Groom & Style Ponies in the United Kingdom

If, like me, you grew up in the UK and had ponies as a child, you probably knew about these ponies. They were the poster-child ponies of 1985 here in the United Kingdom, with a lot of merchandise and the infamous My Little Pony Song Disc/Cassette which put mind-rottingly catchy and cute character songs into the long-term memory of many a 1980s child. I can still remember the lyrics to most of the songs. Don't judge me.

You could be forgiven, however, for not knowing the term "Groom & Style". In fact, this tag never appeared on any UK packaging or promotional material. They were just sold as "My Little Pony" - part of a wider group of regular ponies that, as a child, I generally called the 'Originals'.

Hasbro's List: Groom & Style Ponies (1985)

But this set did have the name Groom & Style, at least in Hasbro's conception, and I think that's important to recognise because it gives some insight into what Hasbro intended with this release. As this scan, taken from the list of ponies sent to me in September 1995, demonstrates, somewhere in Hasbro's official records, this name lurked. The biggest likelihood is that this is the name that appeared in the trade catalogues when Hasbro were sending out information to stores on the year's pony line-up. Unfortunately I don't have access to a UK 1985 catalogue, so this is supposition on my part. In any event, this is the official name for this set, even if none of us ever remember hearing it!

The reason I think this is important is because the gimmick of the year was curly hair. This might seem a very simple gimmick, given some from the later years, but it was the first time that curly hair had appeared on My Little Ponies. Three of the six Groom & Style Ponies had curly hair, and three did not.

This set were not the only set in 1985 (here or worldwide) to feature curls, but they were the one for which it was made a key feature. While most UK pony packages featured hair-styling information for children up until 1987, this set differentiated its card description based on whether the pony had curly hair or straight hair.

Groom & Style Pony Packages: UK 1985

Groom & Style Ponies
UK Package (front)

Curly and Straight Hair Card Differences

Groom & Style Ponies
UK Package (back)