Ski Fun - Blizzard / Snowdance (1991)

Blizzard - A winter horse from the 1991 Ski Fun series, also known as Snowdance. This series is related to Barbie Ski Fun - a skier doll. Of course she was also accompanied by snowboarding Ken and her friend Midge, also skiing. The horse was not the only animal in the series, as it was with Western Fun series - there was also a dog - in this case a samoyed - Snowball that has been in my possession since childhood. Back to the horse - with so much pink on board, it's undeniable that Blizzard is a mare. Her name means snowstorm, but in Polish it sounds not very feminine, so my home name for her is simply Blizzard, or Blizia for short. As I wrote above, she also appeared under the name Snowdance, most likely it was the US version, but so far, apart from the name, I have not found any other difference. She was also available in a set with a sleigh, which was also a carriage - it was just a little change in the chassis from skids to wheels.

I didn't have any big plan to buy her, overall there were two premises, and after some time a third appeared as well. So first, I have a dog from this series, so I thought it would be nice to have a horse as well, secondly, Blizia is very similar to Sun Runner in many ways. What they have in common is the same mold - a'la Prancer, a coat that differs in color, but the scheme is the same - there are no more horses in a similar coat, double reins - no longer present in newer models. However, the third premise that I must have her in my collection appeared when I read deeper into the description of this model - Blizia has a built-in bell! When you shake her, you can hear the sound of bells - after all, she is a winter horse pulling a sleigh. When I realized that she has such an interesting feature - I wanted to get her.

Finding this model in Poland with any equipment seems almost a miracle, and even if so, the price would be cosmic or the condition would be agonizing. I found her on ebay, in Germany. The price was not low but reasonable. Equipment was almost complete, her condition was almost perfect. Above you can see pictures from the auction. By the way, this was my first purchase on ebay, and it was also perfect!

She came to me from northwestern Germany on May 13, 2021. The journey took her almost a week. I was very excited about her arrival and I was delighted with her like a child, what an excitement it was when I was unboxing her! It is practically in perfect condition. The equipment has some shortcomings (which were described in the offer and I was aware of them) - the saddle has one stirrup broken, but it is just under the mane, so the defect is practically invisible, and the mane and tail clips are missing. Instead them the previous owner got her a bow on the tail and decorative snowflakes to the mane - of course, not original equipment. I decided to sacrifice the hair clips for the earmuff, which is often missing at auctions, while the hair clips can be found separately.

What surprised me after taking her out of the box - I didn't know there was silver glitter on this spotted material. Her "clothes" sparkle in the sun like frost in winter.

Above are a few photos taken out of the box, hot, right before washing, with a colleague Sun Runner in the background.

Both horses have similar paintings, but in completely different colors. Sun Runner as a western horse, associated with summer, heat, sun and desert - is beige, you can say - just as sand. Blizzard, on the other hand, as a winter horse is in shades of gray with white accents. They are a well-matched pair - supposedly the same, but quite the opposite.

Blizia has a very characteristic dapple grey color, which, like Sun Runner - cannot go wrong with any other Barbie model. It also has a characteristic, unique and - in my opinion - very nice eye painting. The lower part of her mouth is slightly darker. The hooves are dark gray.

Blizia was gently washed, her saddle pad, earmuff, and leg protectors were all washed clean.