These are the 12 Adult Traditionals that were released in 1996.
There were also 6 foals that were the offspring of this year's
couples, and most of them are pictured below.
1996 was the trend-setting year for the pattern
of releases to come, following the set of 12 original horses in
1988. Through the early 90s, Grand Champions yearly sets had
been available for seemingly random durations, and some were even
re-released the following year. Not so with the '96s, as they were
distinct to one year and not released again. Like the 94-95s,
though, these were popular horses that must have sold very well,
because they are commonly found secondhand.
This is really the last yearly set whose members can be
found frequently, as '97 and onward horses are scarce.
1996 saw the release of seven new poses!
1 Mare, 1 foal and 6 stallions.
(Ok, they're not exactly the picture of Gender Equality, but
at least they put in some effort.) The new poses were
a mixed bag, though. Two were awful (The Walking Stallion
and the Trotting Mare), three were bad or mediocre (The Barb,
Arabian and Gaited Stallions), one was nice (The Running Foal)
and one was very nice (The Show Stallion).
But probably the greatest mold injustice about this year was that
the Arabian Mare mold was not used at all, not even on the Arabian
Mare of this set, Sweet Silver! Perhaps they were intending this
mold to be used exclusively for Mail Order horses (Like the Parade
Stallion) but gave up on that in 1997, when they realized that
they really needed more mare poses.
Otherwise the new molds were sprinkled evenly, with 3 mares and
3 foals each in old and new poses, and a new stallion debuting each
of the new Stallion molds. Also, 1996 would be the last year for
the old Standing Foal, who got a makeover by having his
molded "fuzz" removed, the tiny texture
lines all over him that suggested fur. The standing foal was
still a staple, of course,
but he became a smooth foal for '97 and onward.
This was an
exciting year, as Grand Champions have never seen this many new
poses released at once. Following years produced three (at most),
and usually fewer.
The mares were sold separately and together with their foals, but
none of these were actually sold as Family Sets with a stallion
(There is a palomino Family Set that looks just like the
palominos here, but they are different horses.) And unlike the
94s and 95s, the mares here had the same names whether they were
released with foals or not (Thank Goodness)
The tack on these horses was more detailed in color, but they
still only had two saddles, the standard English one and the 3
Diamond Western one. New saddle molds would not show up until next
year.
Click on the breeds below for more information and some better
pictures of these guys.
(The '96 Area is pretty close to complete.)
To help locate the horses in the photos,
they have been referenced by their number position in the
pictures: 1 through 6, moving left to right, top to bottom.
Plantation Walkers...Liver Chestnuts. Mare in #6. Stallion in #1.
Mare: "Dixie Lady" Stallion: "Copper Traveler III" Foal:"Jazz Baby"
Arabians...Fleabit pale gray. Mare and Stallion in #2. Mare: "Sweet Silver" Stallion: "Sultan Pepper" Foal:"Silver Sultan"
Cleveland Bay Horses...Dark Bays. Mare and Stallion in #3. Mare: "Princess" Stallion: "Majesty" Foal:"Rowdy Royal"
Quarter Horses...Black with white markings.
Mare and Stallion in #4. Mare:"Lady Blackstar" Stallion:"Midnight Magic" Foal:"Midnight Star"
Palomino (No breed specified) ...Palominos.
Mare and Stallion in #5 position. Mare:"Golden Glory" Stallion:"Sundancer" Foal:"Sunday Gold"
American Saddlebreds... Flaxen liver chestnuts.
Mare in #1. Stallion in #6. Mare:"Playful Lass" Stallion:"Snow Mane" Foal:"Playmate"
1996 Foals
Here is a picture of Five of the six foals that were born
to this year's couples. They match their parents almost exactly,
with only minor differences. Missing from this photo is the palomino
foal, Sunday Gold.
"Rowdy Royal":
Cleveland Bay Foal (Princess and Majesty)
"Silver Sultan":
Arabian Foal (Sweet Silver and Sultan Pepper)
"Midnight Star":
Quarter Horse Foal (Lady Blackstar and Midnight Magic)
"Jazz Baby":
Plantation Walker Foal (Dixie Lady and Copper Traveler III
"Playmate":
American Saddlebred Foal (Playful Lass and Snow Mane)
