Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos:
800 Series Champ Horses

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2008


The 800 series Champ horses were Hartland’s second horse designed for riders. The larger 900 series Champ horses were first. (Actually there were two slightly different versions of that horse). Several of the living executives at Hartland Plastics, including Ed Hulbert and Paul Champion, say that the mold for this horse was named after Paul Champion, the Sales and Marketing Director at Hartland Plastics. Collector, George C. Jones, has a theory that Hartland might have named the Champs after Gene Autry’s horse named Champion. Both theories have merit and I don’t know which one is correct—maybe a little of both. After a little further research, it might be possible that only the Palomino version of the horse was called Western Champ. Over the years, the other color variations may have been collectively called “Champs”.

The small Champ horses would have all had beaded chain reins and never black leather reins. The tail is glued on the horse’s rear, as opposed to the Breyer Western Ponies which were actually part of the two body halves. The Champ tails are quite a bit more detailed than Breyer horses, too. Additionally, you can always identify a Hartland Champ horse by the fact the mane is on the right side of the horse’s neck, where Breyer manes are on the left side. More information about Breyers is available on the “Non-Hartlands” page.

When the small Champs were used with the early Champ cowboys, there seems to have been quite a bit of mix and matching. The color of the bridle and martingale often match the saddle. Once that was established, a variety of different colored Cowboys and Cowgirls could have ridden many of them. I don’t have any evidence that any of the 800 series Champ horses were sold without riders.

To read a more thorough history of the Champ Horse and Rider, click here!
White with black tack: Silver and others
It seems that several of the Cowboys and Cowgirls rode this horse. It is most commonly found with a Champ style Lone Ranger set.
White with silver tack: Silver and others?
We haven't been able to accurately pin down the dates or specific rider for this one, but many seem to think it was one of the first variations used for the Champ style Lone Ranger set. On TV, Silver always had fancy black tack and possibly that is the reason for the change. Other Champ style Cowboys and Cowgirls might have also been combined with this horse, but I really don’t know for certain.
White with small tail and black tack:
Quite possibly, this horse may have been the earliest versions of the champs with the shorter tail. There is also a black version of the horse near the bottom of this page. This horse also lacks any paint on the hooves. In my collection, I have him paired with a solid Black Champ Cowboy which is equally rare. He was paired with a red and white Champ Cowboy, mint in the cardboard shipping box recently on eBay.
Palomino with brown tack: Western Champ
Some brochures and literature suggest that this horse is actually called the “Western Champ” and his rider is called “His Master”, usually in brown chaps with blue shirt. I am fairly certain that other riders including the Jade Green Cowgirl rode this horse, though it is possible she went with the Palomino Champ with the black tack. Hard to say!
Palomino with blue tack: Trigger
Basically, this is the same horse as the one above but it seems to have been adapted as an early Trigger by changing the tack to blue. Roy Rogers is seen on this horse for quite a while in Sears Christmas Catalogs and other places, apparently waiting for the release of the regular walking Trigger.
Palomino with black tack:
I don’t actually own this one but news of it comes from a reliable source. My blue tack version of this horse actually has very dark navy blue tack, but this is actually black. It is possible a mount for the Jade Green Cowgirl, but actually it could have had a black Champ saddle and had a variety of riders, if at all.
Light Dunn Champ with brown mane, tail, stockings and tack: Buttermilk
This horse didn’t seem to show up until the release of the early Dale Evans sets and the colorization matches that of the later Chubby style Buttermilks. It was probably always paired with the earlier Champ style cowgirl painted with the olive green Dale colors.
Brown and White Pinto with dark brown tack:
It is hard to determine right now whether this horse colorization was one of the earlier Champ colors or later. Possibly produced all along with the other colors but it is quite a bit harder to find than the solid colored ones. Right now, I’s say he could have a Champ Cowboy or a Champ Cowgirl, but it is also possible that they just sold him as a horse and with a brown Champ saddle.
Black and White Pinto with red tack:
Both the black and the brown pintos are hard to find compared to most of the rest of the Champ horses. As stated above, I believe the Champ pintos were produced early and then dropped from the line. This horse would probably had a red Champ saddle and more than likely had a Red and White Cowboy or Cowgirl rider.
Black Champ with white stockings and blaze, with red
The name, Blacksnake, comes from the Chief Thunderbird instruction sheet. This horse has a red martingale and chain reins. His riders could include both Champ Cowboys and Cowgirls in a variety of outfit colors. More than likely, he would have had a red Champ style saddle. Some were molded in black plastic while others were molded in white plastic and painted solid black, then the white stockings and blaze added.
Champ Horse with brown tack, regular tail:
This horse may have shipped with some of the Champ Cowboys and Cowgirls along with a brown saddle. It is also used quite a bit with O’Rourke Mountie sets.
Champ Horse with brown tack and small tail:
I believe this horse is quite rare and possibly from some of the first groups of Hartland Champ horses. There is a white version of this horse, also very hard to find which I have seen mint in the cardboard box for sale on eBay. A recent O’Rourke auction had this horse, so I feel it went with it at least some of the time.
If you have, or know of any other 800 series Champ horses, please let me know!