Tex
Tex was introduced to the UK market in 1988, as one of the
Adventure Boy Ponies. He had originally been sold in North
America as one of the Big Brother Ponies from 1987. He was one
of the few ponies in the set who kept the same name in the UK as
in the North American edition. He was reissued in 1988 in the
second North American set, and consequently also saw a
re-release in 1989 in the UK. The second release in the UK kept
the American set name of Big Brother Ponies, and Tex remained
Tex throughout.
Tex, Mint on Card
UK, 1988
Image from Babydoll
Like all the Big Brother releases, Tex was sold with a hat and
bandana (called a scarf, or a neck scarf in the UK) as well as a
brush. The bandanas were the same style between ponies, but in
different colours (each brother had a unique colour). The hats
were specially designed to fit that pony's theme, and so were
only sold with that specific character. Tex had a cowboy hat, in
mint green/aqua, with a star on the front.
Tex's character
Tex featured on the cover of the 1989 annual, and he was also one
of the ponies welcomed to Ponyland by Princess Ruby in the Favourite Stories
book. In the animation, Somnnambula, he was cast as a 'cowboy
type' (whatever that is) and had an unhealthy fixation with his
lasso.
This lasso fixation spread to the comic, and he was often found
using it for a wide range of tasks - from rescuing Trucker's blown
away cleaning cloth, to showing off to the dragons, and on one
occasion, catching a pancake, which is probably not what a lasso
is normally for.
"Don't try this at home, kids."
