These Horses Rock the Cash Register

Hand-Crafted Rocking Horses Attract Rich Niche

By TDmonthly Staff
March 2006

Children aren’t the only ones enchanted by the mystique a rocking horse has to offer. Manufacturers said that adults often buy them as decorative art pieces to display in their homes. In recent months, a number of wealthy Arab buyers, apparently enamored by the fact that they can custom-order a rocking horse that looks just like its real-life counterpart, have spurred the craze for designer rocking horses, reported the Independent News Service in Ireland.

It appears that the market for handcrafted rocking horses remains strong throughout the world, despite their high prices. Buyers can expect to pay anywhere from $2,000 for a small horse to more than $17,000 for a custom-made limited edition model, like the Magna Carta, produced by Stevenson Brothers. That horse, manufactured in a limited edition of 10, is crafted from a walnut tree planted on Rummymede Island in the Thames at Windsor to commemorate King John’s signing of the Magna Carta, said Marc Stevenson, co-owner of Stevenson Brothers in Kent, England.

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