived.

 And I am thrilled to have him!

Big plans are in the work for this one. More about that in a future post.

A Case for the Bridle Rosettes

Ever since I began collecting bridle rosettes, I have been looking for a way to display them. Shadow boxes didn't work well - the rosettes have a raised bar on the back so that they can be used on a bridle, and that made them roll around in the little cubbies.

Sorry for the photo quality - the sun isn't up yet as I write and there is glass in the cover of the box reflecting the lights in the room.

That bar on the back made it so that anything I tried for displaying them simply didn't work. Finally, I just put my rosettes into a box and set them on the shelf. I was resigned that I was going to have to have to go down to the frame shop and see what they could figure out.

Then, a friend posted on social media that she had bought a ring case to display her horsey jewelry and rings. Since I have a lot of horsey jewelry, I clicked on her photos to see if it might work for me. And in doing so, I solved my own problem.

Photo by Myla Pearce. Don't her things look great displayed like that? And how easy to find what she wants to wear!

I hopped onto Amazon, found a similar one, and ordered it. It arrived this weekend and I began inserting my bridle rosettes. Looks pretty good thus far!

I also included a photo of my father with his circus pony, Oh Boy. I have Oh Boy's bridle and there is one rosette remaining on it, so I plan to pop that one into the case, too. The plain silver one is from my first horse Amy's bridle. 

Thanks, Myla, for the wonderful idea! 

Variations - A New Circus Pony

I have such a soft spot for the Hagen Renaker Circus Ponies and have acquired quite a conga of them in my minis cabinet. 

But there's always room for one more! 

I saw this HR Head Down Circus Pony on a model horse sales site. It had no breaks or chips and the seller was asking a very fair price for it.

His paint job is pretty average - notice that the hooves are not completely painted gold as they should be. That's common in this piece as well as with the Head Up version. 

You can see the hoof difference in this photo of the new Circus Pony when compared with my first piece in the same color. That first piece also has the scalloped harness and bridle, and if you look closely, a red dot on the bridle where the noseband meets the headstall. Neither of the other two have that detail.

My second piece (in the middle) does not have the scalloped harness, but his hooves have a better paint job than the new one.

My new piece's upper eyelid line extends on both sides of his eye, unlike the other two. I really like his eye.

He is now in the minis cabinet with the rest of my Circus Ponies and a very welcome addition to my conga. 

A New Rubber Nedz is in the Works

I find Donna Chaney's Rubber Nedz horses charming as well as beautiful. Several years ago I contacted Donna about making me one as a circus pony in bay with orange plumes. Donna did not disappoint.

 Done on her Tagus mold, and accented with Swarovski crystals,

 I think he is beautiful.

After I had let Donna know that he had arrived and how happy I was with him, she gave me some exciting news.

Dear Lynn, l am so  pleased that you are happy with him :)
Later in the year l hope to produce a Rearing Andalusian RubberNed 
circus horse :) He is going to be very handsome :).......he is all 
finished and ready to make the moulds, but it will take a while to get 
him into production. Have a very Happy New Year, Donna.

Another Donna Chaney Rubber Nedz circus pony?? I signed up for one right away! This week I got an email from Donna updating me on the process of my next Rubber Nedz.

Dear Lynn, l hope to have him in progress just before Christmas. l just wanted to check you still want him, before we start painting him :) lf you can send a picture of the one we have done already, that would be very useful, Donna.

I quickly sent her the photos of both sides of my first Rubber Nedz as she had requested plus a close up of his face.

Thank you for the picture :) He is a pretty boy :) and the next one should be very pretty too! l’ll be in touch, Donna.

But then a thought hit me and I suddenly connected a couple of dots. At the Artisans' Gallery at this year's BreyerFest, Donna had had a large, traditional sized rearing circus horse on display. Was that what I had committed to? And not a smaller piece like the one I already had?

Quickly I reviewed my email correspondence with Donna and looked up the mold she had said that my next piece would be done on.

Animal Artistry Rearing Andalusian. Photo from Equine Resin Directory and taken from Google Images.

Lucky me - it was! I had misunderstood the scale of the piece I'd ordered, but that was not Donna's fault. Besides, I much prefer traditional sized models. I am excited as I will be getting even more than I anticipated. 

The Palomino Metlox Poppytail Circus Pony

For years I drooled over the one, single photo I had found of the white Metlox Poppytrail Circus Pony.

Photo taken from Google Images, owner unknown.

It was so charming and saucy, and due to my own personal love of circus ponies, I wanted to add it to my collection.

I did numerous online searches, scoured antique and thrift shops, and kept my eyes peeled for years with no success. A very dear friend even tried her own quiet search without my knowledge, wanting to find one for me as a surprise gift. (Heartfelt thanks, you-know-who! It still makes me teary when I think of your generosity!)

But no luck. At least, not until last May when Heather Wells and friends held Clinky Mania in California, selling the late Karen Grimm's collection. As I looked over the photos before the sale, there was a white circus pony! And to my great surprise, a palomino one, too! (Go here to see photos of the Black Horse Ranch Metlox Poppytrail pieces.) Someone had once mentioned that they thought that there was a palomino, but never in all my online and other searches, had I seen any photos to confirm that rumor. Now I knew that the palomino version did indeed exist.

Unfortunately for me, the BHR circus ponies were not available and my search was still on. Only now I was looking for both the white and the palomino.

As I wrote yesterday, I found and bought both pieces recently. Here is the beautiful palomino.

 I love the contrast of the cream colored mane with its dark palomino coat!

Under its belly it has the Metlox seal, but it does not have the Metlox Poppytrail sticker on its shoulder that its counterpart does.

I still cannot believe that I have finally, after decades of looking, found these two pieces. I'll put them in the china cabinet that houses my other Metlox pieces, but in the meantime, they are here in my office where I can see them and enjoy them.