When I visited playgrounds as a child, I always raced to the
spring animals before anything else. The slides, the swings, the monkey bars...I passed them all by in my mad dash to claim a spot on my favorite animal ride. I've no idea why they appealed to me so much, other than perhaps the imaginative possibilities they offered, as I can remember pretending I was riding them to some far-off adventure. I do recall desperately wishing I had one at home, and now, a few decades later, I do!
This vintage spring horse by Playworld Systems of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania is made of cast aluminum with a steel base, and measures 36 inches tall. In his original paint, he is a very cheerful palomino pony.
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The playground pony in his new habitat, the living room library.
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A small herd of spring animals has been slowly forming at my place. To see the first one I acquired (a duck),
click here. Another is currently in restoration, and I'll post him once he's finished.
I always loved these guys best, too. I still remember the very first time I encountered one.
ReplyDeleteHi Gwen! I think they'd make another good subject for your paintings!
DeleteSo much fun. My earliest memories of them were at the parks and at the McDonald's playgrounds in the late 70s. Careful with your collection or you'll have a stampede in your house!
ReplyDeleteAh, it's too late: my house got overcrowded, and I've moved one to my office!
DeleteClean lines, like a Playskool toy. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteYes! I love the simplicity of this one.
DeleteHey, do you know where I could find one? I wanted to buy a spring horse just like that one and use it as a hair salon chair. Can I find one online, or do I have to look for some antique shop/garage sale?
ReplyDeleteI find mine occasionally at antique shows/yard sales, but mostly at ebay, rubylane, or etsy. Shipping tends to be costly.
DeleteHello Tracy!
ReplyDeleteWow...he's a beauty! I took my granddaughter Cierra to an old playground here in my area last month(one of the last old playgrounds left in our city!) and they have one spring animal remaining! She hopped onto it and sat there! She looked at me as if to say..."okay, Gramma...now what?" Needless to say, it's lost it's appeal to the newer generation, I think, BUT I sure remember that race to claim one as you said in your post! If you worked hard, you could make that little animal go!
Oh well, you're so lucky to have them Tracy! And I know for a fact, they're where they should be!
Hugs,
Michelle:)
Hi Michelle,
DeleteYep, I remember the race to the spring horse well. Once I even tripped up my little sister so I would get there first, and I still feel tremendous guilt over it. You're right about how fast we could get them going...and then we'd lose control and our heads would smack into the alumnium! Fun days, fun days. I still look for them whenever I visit a new park or playground, but they are definitely not out there as much.
Good to hear from you! I hope all is well with you and your family!
Hahahaha....okay, that was mean but I am pretty sure we all did that to a sibling at some point right? Heeee....yes...fun days indeed!
DeleteEveryone is well, thanks! Same to you! I'm going to have to send you a pic of a sweet little vintage mini Steiff Darren bought me last month! I'll try to get that off to you soon! Take care Tracy!
sadsadsad
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