Mattel Barbie Jumper Tawny Horse with Barbie

The Tawny set comes complete with jumping fence. View larger.

Barbie naturally leans forward in the saddle and is fully posable. View larger.

Designed for Robust Play
In general, the design and construction of the doll is excellent. She has an updated look and wardrobe and she is sturdy enough to withstand robust play. A minor problem is that Barbie's boots tend to slip off and don't fit well into the stirrups. Tawny has a few more design quirks. Because of the way the horse moves, the limbs need to be loose. However, the horse's legs seem lightly constructed in comparison to its heavier middle. Once the blanket, saddle, and wreath of roses are in place, the horse needs to be held firmly or it tends to drop into a "downward dog" yoga pose. All accessories are sturdy and well made except for the fence posts, which are a bit too easily knocked off.

A Pony Ride to Imagination
In this era of high-tech toys, the Barbie and Tawny are sweetly refreshing, the way toys are meant to be. They engage a child in imaginative and interactive play instead of simply providing passive entertainment. What is beautiful and realistic about their play is how well in-sync the horse and rider are in their trot. Trotting the horse is achieved by pulling the horse's legs halfway back (no battery power is needed), and then manually manipulating the toy. For the girl who is moving Barbie and Tawny around the imaginary show ring and making the story up as she goes along, no batteries are required. However, Barbie's horse comes with a battery pack that folds his front legs into a jump position, and allows him to voice his delight by neighing. While this is all good fun, Barbie and Tawny are almost better off without the battery power. Manually trotting the horse around the ring is just as fun, and the sound quality of the horse's neighing doesn't sound enough like a horse. Your little girl will enjoy creating the sounds herself as she spends hours with her new friends.

Pros

• Attractive, well-constructed doll
• Encourages interactive play
• Doll has excellent range of motion
• Realistic-looking riding movements

• Horse is a bit unsteady
• "Jumping" is accomplished by lifting the horse
• Jump position and voice are just as much fun to create without batteries
• Fence poles are too easy to knock off