Kid Kore

That's right, the brand everyone laughs at and has no problem scoffing and turning their nose up at. They are as horse shape object as you can get, much uglier than the Grand Champions line and even more conformationally-challenged.

(Maybe he'd make a decent mule!)

I recently came into ownership of quite a few of them. They were free, and I liked the paint jobs on a few of them, so I took them. I figured I could track down names or breeds or year made on a website once I got them in front of me and could identify them easier.

However, when I started my search....nothing. I had to dig quite a bit to find any helpful info, as much of the links were for eBay. On a trademark site, I found Kid Kore came into existence around 1998, which makes sense considering a lot of the brands on the inner legs say 1999. I know from the Grand Champions that the year doesn't necessarily mean that's when that specific model was released.

However, two websites that did have some information include:

• http://modelhorsegallery.info/K/K-companies/MHCs_KidkoreIntl.html

• http://neverlandstables.weebly.com/stable-champions-toys.html

They both indicate that Kid Kore released their horses under secondary brand names, such as SRC "Shenandoah Riding Club", which came out first, and then Stable Champions. The latter may have been an attempt to be a direct competition against the Grand Champions, but who knows.

I do find the Arabian quite fetching, and I think he would have been a good mate for the GC Arabian mare if GC had ever made an attempt at a good Arabian stallion.

They do have a handsome head, I think, especially if given a little GC touch-up.

(All he needs is a black pupil in that eye, and he'll be good to go!)

It also appears that the Stable Champions line had slightly better molds than the original SRC did, like the Arabian and the cantering one above, but that's just a guess. However, if that's true, it implies the original paint colors were crossed over between the two, maybe to finish off a family or two?

SRC Appy foal

SRC Appy mare

The mare and foal above were released in a set prior to the release of the Appy Stable Champion stallion, second photo. Perhaps it was another marketing move meant to compete with Grand Champions' release of family units, but it's hard to tell without knowing the years of release, or maybe even where they were placed on shelves. I can tell you when I was little, I don't remember seeing them, as I had eyes only for the GCs!
However, I continue to see Stable Champion remakes on the shelves to this day, so somehow, they managed to outlive the GC line. If I understand what I read correctly, though, Kid Kore went under around 2008? Maybe they sold off their horses to another company that continues to make them. Why GCs couldn't have had the same restoration, I don't know.

Too bad there is no identification website for them, but I'm not going to be the one to do it!