So what pony books from your childhood still lurk in your bookcase?

Tnavas

Tnavas

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Eight books are all that remmain of my extensive collection of horse stories - I don't know where many of thm went but I know there were the 'Jill' books, all the Punchbowl Farm stories, The Four Jays and many others.

Still on the shelf and brought out to read every so often

By Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Six Ponies published 1946
Six pony club members are chosen by Major Holbrooke to break in some wild young ponies. Noel is despondant as she feels her riding is too bad to have a pony to train. June and her mother are sure their pony will be the only one properly trained, and the Radcliffes see the undertaking as a chance to have fun. And Richard sees the pony as an obstacle to his enjoyment of the summer holidays. But even as the pony club members teach their youngsters, they find they learn more about life and themselves at the same time.

Show Jumping Secret published 1955
After contracting polio Charles has health problems but is determined to overcome them and show jump his mare Secret.

Plenty of Ponies Published 1949
Very funny book about a group of unruly kids trying to improve their riding and behaviour!

Prince Among Ponies published 1952
Two children fall in love with a pony but he belongs to their cousins.

By Christine Pullein-Thompson
Phantom Horse Published 1955
Jean and brother Angus move to America and there Jean falls in love with the beautiful wild palomino Phantom Horse. Bur he has been running loose and evading captors for a long time. Can she and Angus succeed where others have failed.

By Diana Pullein-Thompson
A Pony for Sale - Published 1951
The story of a pony's life written by four different owners, some good, some bad

By Pat Leitch
Riding Course Summer Published 1963
Ann and Angy are in despair over their hopeless riding. Along with some other local children, they set up a group whose aims are to improve their riding over the summer. But all does not go smoothly..

By Ursula Moray Williams
Kelpie - The Gypsies' Pony - Published 1934
Tammas the Gipsy boy falls in love with and tames a wild moorland pony which he names Kelpie. When the rest of the Gipsies move on he can't bear to leave Kelpie and so settles down on a local farm where he can be with his beloved pony.

This site is amazing - it seems to have information on every pony story ever written
http://www.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/

So whats on your book shelves?
 
I'm sad! I still havee all my childhood books - pony or otherwise. It's causing me grief now though as I have thousands of books to pack up.
 
Only a thelwell book, the red pony, & misty of chincoteague. However, been recollecting second hand since daughter was 2. Now have:
Jill has two ponies
Show jumping secrets
Black beauty (hidden or she'd never stop crying, she can have it at 18)
Shantih & jinny, & a few of the pullien Thompsons pony club challenge series. I forget which ones, my friends 17yr old borrowed them till daughter old enough.
 
All the silver brumby and follyfoot collections. The ones by linda craig and the palomino chica, a random assortment of jinny and shantih, caroline akril and ginny elliot (I think) I still have all 100+ copies of the magazine 'horse sense'.

I did give 108 saddle club books to the charity shop a few months back and I still feel a bit sad about it!
 
Hardly any, had a massive collection of all the classics that mysteriously vanished from my parents attic. Was absolutely gutted as cannot afford to replace it. Had spent my whole childhood collecting the books.
 
Karran said:
Oh yeah! I have a xhilds version of black beauty, warhorse and the my friend flicka trilogy!
Click to expand...

Thats one I forgot.

I have Black Beauty which I know I've owned since I was very young. I remember aged 8 sitting up in bed in the early hours of the morning reading it when my dad took my mum to hospital to have my baby brother.

He must have been in a panic as he didn't argue when I said I didn't want to go. It was in the era when children were not allowed to visit in hospitals and I knew it may mean hours sitting outside in the car waiting.

It has a red hard back cover. I think it's a childrens version but still with few pictures. A lovely book.
 
I used to have loads, but they seem to have gradually disappeared over the years. :(

I still have my two favourites though (I read them more frequently than I should probably admit!) - 'Four Rode Home' by Primrose Cumming and 'To Save a Pony' by Pat Leitch. I probably have 'Black Beauty' floating around somewhere too actually and I have lots of Thelwell books but they've mainly been collected more recently!
 
Tnavas said:
Eight books are all that remmain of my extensive collection of horse stories - I don't know where many of thm went but I know there were the 'Jill' books, all the Punchbowl Farm stories, The Four Jays and many others.

Still on the shelf and brought out to read every so often

By Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Six Ponies published 1946
Six pony club members are chosen by Major Holbrooke to break in some wild young ponies. Noel is despondant as she feels her riding is too bad to have a pony to train. June and her mother are sure their pony will be the only one properly trained, and the Radcliffes see the undertaking as a chance to have fun. And Richard sees the pony as an obstacle to his enjoyment of the summer holidays. But even as the pony club members teach their youngsters, they find they learn more about life and themselves at the same time.

Show Jumping Secret published 1955
After contracting polio Charles has health problems but is determined to overcome them and show jump his mare Secret.

Plenty of Ponies Published 1949
Very funny book about a group of unruly kids trying to improve their riding and behaviour!

Prince Among Ponies published 1952
Two children fall in love with a pony but he belongs to their cousins.

By Christine Pullein-Thompson
Phantom Horse Published 1955
Jean and brother Angus move to America and there Jean falls in love with the beautiful wild palomino Phantom Horse. Bur he has been running loose and evading captors for a long time. Can she and Angus succeed where others have failed.

By Diana Pullein-Thompson
A Pony for Sale - Published 1951
The story of a pony's life written by four different owners, some good, some bad

By Pat Leitch
Riding Course Summer Published 1963
Ann and Angy are in despair over their hopeless riding. Along with some other local children, they set up a group whose aims are to improve their riding over the summer. But all does not go smoothly..

By Ursula Moray Williams
Kelpie - The Gypsies' Pony - Published 1934
Tammas the Gipsy boy falls in love with and tames a wild moorland pony which he names Kelpie. When the rest of the Gipsies move on he can't bear to leave Kelpie and so settles down on a local farm where he can be with his beloved pony.

This site is amazing - it seems to have information on every pony story ever written
http://www.ponymadbooklovers.co.uk/

So whats on your book shelves?
Click to expand...

:o All the above plus The Black Stallion
 
Not many survived the purges of my teenage years but I've got some Jinny ones, and The Red Pony by John Steinbeck which I haven't read since it made me cry as a kid :o
Plus a very old copy of Black Beauty, leather bound and inscribed as was a gift to my mother in 1953
But most of mine are 'reference' (picture ;)) books, my faves being A Pony's Tale (shows foal from conception to birth- cute!) and one about Milton (I was in the fan club :D)
 
Er, all of them!

All the Jills
All the jinny and shantihs
Assorted pullein-thompsons
My friend flicka
Follyfoot
That slightly prevented IMO series 'Riders' where they were eventers and the main character was a 14yo girl whose boyfriend was 19 and her parents didn't seem to mind.
Flambards
Various other K M Peytons
The Saddle Club

Probably loads more - I was a big reader as a child and books were sacred in our house (teacher for a mother) so none were ever thrown away.

Some of my favourites are held together by luck and hope and not much else now though!

Oh and James Herriot!
 
Does anyone remember the book about a girl who buys a pony - it then goes down with strangles and she nurses it back to health - she called the pony Leary.

CAn't for the life of me remember the title - I really enjoyed that one
 
Karran said:
I never knew there was a milton fan club! :o

My childhood was so deprived :(
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I was OBSESSED with Milton. My proudest possession as a kid was a Milton poster from Horse & Pony magazine. They asked readers to vote for their fave 'celeb' horse to feature in a poster in one issue. Milton won (obv :p) and they printed the names of everyone who had voted for him at the bottom of the poster :D

ETA Have appeared in print since with my real horse but oddly the Milton poster with my name on it from the early 90s still holds a special place in my heart! :o
 
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Hahaha! I think I remember that! My parents told me it was stupid to vote (so non horsey ).

I remember rushing home to see him in the barcelona olympics and ending up devastated that he didn't win ( I think he put a foot in the water jump?)
 
Tnavas said:
Does anyone remember the book about a girl who buys a pony - it then goes down with strangles and she nurses it back to health - she called the pony Leary.

CAn't for the life of me remember the title - I really enjoyed that one
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Riding with the Lyntons! They fell out with her because they thought she'd left a gate open. I loved Plenty of Ponies too, and The Trick Jumpers.
 
Nonfrom my actual childhood sadly but I haver begun buying second hand horsey books. Some Monica Edwards some KM Peyton and Black Beauty so far.
 
I moved to England when I was 16 so wasn't able to bring any books with me, but I have re-purchased most of my favourites:
Misty of Chincoteague
Stormy, Misty's Foal
King of the Wind
All the Black Stallion Books-got them as a set!
Season of Ponies
Summer Pony
Six Ponies
Fly By Night
The Sound of Distant Cheering
The Team
Black Beauty
Sweet William
Come on Seabiscuit

Books I had and I am going to get at some point:
Vicky and the Brown Mare
Bargain Horses
Black Gold
 
celia said:
I used to have loads, but they seem to have gradually disappeared over the years. :(

I still have my two favourites though (I read them more frequently than I should probably admit!) - 'Four Rode Home' by Primrose Cumming and 'To Save a Pony' by Pat Leitch. I probably have 'Black Beauty' floating around somewhere too actually and I have lots of Thelwell books but they've mainly been collected more recently!
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Nice to find someone else who likes 'Four Rode Home' too, I was given a copy the first year it was out and it's been a firm favourite ever since.
 
i had a joiner put a special shelf under the window alcove in our bedroom - for all my pony books. Ive got all the complete sets, Jinny, Jill, Pullein Thompsons :o
 
Four Rode Home - I remember that - didn't they have a child with them called Dicon and they kept their spare stuff in knitting bags fixed across the front of the saddle?

Not much room in them, they must have arrived home incredibly dirty and smelly.:)

But what fun. I can remember as a child it was safe to go off all over the place alone or with friends. Can you imagine any parent these days allowing their kids loose like that?
 
I hope I've still got Pony Stories (I think that was the name), a compilation of short stories by Pony magazine from various horsey book authors. The last story was written by, IIRC, a seventeen year old budding writer and it was about two horsey friends, one of whom had a serious accident . It's perhaps the most memorable thing I've ever read, it stayed with me forever and I've re-read it many times. I'm long overdue rooting it out and reading it again.

I might try to find out who the author was and if she became famous.
 
I reckon my name gives this one away :-). Thelwell annual from circa 1982. Horsesense book i got for my 8th birthday, Blackbeauty novel and Bob Champion autobiography i acquired many moons ago. :-)
 
100's of them still in my bookcase - and my daughter has read most of them as well - I still scour Charity Shops to see if I can pick up copies of old pony books too.
There was a great 'Jill' discussion on a previous post yesterday - it is amazing the impact that these books had on us - and I suspect that for when many of us who read them then, the idea of horse / pony ownership was just a dream?
I don't know about others, but for me growing up in the late 60's - early 70's life was tough, and disposable incomes limited - non horsy parents who did not have land, simply did not think of buying ponies for their children. I used to ride once per week at a very small riding school, where the ponies were quite challenging and the lessons (as they were) cost 75p per hour. To fill in the time I used to go to the local cattle market where a few gypsy's would flog a handful of ponies, and I would ride them around the compound. From the age of 15 I worked week-ends and holidays in a Riding School, and learnt so much. I kept the job for 9 years, and even kept on the job at week-ends when I eventually started my career in Local Govt.
I had my first horse at 18 - a 6 month old just weaned filly - that I ruined, as one tends to with their first horse......but she stayed with us until I was pregnant with my first child and then had to let her go (aged 9 years). I have made up since, having had over a 100 different horses / ponies as for about 15 years I did a bit of dealing. I then had ponies / horses for the children (did the pony club madness thing with them, got into racing (following PC) and trained Pointers for 5 years. Now I am back to leisure riding - but loving it again, as no pressure, and as I still work in Local Govt - some 25 years on, it is great for relieving the stress levels.
Whoops sorry, this post was supposed to be about pony books, not about me.....!
 
Jill always has a place on my bookshelf :D

More modern, late 90s? I read a series of books called 'The Horses of Half Moon Ranch' - they were brilliant! :)

Oh, and my all time favourite: Thelwell - A Leg At Each Corner ;)
 
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