Pretty Bow

When I first began collecting, my sole point of reference for pony information was Dream Valley. I still love Dream Valley though now the Arena has taken over as my reference point of choice. The 'International' section of Dream Valley has since been taken down, but back then it included information of an illusive pony, which was only rumoured to actually exist, at least any more than just the one pictured. Pretty Bow. At the time I suppose you could say she was my Grail, though I didn't know of the existence of the term until I discovered the Arena. I never thought I would own her, I never really thought anyone would, she was just a little piece of information, never likely to appear in pony form.

That is until I saw her in a lot of four ponies on eBay! I couldn't believe my eyes! There she was, Pretty Bow, the mysterious, illusive pony! She actually did exist. Joe thought I'd seen a ghost when I silently led him towards the computer and just pointed. I watched for days as no one else bid. I couldn't believe she was there, let alone that I was the only bidder. I got up at about 3am on the day the auction ended to make sure my bid won, and it did!

When she arrived she was a mess! I knew this from the listing photo but I didn't care. She had chew marks and only half her hair. I re-haired her with an exact match both in colour and texture and I was in love.

Fast forward to the time I joined the Arena and I discovered the Nirvana Forum with its wealth of information about foreign ponies and I discover Pretty Bow is actually an Argentinian Flutterbye variant who is relatively easy to come by and not altogether that costly. Oh.

But I don't care! I still call her Pretty Bow and I still love her just as much and have no regrets! She is one of my favourite ponies and at least I have a funny story to tell!

New Arrivals

On Wednesday I received a pony who I've wanted for a really long time; Mail Order Stockings. I don't know why it's taken me until now to get her. She was another pony that I bought with my birthday money and I still have another few to come!

I received my first eBay lot today and they all look really good. I can't wait to clean them up and get them listed. There was a nice surprise in the lot in the form of Italian Peachy. In the photo I didn't recognise she was Italian as it was a group shot so I was pretty impressed as I don't yet have Italian Peachy - well, I do now! A surprise Nirvana!

Lofty

When I was little I always wanted Lofty. I'd seen her in books and on the TV and I really wanted a Lofty of my own.

I had a friend called Liz when I was about five who said she knew a girl who lived nearby who had a Lofty that she didn't want and she'd probably give her to me. I was really excited by the thought of going to visit this girl for what seemed like the longest time, which was really probably only a couple of days, but to a five year old wanting a pony it felt like a life-time! When we finally went to visit her she, of course, didn't have Lofty which meant I wasn't going to be getting her either. Dammit. Reminds me of the time another friend told me she had loads of horses and that I could buy one from her for two pence. Kids!

I later found out why Lofty was so illusive and that is because she was never released in the UK. The So Soft ponies didn't make it to our little unworthy island. Of course, one of the first ponies I bought when I started to collect later in life was Lofty. I bought the first flea bitten one I found on eBay because I still wanted her just as much as when I was little. I later bought a mint condition one and de-flocked my tatty Lofty and also rehaired her so she looks all pretty again. This inspired me to buy another, de-flock that one and rehair her with pink hair.

In short, I heart Lofty.

What's in a Name?

My last post, where I mentioned about not being particularly good at remembering the names of Sweetheart Sister ponies got me thinking about pony names.

It seems I can remember the names of the ones I knew as a kid, whether I had the pony or they were featured in the TV show or story books, but unless the names are blatently obvious I'm not always so good at remembering them otherwise. I didn't have any Sweetheart Sisters when I was a kid and don't even remember them, hence their names are somewhat ellusive to my sieve-like memory. I'm also pretty bad at remembering Baby Sea Pony names, as well as whether or not I have certain ones in my collection.

The Dutch had the right idea when naming their ponies; Shell Pony, Cat Pony, Star Pony, nice and simple. Not that I don't appreciate a good overly descriptive floral name of course.

You really do sometimes have to wonder what the workers at Hasbro were thinking, or smoking, when they came up with some of the names. Otherwise very pretty girls lumbered with names such as the rather gastric 'Windy' and 'Floater'; the ones where I think they forgot that their target audience was small children with such offerings as 'Woosie' with drunken, dancing mice as her symbol; the ones that perhaps reflect on Hasbro's state of mind during the naming process: 'Whizzer' and 'Speedy'. I know, I know, they're perfectly innocent in reality, but they probably should have considered what some of these things sounded like. Maybe they did and they just had a good sense of humour?

However, nothing will excuse 'Baby Splashes' as the name for a Drink 'n' Wet pony. Really Hasbro, that's just gross.

There were some I didn't know the names of when I was little, like the Bright Bouquet family; they were known as the Heartthrob family, which frankly I like much better. Pegasus Heartthrob could be their cousin. Me and my friend also renamed a couple because we thought they looked more like boys than girls. Baby Bridesmaid became Baby Pageboy, which I really can't see now, there is nothing boyish about that pony at all. Baby Apple Delight, probably because of the buzz cut that I gave him, also look more like a boy and was nicknamed BAD, his initials, because he was the naughty one of the family. He's now a she again too. Poor thing must be so confused. There were some which retained their masculinity though and no matter how hard I try I just can't make them be girls again; Rainbow Rider (aka Streaky), Buttons, Tuneful and Gingerbread, to name but a few.

I was bored the other day. Joe was hogging the TV with his Xbox gaming and I wanted something pony to do so I went to the pony room to see how many of their names I knew. Despite what I said above about not always remembering the ones I didn't know of as a kid, I got 85% right, including the newer generations. Go me.

New Arrivals

I arrived home from work today to two packages containing Sweetheart Sisters; two of the four Sisters I ordered with my birthday money that I needed to complete the set. I'm notoriously rubbish at remembering Sweetheart Sisters names so we have Posy Rose and the white one with pink hair and red lipstick, possibly named Happy Hugs? I could look it up but I'll only forget it again anyway!

Yesterday I received G4 Fashion Styling Rainbow Dash which was also a birthday pony, this time from Joe. We went out shopping on my birthday and he intended to get me two of the Fashion Styling ponies from Toys R Us but unbelievably they had sold out of all My Little Pony stuff! Fail TRU. Well, I say all My Little Pony stuff, they did have those hideous alien-headed G3.5s in. So in fact, I was right the first time, they had sold out of all My Little Pony stuff. Those abominations (and it takes a lot for me to stretch to using that word as it creeps the hell out of me) have never been nor will they ever will be My Little Pony to me. I digress. Due to this sudden sell-out of ponies, Joe ordered me two online, which is good actually because last time we were in Toys R Us I don't recall Rainbow Dash being there.

Yesterday Mexican Skydancer also landed. I now have all four Mexican versions of Skydancer, my favourite pony, for my Skydancer army. This one is the one with the pale pink streak in her mane and small symbols. She's pretty grubby but as with all Mexicans, gorgeous regardless.

Now, where's that motivation I need to clean up these new arrivals, as well as everyone who has arrived since... oh my God, before my last birthday?! Oops.

Skydancer

Skydancer is my favourite pony. I love her colours, the rainbow hair and the fact that she can fly. She was the character I loved most as a kid, from the TV show, and that followed me into adulthood. My favourite toys when I was little were Applejack and Fireball, but there was always something I loved about Skydancer's character that somehow overrode those as my current favourite.

I don't even recall Skydancer making that much of an appearance in the TV shows to be honest, so she must have made quite an impression with her brief time on screen. I remember her helping to paint and hang the banners in Escape from Catrina (I think) when she managed to knock over a bunch of paint and get it on the banner, but the other ponies didn't mind and helped her up. She sounded quite tomboyish too. Clumsy tomboy? Sounds like someone I know. I think that's why I related.

Skydancer was my pony persona for a long time, with my eBay name being Skydanser, with an 's' because someone had already taken the correct spelling. It wasn't until I decided to just be 'me' online rather than sit behind a screen name that I decided to change my name on the arena and eBay to Sarah-Bee. Now I have a pony persona called Bee but Skydancer will always be my favourite and have a special place in my heart.

Lots and Lots of Ponies...

I've decided to do something I should have been doing for a long time; buying ponies in lots from eBay, cleaning them up and selling them on individually. It's something I've thought about doing before but haven't always had the funding so I cured that by having a dedicated credit card for this little endeavour. The plan: buy ponies, clean ponies, sell ponies, pay credit card, buy ponies for my collection with the 'profit'! I've got one lot on they way and my eye on several more lots on eBay. Hey, I might even get a few ponies in these lots that I haven't got yet, that'd be a good bonus. That way, I figured, ponies - with a little work from me - can start to pay for themselves. It's also one extra pony related activity that I can get involved with that allows me to search for a buy ponies without ending up in the red!

Read All About It!

As I mentioned in my last post I was in various newspapers on Friday. This all began with a post from a lady called Natasha on the Arena, asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a piece for a magazine about collecting My Little Pony. I think initially it was intended to be a piece about collecting in general but as only I and one other girl came forward it ended up being individual interviews. At first it was intended for magazines but then Natasha mentioned newspapers and asked if I would be ok with that. I agreed, I couldn't see the difference personally, but this was because I was told that I would be proof-reading anything that was going to be published by a magazine before it went to press, so I assumed, as you would, that the same went for newpapers...

I was shocked to discover that an article about me was on the Daily Mail website! I was informed of this by my friend Ceri at work. Initial thoughts were those of "oh my God, I didn't know this was happening yet" mixed with those of excitement, but then I saw the comments made by readers of the Daily Mail at the bottom of the article. At the time, there were only negative comments which were really quite hurtful. That was something I didn't expect from all of this, online publishing with the ability for readers to post comments. After an afternoon of being in complete shock and complete upset, followed by a night of getting absolutely trollied in order to try to forget the day I'd had, it sank in what had happened and I became ok with it. The online publishing occurred through a misunderstanding and the people making negative and derogatory comments, well they can just bite me! I don't even have the time of day to go into that here, they're just small-minded idiots, 'nuff said.

I felt a little bit famous for a while there! People were posting on my Facebook page with stories I didn't even know were published and people were sending texts telling me I was in actual newspapers as well as online. I have to tell you though, I feel so sorry for celebrities. I had one tiny, microscopic snippet of what they have to deal with and it was insane! The exaggeration and sheer bullshit, which I will henceforth refer to as "artistic license", of the press is mind boggling! In my interview with Natasha I told her I'd spent about £8k on my collection and just insured them for £10k so naturally the press decided this was actually £20k and published that overinflated figure instead. They also referred to Joe, my husband (though they said he was my boyfriend) as "long-suffering" and said that I'd "persuaded" him to buy me ponies as gifts. Talk about sensationalising it! Joe said nothing of the sort, he's very supportive of my hobby and the gifts were definitely voluntary. The Sun also stuck their oar in with what does seem quite a negative piece, with many inaccuracies.

Well, I did feel the need to right a few wrongs there but I'll consider that done now and get back to the good stuff. I've had an offer from a magazine for my article and am awaiting the contracts to come through. It's all very exciting and back on track to what this should have been to begin with. Though I have to say, now the dust has settled even the newspaper stuff is fun! Watch this space for magazine scans and in the meantime, here are a couple of links to the online stories...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2118633/My-Little-Ponys-biggest-fan-dedicated-Pony-Room-1-000-strong-collection-worth-20-000.html

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4212065/Woman-29-is-obsessed-with-My-Little-Pony.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/my-little-pony-fan-29-builds-769548

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/23/sarah-butler-my-little-pony_n_1375193.html

On a slight side-note, the photos were so much fun to do. Joe and I spent an afternoon taking them and had a blast! The best ones aren't shown in the articles. Under the big pile of ponies in the articles is... me! We took various shots of just my head poking out, then my arms, then the various stages of me trying to get up. They're really funny and they should have used some of those in the papers I think; it would have shown more of a sense of humour about all of this than the papers have shown. Initially I pictured the article, very tongue-in-cheek, with our amusing snapshots in publications like 'Women's Own', alongside such revelations as "Woman gives birth to three-headed alien". In other words, a bit of a laugh. The best of the photos show that. I would love to post them but magazines can get "a bit funny" about that when they're planning to use them, apparently, so I shall wait patiently and post them after they've published their piece.

My Little Blog

I kept a blog to help me through a difficult time in life and I really enjoyed it. As it was aimed at helping me out in a specific area it outgrew its usefulness and I no longer needed to write in it, but I do miss writing and thought what a perfect way to get back into it, blogging about my hobby; My Little Pony.

So this is My Little Blog. As this is me, I cannot guarantee PG13, despite the subject matter at hand, hence the ‘adult warning’ on here, you know, just in case.

I’ve been collecting My Little Pony since 2003 when I left college and the prospect of having to grow up scared the crap out of me! I looked for something to help prevent me from growing up completely and turned to the toys I loved as a child. The last toys I played with in my early teens were Britain’s Farm toys so initially I decided to collect those, but they just weren’t having the desired effect. Back to the drawing board. I went on a search on eBay for the things I loved when I was growing up. There were Care Bears, Keypers, Rainbow Brite, all of which were making me feel very warm, fuzzy and nostalgic, but then: My Little Pony! That’s it! That’s what I’m looking for! These small, plastic, colourful horses symbolised everything that was childhood for me and they really did, and still do, have an air of magic surrounding them. I bought Cotton Candy first and then Tootsie and it swiftly spiralled into a full-blown obsession, ahem, I mean collection.

The rest is pretty much history. I have over a thousand ponies in my pony room and I plan to own one of every known pony, which is quite a feat when you consider all the many Nirvanas out there. It is something which, in all honesty, is not likely to ever happen but why aim any lower than what I want to accomplish? At the very least I will always have something to look for, to aspire to and to add to my beloved collection. I mostly collect G1 ponies but have also started to collect the new G4s. The difference is I want every G1 whereas I want just the G4s that I like, and I don’t intend to own every variation of the Mane Six which Hasbro will no doubt throw our way. I also collect exclusive G3s and have a few other G3s and so far one G2 which I bought just because I thought they were pretty.

Some of you will know me, either in person, from the My Little Pony Arena, or both. For those of you who don’t, my name’s Sarah and I go by the screen name Sarah-Bee. You’ll find me on the Arena most days and you’ll often see me on eBay buying ponies and selling things in order to buy more ponies!

I’m currently looking at other pony-related things to do as well as buying ponies, as my bank account, wallet and husband are all screaming at me in pain. The blog is one of those things, the other is continuing with my pony photo project. That is a photo of each pony I own, nicely groomed and displayed in a photo album. The reasons behind this project are varied; it is partly because I also love photography as well as ponies; it is a reason to clean the ponies up when they arrive because I seriously need motivation on that front; it serves as a photo inventory of which ponies I have and also for insurance purposes I have to keep a photographic record as well as written inventory. That reminds me, I need to buy more refills for the album... Other things I’m doing are adding yet more shelves to the pony room to house the ever-expanding G4 collection and I’m starting a scrap book.

The scrap book has come about because on Friday I was in various newspapers with my pony collection and I needed somewhere to put the clippings, so I figured why not add photos from Ponycon and various other clippings or print-outs of pony related articles?

Well, that’s the introduction to my new blog; a place for me to ramble on about ponies, to ‘squee’ at my new arrivals and entirely possibly go completely off on a tangent.