Plenty of Ponies, page 17
The Esmonds rode in silence for a few moments, each occupied with his own thoughts. Darkness lay like a black mantle over the hills; their ponies’ hoofs made a cheerful clatter on the road; over at White Hill Farm a dog barked and down by the wood an owl hooted eerily.
“I do think we’ve improved our characters these holidays,” said Tina suddenly, “even though we didn’t have my society. I’m sure that we’re not nearly so selfish and we certainly don’t quarrel so much.”
“Prig,” said Paul, smiling into the darkness.
THE END
Printing History
Plenty of Ponies was first published by Collins in 1949. Like many other early Pullein-Thompson novels, it was illustrated by Anne Bullen. It had twenty internal illustrations, as well as a full colour dustjacket, and was reprinted in 1957.
Collins had a cheaper imprint, Seagull, and Plenty of Ponies was issued in this format in 1964, with reprints in 1966 and 1969. It was illustrated.
The first paperback edition was by Armada, the paperback arm of Collins. It replaced the original Anne Bullen cover with a rather alarming (and uncredited) portrayal of the backward seat. It was Armada number C360. Armada’s next edition appeared in the 1970s, with a photographic cover.
The last edition until the one you are reading was issued by White Lion, London, in 1977. It had a new cover, with a black and white line drawing on a yellow background.
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Questions
Original: does anyone have one printed other than in 1949 or 1957.
Seagull Library: any other printings apart from 1964, 1966, 1969? Was it illustrated? If so, how many illustrations?
First paperback: was it illustrated? How many?
Second paperback: Armada number on spine. Illustrated? How many?
White Lion: illustrated? How many?
Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Six Ponies
Noel has no self-confidence. John has a nasty temper. June’s mother thinks June is wonderful (and so does she). Evelyn thinks dressage is a waste of time. Her sister Hilary is not so sure, and Richard, well Richard is very good at hiding the truth from himself. The Pony Club is the despair of Major Holbrooke, its District Commissioner.
The Pony Club is presented with six New Forest ponies to break in. How they go about it, and the problems and triumphs they experience, are still just as entertaining and informative as when the book was published over 60 years ago.
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Pony Club Team
Major Holbrooke’s friends challenge him to prove that the West Barsetshire Pony Club can improve. The only way of making sure that they do is by taking them back to basics and running a course for them: it’s dressage all the way. Nothing runs smoothly, of course, and when the Major’s nephew, Henry, arrives, sparks fly. Henry has good points, but he certainly keeps them well hidden.
Josephine Pullein-Thompson
The Radney Riding Club
Henry is in despair. His new horse, Evening Echo, is not going well. It is cold comfort that none of the other local riders seem to be any better. Henry decides he’ll start a riding club, and with the help of Noel, that’s what he does.
Josephine Pullein-Thompson gives us another cast of wonderful characters: Alex, cursed with a pony so terrible he seems to have no redeeming features; Christo, whose black mare is only rarely under control; Eric, whose cob, Princess, is under such rigid control she barely breaks out of a canter, and Pauline, who prefers looking pretty to riding.
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One Day Event
Mrs Van Cutler's opinion is worth having, says the Major to his nephew, Henry. But Mrs Van Cutler did not like Henry's dressage test, not at all. "Oh lord," said Henry. "Have you ever seen so many fours?" Major Holbrooke offers to do a course for Henry and the Pony Club to improve their generally dismal performances, but it will be an eventing course and not just dressage. And at the end, there will be a One Day Event.
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The Pony Club members tackle this in their usual fashion. Christopher is convinced he already knows it all; Noel is convinced she knows nothing and never will.
But at the end of the course, everyone has to do that One Day Event.
Josephine Pullein-Thompson
The Woodbury Pony Club Series
Pony Club Cup
No one likes the Woodbury Pony Club, not even its members. They're so awful, they don't think they're up to entering the competition for second division pony clubs like them. And then they get a new District Commissioner – but what can an ex-jockey teach them and their terrible ponies? Quite a lot, it turns out, if you're prepared to be open minded. Wild, whirling Jupiter and his hapless owner Hanif, and ewe-necked Saffron, grudgingly hired for Alice for the holidays by her aunt, can be improved. There is hope. They might even be able to enter for the cup ...
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Pony Club Challenge
The Woodbury Pony Club have been challenged to take part in a tetrathlon by the neighbouring Cranford Vale Pony Club. It's going to mean a lot of training, fast. Their cross country is improving, but that's not going to be enough, and they only have three weeks to improve their swimming, running and target shooting. They're starting to get better, but then a disastrous attempt to practise threatens to ruin everything
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Pony Club Trek
Competitive parents are nothing new. The Woodbury Pony Club are going on a three-day trek over the Downs. Alice is delighted but Hanif is in despair – all he wants is a quiet time with his friends, but his super-competitive stepfather has other ideas. Even a trek can be turned into a competition. But the trek doesn't go the way anyone expected, and the idea of competition fades when a pony's life is at stake.
Jane Badger Books
Jane Badger Books is dedicated to bringing back classic pony fiction, some of which has been out of print for over 50 years. Authors available so far include:
Caroline Akrill
Joanna Cannan
Victoria Eveleigh
Ruby Ferguson
Patricia Leitch
Patience McElwee
Marjorie Mary Oliver & Eva Ducat
Hazel M Peel
Christine Pullein-Thompson
Diana Pullein-Thompson
Josephine Pullein-Thompson
Published by Jane Badger Books 2022
First published by Collins, London, 1949
© The estate of Josephine Pullein-Thompson
The moral right of Josephine Pullein-Thompson to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted by her estate in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved.
Illustrations and cover © Estate of Anne Bullen and used by kind permission of the Bullen family
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the above copyright owners and the above publisher of this book.
Neither the author nor contributor has any responsibility for the continuing accuracy of URLs for external or third-party websites referred to in this book, nor do they guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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Josephine Pullein-Thompson, Plenty of Ponies
