'Our friends think we're crazy!' Hundreds of grown-up My Little Pony fans flock to special convention in honour of animated series

I t might be aimed at children, but My Little Pony has a legion of adult fans across the world, and enthusiasts of the animated series were in their element today as they flocked to a hotel in Nottingham for a special convention.



The Pony Con 2012 event at the Novotel Hotel in Long Eaton, Nottingham attracted hundreds of fans, who turned out to talk about their love for the cartoon.



Many participated in the conference which included a series of specialist talks, screenings and an extensive display of tens of thousands of the collectable toys

Pony fan: Siobhan Brewer, 25, was one of the many enthusiasts at the My Little Pony convention at the Novotel Hotel in Long Eaton, Nottingham

Horsing around: The event includes an extensive display of tens of thousands of the collectable toys

Dressed in My Little Pony T-shirts or fancy dress outfits, many with brightly coloured wigs, women in their 20s and 30s discussed their appreciation for the series, which was created by illustrator Bonnie Zacherle in 1981.

Toy store worker Rebecca Lindahl, 21, who came from Sweden for the two-day event, admitted that she’d never grown out of her love for the toys after discovering them when she was a child.



‘Me and my friend have come from Sweden for this one,’ she told reporters.



‘It’s my first pony conventions. I collected them when I was younger but when I was ten I stopped.

Dressing the part: Rebecca Lindahl (left), who travelled from Sweden to attend the event, and Joanne Batley



Self-confessed 'Bronies': James Slater (left) and Cameron Stork bond over their mutual love of My Little Pony

‘But this year I started up again because I wanted a new hobby.



‘I had 20 ponies from my childhood and after just a year of collecting, I have about 150 now.



‘I’ve spent a couple of hundred pounds in the last year but it’s worth it. It’s my money to spend.



‘My friends think I’m crazy anyway and my family love it.’



Selene Thomas, 30, a freelance artist from Dorset, boasts a huge collection of the toys.



‘I didn’t like dolls, I only liked ponies when I was little so my parents bought them for me,’ she says.



‘I liked them for a toy and then thought it was cool for nostalgia purposes.



‘I’ve got about 1,800 - a lot are in boxes in the attic

‘I just didn’t stop collecting them for years but I don’t actively collect now because the only ones I need are the stupidly expensive ones.



‘The most I’ve paid is about £100 but the most valuable one I’ve heard of is one that sold for 2,000 US Dollars.

‘We get some over here that you can buy in a car boot sale for 50p and then sell on eBay for 100 US Dollars.’

'It’s like being a kid again': My Little Pony fans Victoria Inman and Peter Ward at the convention



Dozens of male fans, who proudly call themselves Bronies, raved about the My Little Pony series at the convention.

It’s a really cool little world,’ said Cameron Stalker, 27, an accountant from Colchester, Essex.

‘They rebooted My Little Pony in 2010 with a new show and the director tried to create it with an adult audience in mind for parents.

‘But the result was it attracted a big adult crowd. It started getting a huge cartoon following and then the bronie thing started.

‘I came to this convention last year and only had one pony but I caught the collector bug and now I have about 80.It’s like being a kid again.’

Meanwhile James Slater, 30, a factory worker from Lowestoft, Suffolk admitted that they often get strange looks when they pick up the toys in shops.

‘It’s funny when you go into a toy shop and put ponies on the counter and they do a double take,’ he said.

‘They say “why are you buying them” and I say “why not”. We managed to get a friend into it but he won’t admit it. He would rather say he looks at internet porn.’

Motorbike fan and self-confessed bronie Adam Wilson, 21, added: ‘I got into it in 2010 when the bronie thing started.

‘My other world is in biking so you get all the macho type men. It’s a very different world. If I wear a pony T-shirt around bikers I get the gay comments and jokes but I don’t mind. If I cared then I wouldn’t wear it.’

