When the Cow Parade became so popular the idea of The Trail of Painted Ponies occurred. Westland Giftware made all of the reproductions. On 12/31/09 the contract between Westland and The Trail of Painted Ponies ends. As one would imagine Westland didn’t want to have inventory when they could no longer ship. They now have no inventory of any pony. I have very little inventory.

The new contract with the new manufacturer begins January 1, 2010. However, they will not ship until the end of March-early April. Why this change between manufacturers was scheduled for the busiest time of year???? Wasn’t my decision!

In the meantime The Trail of Painted Ponies is retiring 48 ponies. So, when my next shipment of Trail of Painted Ponies arrives there will be at least 48 of the current ponies not available. However, it might be worse than that. I have been given the order form to use for ordering – there are only new ponies on the form. It appears that none of the ponies currently available can be re-ordered. I know some of my competitors have already dropped The Trail of Painted Ponies and are replacing it with a new horse line that Westland Giftware is introducing. The jury is out as to what I will do.

As a retailer, none of this is good. It’s stealth. Why? I knew that Westland Giftware was parting ways with both the Cow Parade and Trail of Painted Ponies. I did not realize that they would run out of inventory so quickly. I did not realize that the new vendor wouldn’t start shipping January 1.

So, I now have no way to get any merchandise until April. Not good.

You will find that I have added a lot of pony and horse sculptures that have nothing to do with the Trail of Painted Ponies.

The Trail of Painted Ponies has announced that Westland Giftware will no longer be reproducing Painted Ponies. Beginning in January 2010, Enesco will become the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of The Trail of Painted Ponies figurines and other merchandise. Enesco has an outstanding reputation for quality and craftsmanship.  

The Trail of Painted Ponies and Enesco share a similar strategic vision for long-term growth in the gift and collectible industry, and both are committed to building on its phenomenal success.    

Right out of the gate, there will be new items for The Trail of Painted Ponies:

1)     The first Painted Pony, “Shiloh”, in the Celebrity Collection created by the actor, Tony Curtis. 

2)     The 2010 Winter Release will feature THREE Painted Ponies using a new horse form, one that is dramatically balanced on its hind legs and appearing to gallop towards the sky.  

3)     A second “Paint Your Own Pony Kit” will feature the Rearing Horse form.

4)       Painted Ponies manufactured by Enesco will have new packaging that is specially designed to     enhance the collectability of the figurines.

This is major news since Westland Giftware is the ONLY company who has ever created these Trail of Painted Pony figurines.

The new Trail of Painted Ponies arrived. The Fairy one is a real favorite.

It started in Zurich.  What?!!!!

The idea for the Cow Parade came from Zurich, Switzerland. An American lawyer saw all these decorated life size cows in Zurich and decided he’d bring the idea to Chicago. Thus, the first Cow Parade was in 1999 in Chicago. Next came NYC and the Cow Parade continues today. In 2000, we were the first site to offer the reproductions of Cow Parade. www.cowscowscows.com  The Beanie Baby craze was replaced with the Cow Parade.

Enter, Rod Barker. Rod Barker lives in New Mexico. His thought was – why not use horses instead of cows? For artists, Rod looked at local artists who captured the Native American spirit. Rod then went to Westland Giftware with his idea. He also called and talked to me. Westland Giftware’s owner liked the idea. They both wanted to bring Native American art via ponies to consumers. Thus, the Trail of Painted Ponies began.

The presentation of the life size ponies is different than the cows. Cities that have the Cow Parade have the life size cows scattered about their town. NYC had the most with 500 cows. Las Vegas supposedly had between 50-75 100 cows. However, I sure couldn’t find that many when I went to look. I saw about 30 in Dublin, Ireland. It was decided that the Trail of Painted Ponies would send small groups of ponies to towns – 3 to10. There would be no Pony Parade. The approach was different.

Using a horse – which is America’s favorite animal – has worked well. The Trail of Painted Ponies has had some awesome ponies. In the first group, War Pony, was spectacular. I didn’t know that Comanche’s painted their horses to match the paint on their bodies when they went into conflict until War Pony arrived and I wrote text. In the 10th group, Ceremonial, also tells a great story – a Cherokee story. There have been many wonderful stories told via these Painted Ponies.

The Trail of Painted Ponies has ventured away from having just Native American story ponies. For example, the 10th group had a Las Vegas pony. The 9th group had a carousel. The variety of ponies broadens; although, my favorites are the ponies inspired by Native American lure.

Rod Barker in partnership with Westland Giftware have created wonderful pony figurines. They make more resin than ceramic ponies which I like better. None have been “dogs” – like some of the cows. However, none are as whimsical as some of the cows – for example, the Marilyn Monroe cow – Diamonds are a Cows Best Friend.

If you  collect Trail of Painted Ponies, you will receive a lot of oh’s and ah’s. I have a cabinet filled with them plus 3 more on a fireplace mantel. No matter what your décor is, you should find several painted ponies that are perfect for you! They are very special.

Gloria – owner

www.ponyponypony.com

www.cowscowscows.com