Grand Champions
Some Grand Champions are available only through the mail. These are the Blue Ribbon Specials, which are "free" once you pay for the shipping charges and mail in the appropriate number of Blue Ribbon Points (Usually 16 per adult horse, or 8 per foal.) Blue Ribbon Points are printed on the backs of Grand Champion packages, and you cut them out and amass them in huge quantities until Empire or Alpha or whoever is currently making Grand Champions decides to offer a horse you like, which may take a long time. (This is like Horseshoe Points of old, for the My Little Pony-era collectors.) Along with the printed points will often be a photo of that year's "Blue Ribbon Horse," and that is your option for purchase. At least, it used to be that way. But recently, Alpha has made some of past years' horses available, and even some of the more unpopular Regular Run horses. (This page will cover only the exclusive mail order animals, though. The Regular Runs are where they belong, on their appropriate pages according to their years of release.) Blue Ribbon Points are not individual, but sort of coupons that stand in for 3, 4, or more points at a time. A regular, packaged Grand Champion comes with a coupon worth 4 Blue Ribbon Points, a package of 5 micros is worth 3, and larger packages like Family sets or horses and riders can be worth 6 (or more?). This is kind of like saying that each Grand Champion purchase is worth a dollar or two off your next purchase, as the points go toward making your Blue Ribbon Horse "Free." It's a nice deal, and there have been some very lovely horses sold. When you get a Blue Ribbon Horse in the mail, he comes in a special mailer box that is usually cardboard, and the horse is bagged inside. They do this so that you don't get any extra Blue Ribbon Points in the packaging. I guess they figure you should only get points if you actually purchased the horse, and Blue Ribbon offers are, technically, Free.
There have been 8 true Blue Ribbon Horses so far, and it's anyone's guess what the next one will look like. It seems as though Alpha is using all the newer foals (02, 03 and onwards) as Blue Ribbon offers, so it could be that the one special Blue Ribbon Horse is a thing of the past.
Here are the eight, in approximate chronological order, though I don't have any specific release years.
Captain Courageous ~ Parade Stallion
This was the first Blue Ribbon horse EVER!
(Music builds to crecendo.) He is a white stallion in
the Parade Stallion mold, and he came with fancy red, white
and blue tack. You see him at Ebay now and then. He is
commonly confused with another horse, Snowflake, and they are sometimes
considered the same horse because they are so similar. I'm not sure
which horse is which. Maybe they really are the same, just sold
with different tack. I've never seen a Captain in the flesh, so
I can't compare them...
I would guess that Captain was sold during the early 90s. This is a beautiful photo of Captain Courageous in his fancy, patriotic tack. The interesting thing about Captain is that he is the only Blue Ribbon horse to exist in a mold that has remained independent of the regular releases, and shows up only for Action Champs, Parade horses, and other "fancy" kinds. (Though, personally, I'd like to see it in the classic collections.)
Photo Credit: Big thanks go to Mirana, for her donation of this great picture of the stallion!
Palomino Foal
This is a nameless
foal that was sold in the early/mid nineties. Except for his
hair color, he looks just
like Dixie Doll from the 94-95 group, down to his coat and
hooves and even
his forehead star with points raying out from it. He is an orphan,
too, so maybe there was a mixup at the hospital..? Photo Credit: Kudos go to Neena, who generously donated the photo of this cute little guy, who was the very first Mail Order foal.
Commotion ~ Derby Winner Thoroughbred
This is a good looking Thoroughbred, no? He came with
flashy racing silks- a yellow and green hood and saddle pad,
English tack and even a Gold Cup! To the left is his promotional
photo-- to the right is Commotion in real life, a dark chestnut
with brown hair, and markings on his three feet.
(To my knowledge, there are no plain-footed Commotions.)
He may or may not have a facial marking - I'm not sure.
Commotion was the debut horse for this Running
Stallion mold. He is
uncommon now and on a lot of want lists,
I imagine. He tends to sell well at eBay.
Photo Credit: Kudos go to Mirana, who generously donated the photo on the right !
Andalusian Stallion
This was
the second horse released in the hideous Walking Stallion mold,
and he does not have a name. He is silvery gray with long, crimped
hair, and would be beautiful if not for that wretched pose!
I think they gave him the long hair and Ooh-wow factor to
compensate for this ehm... shortcoming... Kind of a
missed opportunity, as you can imagine this guy would be on
everybody's want list if he were a Classic or Parade Stallion.
Or a Barb? Yeah, that would be pretty. These show up secondhand
frequently. You can get one cheap, provided you want one. The
ones I've seen always have tack damage, though, especially girth
bands. In fact, the worst girth damage I've ever seen has been
on these
stallies. (Photo: The stallion untacked, temporarily my horse.)
Kamira ~ Arabian Mare
Ohh, Baby!
She's a Peach, this one! Another debut mold, the Arabian
Mare, and she came with special gold and red accessories: a gold
tail ring and collar, and a halter with a gold lead rope. She is
nicely shaded (So, prone to rubs) and looks terrific when in good
condition.
(Photo: My mare, missing her halter, and touched up for scratches.)
Skydancer ~ Lipizzaner Stallion
Skydancer
definitely qualifies as one of "The Most Beautiful Horses in the
World" with his long hair and subtle beige shading and his gold
and silver accessories. He looks ornate and elegant, as
though he is in the middle of a performance for some royal gathering
in Vienna. This is probably my favorite mail order horse. (Photo: My Stallion in original tack.)
Serenity and Tranquility ~ Twin Clydesdale Foals
These
are both supposed to be colts, though I don't know
which one is Serenity and which one is Tranquility.
They do not have parents,
but they are very cute! I think these are available through the
mail now.
Snowy Knight ~ Dapple Gray Clydesdale
This
attractive stallion has been available for a few years now. He
does come with all the extra ribbons you see, and looks very cool
and wintry, almost like a snowy night with his white dapples falling
like snowflakes over a gray field. Snowy Knight was one of the
last Mail
Order horses that Empire produced, and they still have not
figured out a way to dapple their dapplegrays in a pattern
that real horses might have, (It remains to be seen if Alpha can
do better) but here the snowflake look is a compliment to the horse.
Snowy Knight is a beauty ! (He looks like the misplaced father
from the Dapple Gray Clydesdale family that came out in 2000.)
(Photo: My Stallion, in original tack.)
©2004 Sloane Eljay
Blue Paradise Stables