Portrait Originals

One this page are Julips that I have bought to look like real horses I have known. Some are directly from Julip and some I buy second hand, if they look like the horse they are meant to. I often add markings to these second hand Julips to make them more like the real thing.

Becky

Becky is a portrait of a mare I rode for a year in North Wales. The real Becky was a very cheeky little pony, who bucked me off countless time, but I loved her to bits and was very sad to leave her. My model of her is on the Family Horse mould. She is a lovely shaded dun colour.

Max

My Mum learnt to ride on the real Max and so it seemed like a good excuse for a Julip - it was a momentous occasion! My Julip Max is on the Irish Draught mould, also known as the "spooky cob", which is exactly what the real Max was! Julip copied all his patches perfectly, especially on his nose, and even did his freezemark. They also accidentally copied on a large stable stain from the pictures I sent them, not many people notice it though.

Ash

The real Ash was my loan pony over Christmas 2007. He was a Welsh Cob X Thoroughbred, so the Cob Stallion mould doesn't look exactly like him, although the face is perfect. I picked Ash up from Julip at the British Open in April 2008, and added his unusually shaped star and snips myself.

Magic

I didn't know the real Magic very well, but was bitten by him countless times, so when I saw this black pit pony going cheap, Magic was the first horse to spring to mind. I'm so glad I bought it, because my Julip of Magic is so cute, and a very cheeky little addition to my yard.

Chino

Again, I didn't know the real Chino very well, but I found an excuse to get a Julip of him anyway. This time it wasn't because he was going cheap second hand, but because I did him as a Paint Your Own at the Julip Live. My favourite colour of horse is dun, and so Chino, a striking dun skewbald, was very welcome in my herd. Although I didn't know him as a youngster, I ordered him as a yearling so that he would look nice with my Julip of his Mum, Bunty. Later I chopped off his mane and shortened his tail so that he would look more realistic.

Bunty

The real Bunty was a very special mare to me. I nearly got her on loan for summer 2009, but then we moved house. My Julip of Bunty is on the Child's Jumping Pony mould, but it has a head adjustment to look more like the real mare. You can see my unedited CJP, Brightling, on the Spares page. The real Bunty had one foal, Chino, who I also have a Julip of.

Morgan

My Julip of Morgan is another Paint Your Own model, this time a cob mare. The real Morgan was a spunky mare with lots of attitude, but I loved her so much and wanted to immortalise her in latex, like all my other favourite horses. She's an unusual piebald, with a lot more black on her than white. I painted her with very thin hooves so that she'd look like she had lots of feather.

Sparky

The real Sparky was Morgan's best friend, a crazy little mare with a reputation for throwing people off. She has recently been taken on by a girl called Bethany and they are both coming on in leaps and bounds. They have even been for canters out on hacks! My Julip of Sparky is a Welsh pony, painted black by Laura Bond, her previous owner, and with white markings added by me.

Rocky

Like Chino, I never knew Rocky as a foal. I did know him as a youngster, however, before he was broken in. As I had a model of his mum, Sparky, I wanted him to go with her. My aunt and uncle bought me this model for Chritmas 2009 and I repainted the markings myself.

Zulu

Zulu is a farm cob who I ordered from the spares page in December 2009. He looked very like a horse I know, owned by friends of mine, so how could I pass up the opportunity? He was my Christmas present to myself.

Rosie

The real Rosie was a very special little pony who taught me a great deal. She belonged to my friend Simone. My friend Lottie and I (in the picture) reschooled her when she was said to be unsafe. She has now been sold on. In real life she is a Dartmoor, but my model of her is on the New Forest mould.

Skylark

Skylark was another livery pony at my old yard. She was too small for her owners to ride, but too badly behaved for most riders small enough for her. I was asked to ride her in October 2008 and for nearly a year rode her a great deal. I took her to her first show, which was also mine! We also jumped her first log out on hack together and went mounted carol singing. My Julip of her is a Welsh pony, just like the real thing.

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Tarngyll

Portrait Originals