Spot the Merry Risk
Well-Known Member
Gillian has only recently passed away. I lot of her books have been republished by Jane Badger Books, both paperback and downloads.
Pony Books in the 1970's
- Thread starter alymac
- Start date
Gillian has only recently passed away. I lot of her books have been republished by Jane Badger Books, both paperback and downloads.
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
This is in my library and re read quite recently. Love Josephine P-Ts books.
Errin Paddywack
Well-Known Member
She wrote quite a few more recently all equally good. Hard to believe how young she was when she wrote the original ones. I think I have most if not all of hers.
Spot the Merry Risk
Well-Known Member
Josephine is my favourite P-T.
Lois Lame
Well-Known Member
Sad she has gone.
I wonder how old she was when she wrote Jump to the Stars. Heck I loved that book. Bobby (Roberta) was a capable, kind and daring rider. Her aunt was a fink and wanted the mare Shelta. I really enjoy drama (people drama) in stories.
cariad
Well-Known Member
I wasn't going to join in this thread; I rarely do make any comments, but read the Forum regularly. However, as pony books are a bit of an obsession with me, I thought I'd join in a little.
I have been collecting horse and pony books (and some others, such as Skipper The Dog From The Sea and the Monica Edwards Punchbowl and Romney Marsh books, that sort of thing) since I was a child and I am now considerably older than that. My first one, given as a gift when I was very young, but even then passionate about horses and ponies, despite being a bred and born inner city kid, was "Jill's Gymkhana". Even then it transported me to a totally different world, even if it was fantasy/imaginary and I was hooked.
I can't tell you how may books I now have, as I've not counted them, but they are into 4 figures. I would love to have the time to "catalogue" and index them, so I knew just what I have. I have some duplicates as I seem incapable of leaving any on a shelf, even if I have them already. They go back a long way and the vast majority of them have beautiful illustrations, popular and known artists such as Lionel Edwards but also others such as Sheila Rose and the like. They cover a huge variety, not just English and I am still collecting them. You think you must have every pony book going, but then you spot one you have never seen before and my partner and daughter somehow manage each year at Christmas and birthdays to come up with a few more.
I buy from auctions a lot and one of my favourite sources was the Rutland Bookshop, who have a stand at Burghley and have had since I've going, which is since 1991. They have loads of other types of books I don't collect/have; hunting, hounds, dogs, equestrian artists, all types of horse interest books. Many of these are out of my reach financially, but part of the fun/challenge of collecting is finding a bargain. If I had all the money in the world and could just go round buying anything I came across no matter what the price, that would be no good. It's not about value either; most of them probably have no financial value and those that do won't be all that much.
And yes, I do still read them! Research, obviously...
I prefer the older books, but I do also collect the newer varieties for the sake of completion, the Sheltie books and Saddle Club and the like. The older ones do tend to focus more on children/teenagers/adults with dreams of horses and ponies coming true and somewhat unrealistic situations, but it was all a different time and world. For instance, in the Silver Eagle Riding School books, children just set up a riding school and adults do not seem to find this at all strange (The P-T's did the same), or they start up their own hunt (a lot of them do of course live in vicarages or on farms and not inner-city high rise flats!). Jill takes on impossible ponies and again, runs her own riding school for a while. There is always the pony to be found, or rescued or bought for 2p (probably five bob then), the big family (often the vicar's children) with only 3 ponies to share and the inevitable squabbling, the rich but lonely kid with the stable and ponies to herself and of course, the Pony Club with its rallies and camps reigns supreme. Parents are peripheral. Newer books, though still with pony-mad kids, seem to be more about things in a horse/pony setting. But no matter.
So there you are, confessions of an old, but still pony mad kid, person.
I have been collecting horse and pony books (and some others, such as Skipper The Dog From The Sea and the Monica Edwards Punchbowl and Romney Marsh books, that sort of thing) since I was a child and I am now considerably older than that. My first one, given as a gift when I was very young, but even then passionate about horses and ponies, despite being a bred and born inner city kid, was "Jill's Gymkhana". Even then it transported me to a totally different world, even if it was fantasy/imaginary and I was hooked.
I can't tell you how may books I now have, as I've not counted them, but they are into 4 figures. I would love to have the time to "catalogue" and index them, so I knew just what I have. I have some duplicates as I seem incapable of leaving any on a shelf, even if I have them already. They go back a long way and the vast majority of them have beautiful illustrations, popular and known artists such as Lionel Edwards but also others such as Sheila Rose and the like. They cover a huge variety, not just English and I am still collecting them. You think you must have every pony book going, but then you spot one you have never seen before and my partner and daughter somehow manage each year at Christmas and birthdays to come up with a few more.
I buy from auctions a lot and one of my favourite sources was the Rutland Bookshop, who have a stand at Burghley and have had since I've going, which is since 1991. They have loads of other types of books I don't collect/have; hunting, hounds, dogs, equestrian artists, all types of horse interest books. Many of these are out of my reach financially, but part of the fun/challenge of collecting is finding a bargain. If I had all the money in the world and could just go round buying anything I came across no matter what the price, that would be no good. It's not about value either; most of them probably have no financial value and those that do won't be all that much.
And yes, I do still read them! Research, obviously...
I prefer the older books, but I do also collect the newer varieties for the sake of completion, the Sheltie books and Saddle Club and the like. The older ones do tend to focus more on children/teenagers/adults with dreams of horses and ponies coming true and somewhat unrealistic situations, but it was all a different time and world. For instance, in the Silver Eagle Riding School books, children just set up a riding school and adults do not seem to find this at all strange (The P-T's did the same), or they start up their own hunt (a lot of them do of course live in vicarages or on farms and not inner-city high rise flats!). Jill takes on impossible ponies and again, runs her own riding school for a while. There is always the pony to be found, or rescued or bought for 2p (probably five bob then), the big family (often the vicar's children) with only 3 ponies to share and the inevitable squabbling, the rich but lonely kid with the stable and ponies to herself and of course, the Pony Club with its rallies and camps reigns supreme. Parents are peripheral. Newer books, though still with pony-mad kids, seem to be more about things in a horse/pony setting. But no matter.
So there you are, confessions of an old, but still pony mad kid, person.
Spot the Merry Risk
Well-Known Member
Yes I’ve enjoyed the recent Patsy ones.
Orangehorse
Well-Known Member
Just in context. There was a time when a house in the country, particularly if it had land, but not a farm, was very difficult to sell, no one wanted to live in the country and it was only farmers, farm workers and people with local jobs. Transport was difficult, only a few professions paid enough to buy a car, so transport was bus, bike or walk. There were few telephones for ordinary people.
I was taught at Pony Club by the Majors and Colonels from the Army, people were only just realising that something would have to be done to replace these Weeden taught people, the BHS was just introducing the Instructor qualifications (although there were qualifications for riding schools).
The Pony Club was all based on the Army model, I bet the Manual of Horsemanship in its original form wasn't much different from the Army books. I had a very old PC Manual of Horsemanship, which I so wish I had kept.
As someone above said, dressage was just coming to be better understood, with a few refugees from the war f rom Poland, Hungry, etc. If you read William Fox-Pitts autobiography he had lessons from a Polish army officer who had been tipped off by a German riding friend that the country was about to be invaded and he should escape while he could.
I too loved all the Pony books, the Jill books, Punchbowl Farm, Romney Marsh, Three Ponies and Shannon etc. etc. all of them.
I was taught at Pony Club by the Majors and Colonels from the Army, people were only just realising that something would have to be done to replace these Weeden taught people, the BHS was just introducing the Instructor qualifications (although there were qualifications for riding schools).
The Pony Club was all based on the Army model, I bet the Manual of Horsemanship in its original form wasn't much different from the Army books. I had a very old PC Manual of Horsemanship, which I so wish I had kept.
As someone above said, dressage was just coming to be better understood, with a few refugees from the war f rom Poland, Hungry, etc. If you read William Fox-Pitts autobiography he had lessons from a Polish army officer who had been tipped off by a German riding friend that the country was about to be invaded and he should escape while he could.
I too loved all the Pony books, the Jill books, Punchbowl Farm, Romney Marsh, Three Ponies and Shannon etc. etc. all of them.
cariad
Well-Known Member
My first riding lessons-and yes, I did do work for rides with my friend, as you could do then-were on military saddles. They were curved and extremely slippery, with a high cantle and pommel. Blimey, did you learn to balance quickly!
All very true Orangehorse. Country Life magazine has a little feature every week which is entitled "I wish I'd bought....." and it shows an advert for a house years ago, or sometimes not all THAT long ago. You see huge country houses with acres of land going for £3000.00 or something ridiculous by today's prices and so many of them would fit right into the pony book way of life! But it's no good looking back with too much nostalgia. As someone once said to me, yeah, it's all ok until you have a tooth abscess and no antibiotics. But it's fun, though. The nostalgia, not the tooth abscess.
We met Sir John Miller, the late Queen's equerry before he died in 2006. He told us of going round Badminton in the days when you didn't walk the course and just sort of pointed and galloped and jumped., probably in a snaffle and not unknown to be in a borrowed saddle! Hair-raising, but very pony book.
All very true Orangehorse. Country Life magazine has a little feature every week which is entitled "I wish I'd bought....." and it shows an advert for a house years ago, or sometimes not all THAT long ago. You see huge country houses with acres of land going for £3000.00 or something ridiculous by today's prices and so many of them would fit right into the pony book way of life! But it's no good looking back with too much nostalgia. As someone once said to me, yeah, it's all ok until you have a tooth abscess and no antibiotics. But it's fun, though. The nostalgia, not the tooth abscess.
We met Sir John Miller, the late Queen's equerry before he died in 2006. He told us of going round Badminton in the days when you didn't walk the course and just sort of pointed and galloped and jumped., probably in a snaffle and not unknown to be in a borrowed saddle! Hair-raising, but very pony book.
Nancykitt
Well-Known Member
Last month I read 'The Impossible Horse' by Christine P-T. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
As a Lancastrian, I particularly enjoyed the account of the the rider visiting the hospital (due to a fractured collar bone, which didn't stop her going hunting the following week...obviously!)
Apparently she thought at first that the doctor was 'foreign', but then realised that he was actually from Lancashire.
Priceless.
As a Lancastrian, I particularly enjoyed the account of the the rider visiting the hospital (due to a fractured collar bone, which didn't stop her going hunting the following week...obviously!)
Apparently she thought at first that the doctor was 'foreign', but then realised that he was actually from Lancashire.
Priceless.