SCHLEICH Pony Riding Set

My daughter's request for her four-year-old birthday cake was to have "cowboys and cowgirls riding horses and singing praise songs." Since designing a cake to include all that was beyond my skill level, I went looking for a few quality toys to work as cake toppers. We already had Schleich horses and really like them, and as I've been slowly building our collection of them, I decided to go with this pony riding set. It was a big hit as a cake topper; I used it along with the Halflinger mare and foal, the girl with the carrot, and the cowboy labeled on Amazon as "horse gift set western," all by Schleich.The most important note is that if you buy this, make sure that you buy the Dartmoor pony to go with it, as it DOES NOT fit with the Halflinger mare. It also doesn't fit with any of the other Schleich horses that we have. I suppose that this is because they are all horses, not ponies, but it is still worth noting that if you have other Schleich horses and were hoping to interchange this riding set.As far as playing with it goes, I have been pleased that the saddle and such has not broken yet and shows no sign of damage after a few months of use. It is made of good, flexible material and fits just right on the Dartmoor pony. I was also pleased to discover that the reins pop in and out of the bridle. Great design! This means that the kids pull it apart now and then, but I can easily put it back together (and I'm sure they'll be able to as well, once they get the knack of it).One thing to note... and this may be just my own kids, but then again maybe not... is that because of the inflexibility of the rider, my kids don't actually play with her all that much. They are happier using the KidKraft dollhouse dolls as riders for all of their Schleich horses than they are using this highly-detailed rider. They tell me that their herd of horses belongs to the dollhouse dolls, which of course makes sense, as they are about the right size, and they don't seem to have an issue riding bareback. The other horses and riders seem to get played with a lot more often, despite their lack of professional riding gear and such.So. Is the pony riding set it a great set? Absolutely. Is it necessary, at least for littler kids who are not too picky about whether their riders are exactly proportionate? Not so much. It's the best set I have found, though, so if you have a child who really needs a just-right size rider and saddle and such for a pony, this is a really good choice.One other thing, though, and this again may be just me, is that because the pony and rider are slightly smaller than their other Schleich figures, they look disproportionate when together with the other horses, like these are from a different brand. I'm sure my kids don't mind but it does bother me a little bit.

came out a bit small but it worked, sadly it didn't fit well on my icelandic mare and that was disappoint because I had initially gotten this set for the icelandic.

A must for all little horse lovers! This saddle and little girl fits the ponies and smaller horses. I was afraid it would only fit a couple of her schleich horses, but I was pleasantly surprised it fit several of the skinnier horses. It adds so much fun. She also has the cowboy saddle set. It's her and her daddy now on their horses. She's 8 and still plays with Schleich animals like crazy!

must have

Great quality. Cute set. Super fun to play with! I purchased this for my 6-year old son and he loves it! It fits on all his Schleigh Ponys perfectly and it is durable quality.

Doll only fits a pony size, not one of the Schleich horses. Well made.

loved this set when i still had my schleich

THE SCHLLEICH PONY RIDING SET IS JUST LIKE REAL LIFE SIZE RIDING GEAR.. LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Perfect gift for a schleich mad girl

You can't get away from the fact that Schleich products are expensive, but they are good quality.This was purchased for my granddaughter, and she loves it.

Very nice schleich model of a child rider.Looks good on suitable sized schleich ponies.

Schleich make very nice plastic ponys. They are not cheap and the extra sets have little extra in them for a lot more cash. The kids seem delighted but as a parent they are not good value.

Great quality.