Inspirational Ponies

Official Description: Pony Story: Asked by a Christian ministry that places Russian orphans in the homes of loving families to paint a Pony that captures the dream-come-true that awaits these children in America, Bonny incorporated the warm red and deep gold colors associated with Russian matruska dolls, along with children's faces peering out with hopeful expressions, doves of peace, flowers and leaves, into a spectacular artwork that makes a powerful statement about the great freedom in life's journey.

Last Number at Retirement 3E/0130

Official Description: Pony Story: One of the mysterious facts about butterflies is that before they turn into adults with colorful wings, as a way of avoiding potential predators while they grow and develop, they must live for a period of time when they are young within a hard protective shell known as a chrysalis. With its depiction of gorgeous butterflies taking flight against a black background, Black Beauty celebrates the larger message that anyone can go through a great deal of darkness in their lives, yet emerge as something beautiful.

Last Number at Retirement 1E/3,004

Official Description: Pony Story: The most colorful and beautiful of all butterflies and a winged symbol of freedom, Monarch butterflies are unique in the way that, each year, they flee the seasonal cold in the eastern United States, and migrate several thousand miles to spend the winter in the warm mountainous fir forests of Mexico, where superstitions claim they are the souls of the dead returned.

Last Number at Retirement 1E/4,306

Official Description: Pony Story: White horses have a legendary standing in mythologies around the world. They are often believed to possess exceptional properties that transcend the normal world. The heroic prince or white knight of fairy tales usually ride a snow-white horse. Unicorns and Pegasus are generally white. Ancient authors have also written about a special white horse that was so superior and grand in size and speed that it caused a war. As it was being fought over, this sacred steed was said to have ridden a bolt of lightning into the heavens, where it was enshrined forever as The Celestial Horse.

Last Number at Retirement 1/9,184

Official Description: Pony Story: This delightful creation by a intile artist in who designs handmade tiles (www.elkabodetile.com) tells a story of children racing across a magical garden on the back of a magical horse. A place where, in the artist's words, inFor a magical moment the 'real world' is not allowed to encroach. in On the original Pony, the children, bugs and flowers were all formed in clay and fired for hardness before they were hand painted.

Last Number at Retirement 1E/9800

Official Description: Pony Story: In times of great distress, it seems that many Americans turn to prayer, one of the oldest and simplest forms of communication, and truly one of the most powerful and inspiring. In the fall of 2001, at a time when this country was changed forever, children of many faiths from across the United States were invited to share their most prized possessions ? their prayers. The compassion, courage, hope and forgiveness they expressed in words and art were collected in a bestselling book ? Children's Prayers for America ? and are shared on this special, heartfelt Children's Prayer Pony that is an expression of hope in its most humble form.

Last Number at Retirement 6E/6078

Official Description: Pony Story: There could be no more important messengers of peace than children of many faiths, from all around the world. Their heartfelt prayers for compassion and caring remind us that sometimes, the biggest gifts come in the smallest packages. inChildren's Prayers for the World in is a tribute to those small voices that can be heard in the darkness, all around the world. They quietly remind us how important it is to love and respect each other.

Last Number at Retirement 1/3000

Official Description: Pony Story: What happens when a beloved pet dies? It's said there is a special bridge of many colors connecting Heaven and Earth where there are meadows and hills with lush green grass, and the spirits of our deceased furry friends - dogs, cats and horses - run and play together... until the day comes when we are joyfully reunited with them. Then we cross over Rainbow Bridge together, never to be parted again.

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Official Description: Pony Story: Expressing one's faith in the positive power of a cross by hanging it on the wall or over a door in the belief it will protect home and life, is a tradition practiced round the world. With inCrossroads, in the artist pays tribute to those ornamental crosses often found in farm houses, prairie barns and Western churches that are designed with cowboy flair, and are forged by hand out of unique materials: cowhide and conchos, tooled leather and sterling silver stars, wood and nailheads.

Last Number at Retirement 1E/5,354

Official Description: Pony Story: With beautiful, iridescent wings that sparkle like jewels, it's no wonder that dragonflies have taken on magical dimensions for many cultures. For some they represent renewal after a time of great hardship. Others admire them because their lives are short and they know they must live life to its fullest in the time they have. Dragonfly Magic encourages us to let our own colors come forth as we journey through life and seek a universal source of inspiration. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Lynn is primarily a wildlife artist whose unique painting techniques and finely detailed multi-media artworks are prized by collectors across the country.

Last Number at Retirement 2E/4689

Official Description: Pony Story: inWhen I was a child I, read every horse book I could find, in writes Janee Hughes, a multi-talented artist from the Pacific Northwest. inMy imagination soared with visions of magnificent steeds, each one faster, stronger and more beautiful than the last. This Pony depicts today's children, who still read the same wonderful stories. in Recently, The Trail of Painted Ponies held a short-story contest, inviting collectors to compose a tribute to the Pony that most inspired them. The winner was so moved by Dream Horse that she wrote, inEven today, you can still find me lying in the grass, reading horse stories and dreaming of horses galloping through my pasture. in Janee Hughes has been painting and drawing all her life; but 31 years of teaching art left her little time for her own work. Since retiring in 1997, she has been able to do more painting and exhibiting. Her work usually is realistic and involves animals, especially horses. As a lifelong rider, horses are her favorite subject matter. Janee has also done work involving carousel animals. She has sold cartoons to newspapers and catalogs. She has combined her art with writing to produce several children's books. And, through her Painted Ponies, she continues to amaze the world with her demonstrations of how diverse a canvas the horse can be.

Last Number at Retirement 3E/2153

Official Description: Pony Story: Butterflies are like little angels with colorful wings, symbolizing change and growth... the transformation from one life form to another more beautiful. With this Painted Pony, Maria Ryan, a wildlife colorist, has created a gift to everyone who feels life has been a journey for them that has brought them to a place of emergence to be shared with others. inMy hope is that Earth Angels encourages people to make conscious changes to their lives for the better, to create new conditions in which they can flourish and make their dreams come true. in Last Number at Retirement 3/8342

Official Description: Pony Story: They say that the winds are like a woman, always changing... There are the Winds of Time which span history and the Winds of Change, which mark transformations. Then there are the Winds of Dawn, which signal renewal. All of these, from The Empress of the Winds.

Last Number at Retirement 1/3,396

Official Description: Pony Story: Stone tablets have played an important role in the heritage of Chinese culture. Knowing this, Jeffrey Chan, an art designer for Hong Kong movies who also specializes in giftware design, conceived of a glossy black Pony on which a famous poem was carved in a manner that captured the beauty of the art of Chinese calligraphy. The poem, inOrchid Pavilion Preface, in was written in 352 A.D. by Wang Xizhi, one of the most highly respected calligraphers/poets in Chinese history. It is a masterpiece that speaks to the happiness and grace of every living moment.

Last Number at Retirement 2E/3610

Official Description: Pony Story: To mark the occasion of fifteen years of creative excellence, The Trail of Painted Ponies has created this very special, commemorative figurine. Titled inFire and Ice, in and cast in clear resin, it depicts a fiery stallion rearing and twisting like a flame from blue ice crystals in a striking representation of the creative process behind each Painted Pony, where the horse serves as inspiration for a wholly original artistic vision.

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Official Description: Pony Story: To mark the occasion of fifteen years of creative excellence, The Trail of Painted Ponies has created this very special, commemorative ornament. Titled inFire and Ice, in and cast in clear resin, it depicts a fiery stallion rearing and twisting like a flame from blue ice crystals in a striking representation of the creative process behind each Painted Pony, where the horse serves as inspiration for a wholly original artistic vision.

Last Number at Retirement

Official Description: Pony Story: Known as a realistic impressionist, this celebrated Mexican artist, whose paintings have been exhibited internationally, inwanted to deliver the ambiance of the lush vegetation, the bougainvilleas and flowers of the semi-tropical region of southeast Mexico. There you can pick flowers and enjoy plentiful vegetation the year round. The people call their land 'Eternal Spring.' in Last Number at Retirement 3E/0130

Official Description: Pony Story: Unicorns are more than a horse with a horn. They are creatures of beauty, magic, mystery, gentleness and purity that have the power to take us wonderful places, and make our dreams come true.

Last Number at Retirement 1/3194

Official Description: Pony Story: According to legend, the Greek god Poseidon (a.k.a. Neptune) ruled the seas from a palace of coral and gems on the ocean floor. He was said to have a volatile temperament. When angered, he would summon storms that wrecked ships. For fun, he created monsters like octopus and squid. To demonstrate his love for his wife, he created the dolphin; but he also had a wandering eye. When he pursued the goddess of fields and harvests, she told him, inIf you give a gift, the most beautiful thing on the face of the earth, I will be yours. in So he created a horse and, when it galloped from the sea, tossing its mane and tail, she thought it was so beautiful she gasped and said she was his forever.

Last Number at Retirement 1/7448

Official Description: Pony Story: Notes from the artist's journal: inWhen I think of angels I envision a quiet presence, a listener, a gentler soul who comforts me. I also imagine a powerful strength and unshakable courage that helps me fight my battles and carries me to safety. It occurs to me that a horse embodies these very same qualities and so I have created a inGuardian Angel in who soars silently, conveying a message of joy, hope, faith, love and peace to the world as he fades in and out of the clouds. in Last Number at Retirement 1E/3,144