Sparkle Ponies were a new addition in Year 7 of the G1My Little Pony line. They were made of translucent plastic embedded with glitter and had tinsel in their hair.
Sparkle Ponies were originally sold in stores, but were later re-released through a mail order offer. The mail order ponies were nearly identical to the original line except that they had a small cheek symbol and some had a change in hair color.
The Year 7 line of Sparkle Ponies only included adult ponies, but Baby Sparkle Ponies were later released in Year 8. These baby ponies did not have tinsel in their tail.