Pony Books in the 1970's

alymac said:
i read them in the early 70's but if felt like they were set in the 60's or maybe 50's so maybe that was when they were published - they were what made me enter "win a pony" every year unsuccesfully until I was able to buy my own horse :)
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I think that sounds like Ruby Ferguson's Jill books.
 
cauda equina said:
That sounds like A Pony for Jean by Joanna Cannan (mother of the Pullein-Thompsons), my favourite pony book ever
She called the pony Cavalier and beats her snobby, expensively mounted cousins at the local hunter trials
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I remember that one! Wasn't there a sequel, where she gets a second pony?
Might be confusing it with another book, but did the family move to the country from London because the father lost his job?
 
Red-1 said:
I remember one called "A horse Called September," where the posh girl ditched her horse as it did a tendon or something, the poor girl rescued it and dyed its coat to disguise it and nursed it back to health.

The posh girl then got a posh horse with a glossy coat, and it all came to a head at the end of summer in a jumping competition.

Of course, the posh girl was all the gear, no idea, and a bit cruel with it. We were supposed to identify with the underdog, who was sensitive and kind.

ETA Yes, I got the title right...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Horse-Called-September-Anne-Digby/dp/0583302777


Also, another book, by Monica Dickens I think, where it was short stories and excerpts. One of the chapters was simply about a set of friends going for a hack. I don't think anything astounding happened on the hack, but it was written so you went on that hack with them. I seem to think they came back as the sun set, or similar. I didn't have a horse at the time and it was a group of friends out hacking, rather than a regimented riding school ride that I could ride on.

ETA - just looked this one up...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Talking-ho...Monica+dickens&qid=1581453775&s=books&sr=1-21


I never understood the horse Rapide in the Jill books. I now realise it was probably rapide, as in rapid, as in quick, but a softer French type pronunciation. At the time I thought it was Rapide as in Rap-eye-d, which sounded like a silly and awful name.

I remember reading the books, the 2 horses, the gymkhana. Was there not a posh girl with musical named horses? Sonnet, Sonata and Serenade or something? An army major or someone as an instructor? But, I don't recollect a man in a wheelchair?

Loved the Jinny at Finmory books too. Personally I would have liked to ride Bramble the Highland pony. I recollect a disabled girl from the city, who sounded common with checked shopper bag, made friends with the arab horse and went for a gallop.
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I think the posh girl with musical named ponies was by one of the Pullein-Thompsons. Solo, Seranade and Symphony, she went on pony camp with a lot of the local children and befriended another girl whose pony was called Daybreak.
 
TheOldTrout said:
I remember that one! Wasn't there a sequel, where she gets a second pony?
Might be confusing it with another book, but did the family move to the country from London because the father lost his job?
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There was - Another Pony for Jean, the pony being a little grey cob called Charity, given to Jean by Lord Highmoor for saving one of his horses out hunting

Then there was More Ponies for Jean in which Jean and her friend Anne start a riding school

You're right about the lost job; I think her father did something to do with pepper
 
Loved all the Jill books. I also liked the Silver Brumby series. I have a book called 'The Wednesday Pony' by Primrose Cumming that is the only one pot all my horsey children's books that I actually kept. It was written in 1939 about 2 children who get to ride their dad's delivery pony on Wednesday afternoons - has anyone else read it?
 
alymac said:
I was hoping to track down the pony books I used to read as a child. For the life of me i cannot remember what they were called, but the story began with a girl moving to a new village and find a pony in a field down the lane from where she was living. She was lucky enough to be given the pony and so her horsey life begins. Would love to get copies of these books for a friends daughter if anyone cann tell me what they were called. Thanks in advance.
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Sorry if someone has already answered as I haven't read all the replies but I seem to recognise the story and think it may be "Fly-by-Night"? I remember reading it as a child - my Grandma bought it for me from the charity shop she worked in
 
scats said:
My ultimate favourite is a Patrica Leitch book called Riding Course Summer. It’s about a girl who is pony-less but gets to borrow one for the summer to go on a riding course.
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I remember this book very well. I used to save my Christmas money and go to the book sales in January and buy as many pony books as I could. I had so many pony books that when I started work, I gave them all away to my boss's young daughter, who was pony mad. Many, many years later, when my son was at school, they had a bring and buy sale and Riding Course Summer was among the books for sale. My son picked it up and was shocked to see my name written inside the front cover. By this time he had spent all his money, but told his teacher that it had been my book when I was a young teenager. She gave him 20p and he proudly came home with the book for me. I still have it in the loft.
 
Petalpoos said:
Loved all the Jill books. I also liked the Silver Brumby series. I have a book called 'The Wednesday Pony' by Primrose Cumming that is the only one pot all my horsey children's books that I actually kept. It was written in 1939 about 2 children who get to ride their dad's delivery pony on Wednesday afternoons - has anyone else read it?
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yes!
I have an old copy of it, and Silver Snaffles by the same author
The illustrations are charming period pieces too.
 
I’ve just ended up going down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about the plot of Riding Course Summer to see if it was what I thought. I failed! For those of you who can remember it, did it have a bit in it where some kids are having a group riding lesson and the instructor makes them try to take their saddles off while they were cantering round?
Although the rabbit hole I went down didn’t answer my question, it did take me to this website http://ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/page2.html, which some of you may find useful.
 
Petalpoos said:
Loved all the Jill books. I also liked the Silver Brumby series. I have a book called 'The Wednesday Pony' by Primrose Cumming that is the only one pot all my horsey children's books that I actually kept. It was written in 1939 about 2 children who get to ride their dad's delivery pony on Wednesday afternoons - has anyone else read it?
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The Silver Brumby is my favourite book of all time, horse related or otherwise. I've got...checks shelves a minute...five editions of it now, but my paperback Green Dragon edition with a cantering horse in a stream on the cover is still my favourite!

Her writing is so starkly beautiful. I write a lot and still find echoes of her sentences in mine. And her names for the horses are glorious.

I also loved Flicka, The Phantom Horse series, punchbowl Farm, Follyfoot, Black Stallion (especially the ones where Farley went a bit weird and started writing sci fi with aliens as well as racehorses!) and Jinny (especially the magical bits.)

Does anyone else remember the really dodgy 90s series with the teenager with the dun Eventer? She was having an affair with an adult rider? 12 year old me was impressed, current me is horrified!
 
Does anyone else remember the really dodgy 90s series with the teenager with the dun Eventer? She was having an affair with an adult rider? 12 year old me was impressed, current me is horrified!
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I'm intrigued Snowfilly, do you remember anything else about it? It sounds like brilliant read. (although a complete legal nightmare!)
 
2ndtimearound said:
I’ve just ended up going down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about the plot of Riding Course Summer to see if it was what I thought. I failed! For those of you who can remember it, did it have a bit in it where some kids are having a group riding lesson and the instructor makes them try to take their saddles off while they were cantering round?
Although the rabbit hole I went down didn’t answer my question, it did take me to this website http://ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/page2.html, which some of you may find useful.
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Actually, forget I asked! I’ve just discovered that I’ve still got my copy (well, technically speaking, it’s actually my sister’s copy ?). I was sure I only still had my Jinny books and Wish for a Pony. Now I can read it to find out!
 
2ndtimearound said:
I’ve just ended up going down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about the plot of Riding Course Summer to see if it was what I thought. I failed! For those of you who can remember it, did it have a bit in it where some kids are having a group riding lesson and the instructor makes them try to take their saddles off while they were cantering round?
Although the rabbit hole I went down didn’t answer my question, it did take me to this website http://ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/page2.html, which some of you may find useful.
Click to expand...


They children variously despaired about their riding or thought they were great but weren't. The only person they knew who could ride well was no use as a teacher, so they tried to start a riding club and invited a mounted police instructor who made them do the saddle thing and told them they were hopeless when they couldn't do it.
 
Berpisc said:
"Jill" books?I think the first was Jills Gymkhana? Cant remember the author
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Yeahh........ the word "Jill" came to me too, tho' I'm blowed if I could remember the title. I can't remember who wrote them either......

Edited: meant to add that I'm loving this thread, its brought back many memories of when I was a pony-mad but pony-less kid - and of course back then we all knew didn't we that this wonderful thing called "a pony" would somehow just miraculously fall into your lap; and all you'd have to do would be to just hop up there and you'd just immediately "bond", and then ohh sooohh easily go off to the local gymkhana (gosh, who's seen that old word used lately, its all "shows" and "competitions" now - in my day you went off to a gymkhana!) and everything would just fall into your lap!

Roll on the years, and here we all are, tramping around in the dark and the wet, with our various "project" horses behaving appallingly and new problems like saddle fitting, bitting clinics, and physio appointments to pay for!! - and yet somehow the little child within still believes that there's that perfect little pony out there that's well mannered, jumps clear every time and that'll somehow behave perfectly on every occasion!

Did you ever hear about a pony in one of the "Jill" or Follyfoot books napping when asked to leave the yard solo??? Of course not...... :) Or rearing and bucking like a mustang at their first show and then ditching you and legging it?? Nope!

Luvvit.
 
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Teajack said:
They children variously despaired about their riding or thought they were great but weren't. The only person they knew who could ride well was no use as a teacher, so they tried to start a riding club and invited a mounted police instructor who made them do the saddle thing and told them they were hopeless when they couldn't do it.
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If it wasn't for the mounted police/saddle thing I might have said Radney Riding Club. Will have to look up Riding Course Summer
 
Teajack said:
They children variously despaired about their riding or thought they were great but weren't. The only person they knew who could ride well was no use as a teacher, so they tried to start a riding club and invited a mounted police instructor who made them do the saddle thing and told them they were hopeless when they couldn't do it.
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Thanks! I’m glad my memory hasn’t completely failed me.
 
There's a book called Heroines on Horseback by Jane Badger which charts the development of the pony book and a lot of the classic writers and series. She's also got a website with loads of information, and is reprinting a lot of books in ebook form. I'm devouring them as they're released!

(I always hated Jill. She couldn't ride for toffee at the start of the first book, and a few books in was being horribly snobby about other people who couldn't ride. Vile beast.)
 
Red-1 said:
Ooh, there was another. A brother and sister had riding lessons, living in a city. I think their trainer was Captain Podhasky or something. They were to stay in the country with some relatives, having had the grand total of 10 lessons.

The relatives had loads of horses and ponies, all of them rode. But, they were a bit rough and ready. They laughed at the heroes and their 10 lessons. Of course, in the field was a beautiful grey gelding, who looked perfect but was considered dangerous.

A midnight conversation made the pair think that if the family rode Captain Podhasky's horses, then they would also be dangerous, as they had been trained to be quiet and sensitive riders. So. they got up I the middle of the night and started to ride the 'dangerous' pony.

I think at the end of summer they came out of the closet about the pony and, of course, won everything at the show. I think they were given the pony to take back to the city or something.

I think it was this one..https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prince-among-ponies-Armada-pony/dp/0006914381/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KHLAZZ2SL12O&keywords=prince+among+ponies&qid=1581454397&sprefix=Prince+Amon,aps,145&sr=8-1

Music to my ears, as a girl who could only ride at a riding school.
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yes, I had a pony called Prince and someone gave me this book. it ended "one riding, one walking across Wimbledon common ".
 
Snowfilly said:
Does anyone else remember the really dodgy 90s series with the teenager with the dun Eventer? She was having an affair with an adult rider? 12 year old me was impressed, current me is horrified!
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I think this was earlier than 90’s but there was a series about a girl about 18 called Bobby who had a relationship with the riding school owner she was working for. She evented I think. They’re by Gillian Baxter.
 
2ndtimearound said:
I’ve just ended up going down a rabbit hole trying to find out more about the plot of Riding Course Summer to see if it was what I thought. I failed! For those of you who can remember it, did it have a bit in it where some kids are having a group riding lesson and the instructor makes them try to take their saddles off while they were cantering round?
Although the rabbit hole I went down didn’t answer my question, it did take me to this website http://ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/page2.html, which some of you may find useful.
Click to expand...

Yes I remember the bit about taking the saddles off...

The heroine's pony was called Quest.

Fiona
 
Sussexbythesea said:
I think this was earlier than 90’s but there was a series about a girl about 18 called Bobby who had a relationship with the riding school owner she was working for. She evented I think. They’re by Gillian Baxter.
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There were three originally, and Gillian Baxter has very recently written another three in the series...

Two and three were called The Difficult Summer and The Perfect Horse.

Fiona
 
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