Locals in the Trail of Painted Ponies Competition

The announced member Jackie Thompson and former winner of the Booth’s Paint Your Own Pony Contest, Ann Yarbrough, have both been selected as finalists in The Trail of Painted Ponies 10-year anniversary competition. Thompson and Yarbrough now need as many people as possible to go online and vote for their creations.

“In conjunction with The Trail of Painted Ponies 5-year anniversary in May 2006, the Booth hosted Painted Ponies Month and offered a variety of ‘pony-themed’ programs and events, including a Paint Your Own Pony Contest,” said Executive Director Seth Hopkins. “Jackie, who is a long-time member and supporter of the museum, is also an avid horse lover and was instrumental in helping to implement the month-long celebration. And it was through the Paint Your Own Pony Contest that we got to know Ann – a local artist who was inspired to enter the contest after seeing Lori Musil’s Cowpony at the Booth. The entire museum family is incredibly proud of these two women and wishes them the best of luck in the competition.”

Started in 2001 as a popular public art exhibition, The Trail of Painted Ponies has grown significantly over the past decade. What began as a fundraising activity in which artists painted life-size horse sculptures has now evolved into a national phenomenon. Miniature figurines from The Trail of Painted Ponies can be found all over America and have quickly become one of the hottest selling collectibles.

“I have always been amazed by the beauty of horses, and from the first time I saw a Painted Pony in a Hallmark store in 2003, I was hooked," Thompson said. "I was up to about 75 horses, realized I was five away from having a full collection, and so off to eBay it was for me to get the retired herd I had missed. Since that time, I have been sure to get each release as it becomes offered. When the collection grew to over 100, I quit counting!”

While the original horses were created by some of the more well-known artists of the time, the organization now allows anyone who is interested to submit new designs. In conjunction with its 10-year anniversary, it created a competition, Celebrating 10 Years of Horses in Art!, for people to enter a design in one of eight different categories. Thousands of designs were submitted, but each category was narrowed down to just 10 finalists each. Thompson’s Sweethearts Pony was selected as a finalist in the Artist’s Choice Category, while Yarbrough’s was selected as a finalist in the American Country Category for her pony, American Farmland.

Thompson and Yarbrough have both been painting the miniature ponies for many years and Yarborough is actually already an Official Trail of Painted Ponies Artist. Her Christmas pony Starlight, which retired last year, was in production for a few years and sold in the Booth store.

“I’ve been an artist for many years, and when I heard about the Paint Your Own Pony Competition the Booth hosted in 2006, I was eager to try my hand at it, and used Cowpony as inspiration,” said Yarbrough. “It was a thrill to be chosen by the judges as winner in my division, and since that time, I have submitted 75 designs to The Trail of Painted Ponies. Being an official Trail artist has been a wonderful opportunity, as I have been able to travel to lots of different places and meet many other great people.”

Thompson, who was painting miniature horses as gifts long before the Paint Your Own Pony kits were available, recently set a goal to become an Official Trail of Painted Ponies Artist herself.

“I noticed from my own collection that there were no ponies for holidays other than Christmas, and so I set a goal to become an Official Trail of Painted Ponies Artist," she said. "I decided to create a series of ponies to celebrate Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and Halloween. While I was in the midst of producing my ponies, the information came out about the contest. I gave it a try, and low and behold, my little Valentine pony, Sweethearts Pony, made it!”

Voting for the ponies is open through the end of June, and the winners will be announced on July 1. Those interested in voting may visit The Trail of the Painted Ponies website at www.trailofpaintedponies.com.