Enesco/TPP, Fjord

A while back, Karen Crossley (aka Pawprint) wrote about Kathleen Moody sculpts on her blog Dust Ponies: Musings about the Model Horse Hobby. (One of my favorite blogs.) In the blog entry, she wrote about a Moody Norwegian Fjord that was produced and marketed by Enesco/Trail of the Painted Ponies.

I followed a link that she'd provided, and soon I was doing an online search of my own so that I could add one to my collection.

Little Big Horse, Trail of the Painted Ponies, Enesco, #4053765LE, 2016, sculpted by Kathleen Moody

Meet Afjordable! Isn't he nice? His scale is somewhere in-between traditional and classic.

 He came in a beautiful styrofoam lined box to prevent breakage,

 along with a collector's card

 with information about the piece as well as the breed.

 There was also a 2016 catalog in there with ornaments as well as other pieces.

Even though I prefer realistic models for the most part (Candy Cane Zebras aside, haha) I do have two Trail of the Painted Ponies in my collection.

Since I grew up on an apple orchard and my favorite breed is the Appaloosa, I have one of the earliest models done by the company, Apple-loosa. (Photo retrieved from Google Images.)

And then a former student who is horsey herself (she's all grown up now and an eventer!) gave me the Christmas ornament, Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. (Photo also from Google Images.)

When Karen posted that link to the Fjord, I began wondering what else I might have missed that would be a nice addition to my collection. I plan to keep my eye out for new releases from Trail of the Painted Ponies.

In the meantime, I am enjoying having Afjordable (and his nice sparkly base) on my desk where I can see him.

Thanks for the tip, Karen!

Translucent Models

I find I am really liking Breyer's clear, translucent models. I rarely buy models from the Stablemate line, but I had to have this one sculpted by Kathleen Moody and done in pink translucent plastic with the breast cancer awareness symbol on it. It's so pretty!

 I debated saving the box it came in as it's very unusual, especially for a Stablemate.

I may kick myself later, but I recycled the box. I sure love the translucents! I think I have five in my collection now.

Translucent Breast Cancer Awareness Stablemate ($6).

Recent Acquisitions

I intended to document the growth and worth of my collection as one of the reasons I began this blog, so it might be a good idea to post information about my recent acquisitions!

From BreyerFest, 2012:

 A woodgrain Jolly Cholly!

 I bought this piece from Terry Richards, of Rockford, Illinois. She's an old hobby buddy from when I lived in Illinois and was putting on my live show, Lincoln Land Live. ($35)

Terry was one of the people asked to evaluate and dispose of Marney Walerius' vast collection when she died. Having known Marney, I jumped at the chance to get a piece from her collection.

 This Lady Phase is an oldie but goodie, and all the more special because it belonged to Marney. ($15)

Folks who bought single-day tickets to BreyerFest got a special Stablemate as part of their ticket deal.

 I am not a collector of stablemates, but the quality on this one is very high. Plus, my friend, Kathleen Moody, sculpted it. I love having a personal connection to my pieces. (Ticket price $20)

I also bought some models from my favorite dealer, Lynn Luther. She owns The Model Trading Post and has been in business since 1991.

 Year of the Dragon (porcelain) ($60)

 Champion Sprinkles 5 Gaiter ($34)

And, from the Breyer website because they can only be bought from the factory, I purchased this crystal mini Huckleberry Bey (sculpted by Kathleen.) ($45)

 It comes in its own padded box, and for the moment I am keeping it in that for safekeeping.

It's a beautiful piece, but very, very fragile, and I think the glue would show should I break it and try to repair it.

Kathleen Moody - a Little History

On the Moody Madness list there has been an ongoing discussion about Kathleen Moody's model, Simply Splendid and whether it was released by Hartland.

Kathleen herself clears up the confusion but also adds some interesting Breyer history, too:

Sat Aug 4, 2012 11:45 am (PDT) . Posted by:

"Kathleen Moody"

*Okay. To set the record straight- I did Simply Splendid before my
involvement with Hartland existed. It was one of the first horses I ever
did in clay and the very first resin I ever produced. I had it cast
through DaBar Enterprises, who then released and sold it. It was never
associated with Hartland in any way. SS was the horse that one of my
model buddies took to Calif to a Breyer West show and got the attention
of Peter Stone which resulted in my being hired by Breyer over twenty +
years ago. Hartland produced Lady Jewel and Jade in plastic (who were
created to be companion pieces for SS). The** Mini, the Paso (and Pocket
Ponies which were created by Carol Gasper and Linda Lima) were released
through Paola Groeber as resins ** before I started work with Breyer.
**Paola painted alot of stuff including SS.** They were all created in
the same time period- thus the confusion. Splendid Adventure was a very
limited run released later as a variation of SS.

K*