Something very special, and with a VERY special purpose.

We are so very proud to be part of Red Nose Kids' Cuts, a brand new venture started by the Stoker Family.

Red Nose Kids' Cuts is a hair salon just for children, where all children are welcome: children with special needs are catered to with specially trained staff. Even better, part of all earnings from this exciting new salon go to Sids For Kids. Look out for a salon near you in future!

We are also proud that Smoky has gone on to work hard and do good in the world as well as being fun.

Named for the day the terrible Blue Mountains bushfires started in October 2013 (when ashes were settling in paint and sticking to her body and stopped work), she has been reinvented as a hairdresser's stool horse, complete with hydraulic lift. It was decided not to go for a traditional design but rather a realistic look in every little girl's dream horse colour - a rich, golden palomino.

Smoky's harness is English leather, she has real horse hair and her paint is deceptively tough to withstand hours of giving rides every day.

As she is a production sample and we did the best we could with what was on hand in a short time, there are still details to iron out but the next one will be better, braces will be custom made and invisible. The bridle reserved for Smoky was so big it was silly so this one is borrowed from another rocking horse while hers is adjusted.

The design of this horse is modelled on the Ayres "D Type" and the entire horse's body displays beautifully rendered structure and musculature.

Although fibreglass horses do not have the same mystique about them, they do offer some significant advantages, especially when it comes to choosing a horse for kids to play with and PARTICULARLY for the job Smoky will be doing. They are light, they don't warp or crack, they are much more affordable and they won't deteriorate in unstable conditions (although paint and leather will).

Fibreglass inferior? Think again... like everything, it's "horses for courses"!!