Schleich: The Daydream

Schleich® Bayala® is a line of fantastical, magical animals.  This video features champion dressage rider Kayla Barteau of KYB Dressage in Maple Park, IL.

Schleich, founded in 1935, is one of the largest toy manufacturers in Germany and is an international leading supplier of figures. The famous figures and games from Schleich are sold in more than 50 countries and can be found in children’s rooms around the world.

The history of the company starts with Friedrich Schleich, an entrepreneurial tinkerer from Swabia.

In the post-war era he sold his first toy: “Jopo”, a mass-produced, bendable doll. The company grew quickly and, in the 1950’s, produced additional figures in various materials. In 1955, Schleich purchased a license from Walt DisneyTM for the popular characters “Bambi” and “Pluto”. And many other plastic figures made famous through television in the 1970’s contributed to the increasing variety of products.

Only two years later, the first series of miniature animals were created out of PVC: a sea lion family, an elephant and a kangaroo. In the 1980’s, the company started to manufacture their own high-quality, realistic and hand-painted animal figures, which are the heart of the company to this day.

Today the portfolio takes the needs of children in various developmental stages into consideration. Along with the realistic animal themes in Farm World and Wild Life for children between three and eight years, dinosaurs and the horse club cover the need for role play for children from five to twelve years.

And those who like to play with fantasy subjects and mystical worlds will have plenty of room for imagination with toys such as Bayala® and Eldrador®. Licensed products from movies and TV round off the selection and are a treat for grownup fans and collectors as well.

Schleich now has more than half of their sales outside of their core market in Germany.

Even today, each new figure is designed together with experts, manufactured with a love of detail and are still painted by hand.

KYB Dressage is first and foremost, a family of people who love horses. Born out of the marriage of two lifelong horse trainers, Kim and Yvonne Barteau, the KYB family now includes their children, Jamie, Jessica, Kassie and Kayla, all of whom have made their careers and centered their lives around their devotion to these magnificent animals. The KYB family has expanded to embrace their friends, colleagues and clients across the world who are similarly in love with horses.

KYB is passionate about training horses for dressage, for exhibitions, on the ground, and in order to improve their relationships with their owners and riders. They are also passionate about training horse people, from junior/young riders to adult amateurs to other professionals. KYB enjoys collaborating with its network of friends and horse professionals to share our knowledge and experiences through public exhibitions at venues such as Equine Affair, BreyerFest, and others.

Kim is particularly talented with training horses at liberty and teaching riders and horses to understand soft and nuanced aids and to develop solid foundations upon which FEI work is built.

Yvonne is an accomplished dressage competitor, having earned her USDF Gold, Silver and Bronze medals as well as her Gold, Silver and Bronze freestyle bars. Her creativity flows into choreographing some of the best musical freestyles in this country, authoring books, including the award winning, Ride the Right Horse and newly released Dressage Horse Manifesto. She also authors original scripts for equine productions that the KYB Team has performed to packed audiences all over the country.
Kim and Yvonne offer clinics around the world to help others become better trainers, riders and competitors.

KYB Dressage is based out of Grand Prix Equestrian, a state of the art dressage facility located approximately 50 miles west of Chicago.

The video was filmed in part at Fidler Farms, and at Doty Nursery. The Easter Island heads are on the property of the Ruckh family.

For more info, visit:
kybdressage.com

schleich-s.com/en/US

dotynurseries.com