The My Little Pony Scrapbook: Cherries Jubilee (1986/7, Europe and South Africa)

Cherries Jubilee

My Little Pony Assortment, 1986/Pony Friends Assortment, 1987 (Europe & South Africa)

Peach earth pony with coral mane and tail, DARK cherries symbol. CURLY hair.

Pony Data
Set	My Little Pony (Europe, 1986) Pony Friends (Scandinavia/South Africa, 1987)
Asst. Number	4855 (Europe, 1986, Pony Friends, 1987) Sold in Denmark under assortment number 92500 (4855).
Accessories	yellow green butterfly brush, yellow-green ribbon.
Pose	'Tootsie'
Distribution	Europe and South Africa
Other Versions	Groom & Style (Worldwide) 1986 (United Kingdom) So Soft (North America)

Cherries Jubilee in Europe and South Africa (1986-7)

Cherries Jubilee was originally released worldwide as one of the Groom and Style Ponies. This was one of the earliest sets to feature curly hair, and the original release of Cherries Jubilee was sold with curls. In 1986, weird things happened between the UK and Europe on how to handle a second release of this pony. In the UK, Cherries Jubilee lost her curls, whilst in continental Europe and later, South Africa, she kept them. As with the UK release, though, this European version of Second Edition Cherries Jubilee had a much darker symbol, in line with the darker print being used in the So Soft manufacture for North America.

Although there are symbol variations in the 1985 release, none have symbols as dark as the release from 1986. The fibre and length of the hair differs between curly haired ponies who have lost their curl and ponies who have always had straight hair.

The original release of European Cherries Jubilee was on different cards depending on where she was being sold. In Sweden and Norway, she had a card from 1985, in English, in the same style as the Groom & Style set in the UK. In the Benelux she had a translated card using American artwork from the 1985 earth pony set. In Denmark she had a card translated into Danish, but with art from the 1985 unicorn and pegasus set.

Cherries Jubilee (Danish Card)
Image from Leikin

She was on sale in around 1986.

The 1987 release saw her packaged on a new style of card which appears unique to South Africa and Nordic countries - the Pony Friends set. This version probably had brown eyeliner.

1987 "Pony Friends" backcard featuring Cherries Jubilee
(Scandinavia & South Africa, scans courtesy of Inger & Monika)

Cherries Jubilee Mint on Card
(Pony Friends, 1987)
(Credit to Ponyland/Norrskensljus for the use of this image)

Cherries Jubilee's Character

Cherries Jubilee is one of the most well-known early characters in the United Kingdom, but I am not sure whether her character was the same or different in her various other releases.