History of the Maryland Pony Meet
The Maryland Pony Meets were started in 2003 with the meeting of three collectors from the My Little Pony Trading Post. They gathered for snacks and to share and discuss ponies, as well as watch shows and commercials from the 80’s–on VHS tapes!
From that small meeting, a long legacy of ever-growing pony meets began.
With every passing year, more and more people traveled from different parts of the country to attend and be a part of these pony meets. Although it was mostly local collectors at first, they eventually came from as far away as Texas, California, Michigan, Florida, and much of the Eastern US.
As of the 2012 Maryland Pony Meet, there were nearly 50 collectors from all over the Eastern US attending the yearly meets. With nearly two hundred feet of tables worth of ponies and related items, the 2012 meet surpassed every Maryland meet prior, and rose in reputation to make the Maryland Pony Meets the largest and longest-running pony meet in the United States.
Within a few years, guests would be arriving from abroad.
These meets would never have been possible without some very special, very important people. It is with the support of the hostess’s friends and family, as well as many, many supporters in the My Little Pony collecting community, that the meets can continue and grow. And it is with this support and ongoing enthusiasm that the Maryland Pony Meets plan to continue well into the future.
Take a look at the galleries below to see memories from years past!
MDPM 2023
We’re back! After an unavoidable hiatus due to certain worldwide events, the MDPM returned in full force in 2023. New games, new decor, new merch, and lots of new faces! Best of all, it was a long overdue reunion for our family of pony friends.
MDPM 2019
PONIIIIES INNNN SPAAAAACE! 2019 celebrated all manner of celestial ponies, from Glow n Show to Sparkle ponies and beyond, with games, contests, food, and merchandise that featured their images and themes. Celestial Star Toss made its debut as the newest pony-themed game, and we had a record number of prize table items!
MDPM 2018
2018 was a year of firsts! Due to overwhelming numbers, the MD Meet became private for several years following the boom of 2012. In 2018, the meet found a new, larger location that could accommodate more guests in the future. The theme of this year celebrated Baby Ponies, with games, contests, and merchandise that featured them
MDPM 2017
After 15 years of good luck with the weather, this year our luck ran out! A sudden and unexpected rain left us scrambling for indoor accommodations at the last moment. In the true spirit of our little meet family though, we all pitched in together and made the most of it! This year, we celebrated Sparkle Ponies.
MDPM 2016
In 2016, things turned tropical! Guests donned leis, hibiscus flowers, and grass skirts as we imagined warm breezes blowing through palm trees and celebrated Tropical Ponies with our theme, “Take me to Paradise!”
MDPM 2014
This was by far the most mysterious year of the MD Pony Meet, because it seemed as if hardly anyone took any photos! Did the year of Regal Royalty really exist at all? Maybe it was just a dream….
MDPM 2013
With the manner in which the popularity of the meet had grown, and due to far more interest than we had room to host, this was the year that the MD Pony Meet went back to basics and, until 2019, became a private meet. With smaller numbers, this year’s meet was far more relaxed, with themes surrounding “Enduring Friendship.”
MDPM 2011
In 2011, The MD Pony Meet Committee lucked out for the party tent for a second year! This year’s theme was what would come to be called the “G4 Ponies” based on the new show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.”
MDPM 2010
In 2010, The MD Pony Meet Committee lucked out in that a friend was hosting a large event on an upcoming Sunday, but the party tent they rented had to arrive on a Friday. They very kindly allowed the MD Pony Meet to be hosted under this enormous party tent on that Saturday. During the year of the Big Brother Ponies, footage and interviews were also recorded here to be used in Jewel’s 2011 documentary “My Little Obsession.”
MDPM 2008
2008 sought to honor one of the strangest MD Pony Meet characters ever to exist: the majestic llamacorn. Although this crazy pinata did not survive its first meet, reincarnations of Llamacorn have popped up from time to time. This is also the year that the famous MD Pony Meet scooter track was constructed!
MDPM 2007
2007’s mascot was the flutter pony, though official meet themes had yet to be implemented at this time. The custom contest of this year was “I Don’t Wanna Be Me!” which prompted customizer to create custom ponies based on a non-equine animal.
MDPM 2005
2005 marked the very beginning of the MD Pony Meet Scooter Race! Oh, how this event would grow over the years! We also had a very special guest who brought us some of the rarest G1 ponies in the world to fawn over!
MDPM 2004
Would you believe we actually met TWICE in 2004? We had so much fun in the spring, we held it again in the fall!
The First MD Pony Meets
Small meets such as these in 2002 and 2003 were the humble beginnings of what would come to be known as the annual MD Pony Meet. We found each other on the longest-running My Little Pony collector forum, the My Little Pony Trading Post, then got together in person!
Individuals shown with a Chesapeake or Skipjack pony image have asked that their photo not be published.