1994

1994 was the final year of My Little Pony in the United Kingdom. Although there would continue to be slash-priced clearance ponies on store shelves throughout this year (and, in some places, even into 1995 and beyond), the new drive for My Little Pony was officially at an end.

The last line of My Little Pony includes some of the rarer UK ponies, despite the fact they are the most recent.

Although these were officially released in the UK - they did not come to all parts of the United Kingdom. My own region did not stock any of the ponies from this year at all, merely continuing to sell the 1993 ponies and then slash-priced German packaged Rockin' Beat Ponies and others instead. Hasbro retained stock of most of the ponies in this year after My Little Pony had ended, indicating that either take-up for the toys was not as high as it had been previously, or the line was, perhaps, prematurely cancelled, leaving them with stock to dispose of. Hasbro's extra stock was all sold to specific retailers around the country. The bulk of this excess stock was from 1992-4, although some ponies from the last year (the Jewellery Babies, for example) were conspicuously absent.

The ponies were definitely sold in the South East, and they seem to have been sold in other parts of the midlands, as I have found them second hand at carboot sales and the like. I know they were also sold in North Wales, since our Great Hair ponies came from a store in Aberystwyth, although that was in around 1995/6, after My Little Pony had ended. ToysRUs in Birmingham City Centre (now closed) still had the Bed and Crib Set on sale in 2000/2001!

Although the Seven Characters were re-released as part of this year, I don't remember the versions with stickers being out on shelves here. For that reason, I have kept them with 1993.

Great Hair Pony Ringlets became the poster-pony for this year's release. Ponies were sold on the same garish pink cards as the previous year, and sets had combined stories instead of individual ones again. Considering the distribution issues, the slogan of the year was, ironically, "Collect them all!" which appeared on the front of every card, in a style befitting that set. No pony names were recorded on the front of cards this year. You had to identify your pony from the picture on the back. Like the previous year, ponies had collective stories, not individual ones. Some of these can be found on set pages, as examples of the way in which My Little Pony's "theme" had changed from the magical to the more mundane.

COLLECT THEM ALL! (SWEETIE BABY CARD)

Probably the hardest ponies to find from this year were the "twins" that belonged to the very odd Surprise Twins Pony. It is next to impossible to find them second hand unless you are lucky enough to buy them complete with the mother.

There was no My Little Pony comic this year - the final edition stopped at the end of 1993 - but My Little Pony and Friends comic continued into the New Year.