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HOTY Family Pony Conga

The Horse of the Year line, or HOTYs as they are called by collectors, came into being in response to the more stringent toy regulations, which relegated the Originals to the collectors' market, and as an attempt to break into the more competitive toy markets with a product which was cheaper and easier to produce.

The line was announced at the end of 1989 and made their début at the first toy fairs of 1990. The injection molded models were touted as being made by a technique "never before used in the toy industry".

Early models were of softer rubber similar to the Originals' latex and had wired legs; these also had hand painted eyes. Later models were of a shiny, hard yet slightly flexible plastic and the legs were not wired.

The plastic of the more recent HOTY line is more matte and is slightly softer; the newest mold, the New Cob, is made of some sort of rubber and is flexible, though not poseable.

These models are factory-made and have fairly simple paint jobs. They often came in sets with tack, rugs, and sometimes even riders.

All of the HOTY molds, except for the New Cob have been adapted as Originals.