Late to the Party with BFA

I've known a little bit about the Border Fine Arts (BFA) collection of horse figurines for quite a while, but never really seriously looked into the company and its history as I never saw a figure I really desired to own.

The reason for my initial rejection of the BFA pieces was two-fold:  firstly, most of the figures I saw for sale featured elaborate scenes complete with drivers and/or riders, and I try not to collect such things.  Secondly, scene-based on not, all the BFA figures I ever saw came on a base and I have an inherent dislike of bases as a waste of space.

However, I've always been willing to forgive a base if a horse really needs it because it's being posed in a trot, or a jump, or gallop, or in an unstable rearing position.

And it just so happened that the other day, while trying to scratch my pandemic purchasing itch through virtual window shopping, I finally stumbled across the BFA piece I had to have.

My first BFA foal

She's a sweet little filly in a trotting pose (thus requiring a base) with no riders or handlers to distract from her sculpture.

Since my lack of knowledge about BFA in general now appeared as a gaping hole in my education, I set out to learn some more.  A little Googling brought me some information, but linked me to more model horse sales than model horse history.  It was the folks at the Border Fine Arts Appreciation Group on Facebook who were particularly helpful -- they helped me identify the number, name, and issue dates of my new piece and also informed me that Border Fine Arts actually closed its doors in 2016, with over 50 people losing their jobs.  So sad!

Most helpful of all, collector Roy Wylde provided me with a link to his website, which, with his permission, I am now passing onto you: www.bordercollector.co.uk.

My filly is there, but in a slightly different colourway, and I also found one that sold recently on eBay whose colour was different from both mine and the one on Roy's site.  The Facebook folks mentioned that Border Fine Arts' decorators used to have pretty free rein when it came to paint jobs, and different artists would paint the same model different colours.

Thanks to the BFA Appreciation Facebook folks, I now know she was sculpted to be a Thoroughbred filly, but I think I'll make mine an Anglo-Arab as she seems to have a touch of Arabian sass to her.

I knew that BFA had several different lines, but I was amazed by the number of figures and lines mentioned on Roy's site.  And he says his site is only for "classic" BFA pieces, meaning items not made in China.

I'm assuming, therefore, the more contemporary-looking BFA pieces, such as some of the ones listed on this website, were made in China, but were still allowed to use the BFA name until BFA actually closed.  This sort of parallels the situation with modern day John Beswick figures -- the old Beswick factory is well and truly closed, but new figures, made in Malaysia, continue to be produced under the John Beswick name. 

I still have a lot more to learn about BFA -- about its sculptors and various product lines.  I may be arriving a bit late to the party, but I have my foot firmly stuck in door now.