Animal Kingdom Ponies

Official Description: Pony Story: The Peacock is one of the most magical creatures on earth, ostentatiously adorned with iridescent blue-green feathers, featuring stunning ineyes in of gold and blue. Appaloosa horses are known for their striking colors and bold patterns, which are called Peacock Spots. Suddenly, the two become one and Appaloosa Peacock comes to life with elegance and grace as an animal spirit that teaches the power of wisdom through watchfulness.

Last Number at Retirement 1/5302

Official Description: Pony Story: If you love dogs, you've come to the right place. Sedona wildlife artist Gene Dieckhoner - whose noteworthy accomplishments include serving as art director for Fox Animation Studios - has created a delightful tribute to our infaithful friends. in Pure breeds and mixed breeds alike are gathered together on the form of a horse - another companion animal - that itself has been painted to resemble a Doberman Pinscher. For the dog and horse lover, this Pony is the next best thing to owning your own! Last Number at Retirement 4E/1730

Official Description: Pony Story: According to legend, there once existed a stunningly beautiful firebird with brilliant feathers of gold and scarlet, said to be as large as an eagle, who lived on dew drops and whose cry was so enchanting the sun would stop to listen. It lived a long time and, at the end of its life, it would build a nest of aromatic branches and spices, set it afire and allow itself to be consumed by the flames... only to arise from the ashes and begin life anew, more beautiful than ever. The moral to the story of the Phoenix, as well as Emergence, is that within us all lie powers of regeneration and, no matter the challenges that confront us, we all have the capacity to begin life anew.

Last Number at Retirement 1/5592

Official Description: Pony Story: With the arrival of Spring comes new life, new beginnings and treasures that are a promise of tomorrows to come. There could be no better way to capture the blessings of this time of year than to paint a little fawn nestled on the forest floor where it is almost invisible beneath natures blanket of dried leaves, hidden by its mother to keep it safe.

Last Number at Retirement 1/3,000

Official Description: Pony Story: With the arrival of Spring comes new life, new beginnings and treasures that are a promise of tomorrows to come. There could be no better way to capture the blessings of this time of year than to paint a little fawn nestled on the forest floor where it is almost invisible beneath natures blanket of dried leaves, hidden by its mother to keep it safe.

Last Number at Retirement

Official Description: Pony Story: Writes Janee Hughes, a former art teacher and book illustrator from Salem, Oregon, inBiologists are not in agreement about the purpose of a zebra's stripes. Some say the wonderful patterns act as camouflage in the tall grass; but others say the stripes confuse predators. When a lion sees a herd of zebras, it is difficult for her to distinguish one animal from another in order to single out a potential victim. Whichever the case-05 be, it was great fun creating a herd of Grant's zebras living 'Incognito.' in Last Number at Retirement 4E/2931

Official Description: Pony Story: inHere is what happens when daytime-snoozing feline souls cut loose by the light of the new moon. They jig and waltz, slide a sinuous tango and pound out a mad polka, in says Elizabeth Lewis Scott, an avid horsewoman, Pony Club mom and associate member of the American Academy of Equine Art from Huntsville, Alabama. inBy day, we only see those half-smiles on snoring kitty faces as they grace our chairs and sofas, or doze in the garden beneath the lilacs. They grin from within as they recall the gavotte from the night before and shiver with delight, dreaming of the next Kitty Cat's Ball. in Last Number at Retirement 3E/7112

Official Description: Pony Story: What do swans and Painted Ponies have in common? In legend and myth, swans are gloriously large, snow-white birds that represent beauty, purity and, because of their long-lasting monogamous relationships, fidelity. The symbolic power of the swan lies in accepting the gift of change, as over their lifetime swans evolve from inugly ducklings in in their youth, to elegant and graceful adults. Likewise, the life-long bond between a horse and rider is much like the pairing of two swans. Combining the horse and swan in a single magnificent creature, inThe Magical Swan, in whose loveliness and energy is enhanced by its reflection in a mirror set in the base like a pond in a snowy landscape.

Last Number at Retirement 1/6,216

Official Description: Pony Story: Horses are familiar to all of us, but many of the world's most beautiful animals live in remote precincts on the planet and are far less familiar. The award-winning painter and book illustrator, Janee Hughes, created this spectacular tribute to some of the creatures that are at home in the vast distances of the arctic. On one side you will find the animals that spend most of their lives in the forests and mountains ? the Arctic wolf, the caribou ? and on the other are animals that live mostly in the sea or on sea ice ? the walrus, polar bear, humpback whale. Above them all are the breathtaking, shifting, shimmering northern lights.

Last Number at Retirement 3E/2418

Official Description: Pony Story: Its white coat and prominent black eye patches make the Panda one of the most recognizable animals on earth, but it is also among the shyest and rarest. Considered a national treasure in China where it dwells in misty bamboo forests, it was once hunted in the belief its colorful pelt provided magical protection against evil spirits. Now, there are a thousand or so left in the wild, which is why it is on the Endangered Species List. inPanda Paws in is this Canadian artist's way of keeping this adorable, gentle giant alive and well in our thoughts.

Last Number at Retirement 1E/3,002

Official Description: Pony Story: This is a Painted Pony that Jacques Cousteau would have loved! Ocean lovers no longer need to take a scuba diving vacation to tropical islands to experience the beauty of an underwater paradise. inSea Horse in invites you to discover the deep blue sea, above a colorful coral reef in the company of exotic marine life: a Dolphin, Puffer Fish, Angel Fish, Sea Turtle, and yes, an adorable little Seahorse, so named because it looks like a little horse! Last Number at Retirement 1/3502

Official Description: Pony Story: Horses and Dalmatians are said to take to each like ducks to water, which is how these black-spotted dogs came to be associated with the old-time fire halls, and why, in the early fire-fighting days, they often rode on the fire engines alongside firemen. inSpot in is a brilliant and playful merging of canine and equine friends.

Last Number at Retirement 1/3,634

Official Description: Pony Story: Seahorses come in an amazing variety of sizes and shapes, and have the ability to instantly change color, camouflaging themselves as seaweed or coral. By brilliantly covering her Pony with tropical fish, rendered realistically, overlapping and swimming in all directions, Laurie, a high-school art teacher inin an isolated, dusty border town in far West Texas in who scuba dives as a hobby, has created a seahorse of a different color.

Last Number at Retirement 2E/8929

Official Description: Pony Story: It's a crisp, icy evening and there's a scent on the wind. The cold silence is split by a piercing chorus of howl, followed by the shuffle of padded feet crunching through the snow. The pack picks up the pace. Their breath makes small clouds. The twilight hunters are prowling for prey in the last light of day... With this scene in her mind, this New Mexico Western and wildlife painter has created Twilight Hunters, a contemporary tribute to the wild wolves of the West. Lori lives in Cerrillos, New Mexico. Her original life-size CowPony was purchased by the Booth Western Art Museum and is available as a figurine. She is also the artist behind Year of the Horse, which is available as a figurine as well.

Last Number at Retirement 3/8322

Official Description: Pony Story: The challenge of creating a wonderful work of art on a large scale, and not allowing her disability to limit her imagination, motivated Mitzie, wheelchair bound after suffering a spinal injury during a gymnastics event at age 17, to paint a Pony. Hoping to communicate the ininner connection we share with all living creatures, in she rounded up ina dazzling menagerie in of animals inin a changing seasonal environment. in Over a year in the making, Mary's Painted Pony is an extraordinary achievement that carries this message: inEnjoy her beauty, follow your dreams, and believe in yourself. in Last Number at Retirement 4E/1788

Official Description: Pony Story: Zoologists tell us that the black-and-white stripes on a zebra were designed by evolution to confuse lions in the wild, making them all but invisible because they are indistinguishable from grass and brush ? until they move. Bringing a lighthearted sense of play to this concept, this mixed-media artist from Santa Fe, New Mexico, has created a hybrid creature ? a zebra/horse cross whose DNA creates a coat that retains the stripes of a zebra, while at the same time exhibiting the complete color spectrum visible to humans, the most fearsome predator on the planet.

Last Number at Retirement 2E/2581