The blog.
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Winning a Pony – Kathleen Mackenzie, Prize Pony
Here’s another in my series on winning a pony via the medium of pony books – because every pony-mad child who doesn’t have a pony dreams of getting one. And if you couldn’t afford to buy one, then winning one in a competition might just make your dream come true. The first competition tied to…
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The observation of horses
a guest post from Janet Rising Car journey boredom is not something from which I suffer, for there are always horses to see! As a young child, even before I swapped a shilling for I-Spy Horses & Ponies, my head would swivel from right to left on any car journey. I was, and still am, an equine-seeking missile.…
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An ambition achieved: the Julip shop
When you were a child, did you have a list of things you thought you’d do once you were a grown up? For me, one of those things was visiting the Julie Loughnan children’s shop in Beauchamp Place in London. Not that I was interested in their children’s clothes, it was what was in their…
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How to win a pony with Dragon Books
Dragon Books was set up by Gordon Landsborough, who had started the immensely successful Armada Books. Dragon Books launched in 1966 with eight titles, including Mary O Hara’s My Friend Flicka, which was split into two separate volumes, with covers I think by Peter Archer.
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Winning a pony with Pat Smythe
I posted recently about the Dragon Books Win a Pony competition, but this wasn’t the first Win-a-Pony competition organised by a publisher (and besides the one I’m going to tell you about, there was also one attached to Kathleen Mackenzie’s Prize Pony, published by Evans in 1959. More on that later). Pat Smythe was an…
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Pony Magazine: the first Christmas
The very first Christmas edition of Pony Magazine was in December 1949. Life was very different to 2025. The war had ended just four years before, and rationing was still in place for many things. The magazine’s gift guides were far from extravagant, and the stress was on the true message of Christmas, albeit seen…
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Black Tail
An exclusive short story by Janet Rising I’m delighted to feature a short story by Janet Rising you won’t find anywhere else: a poignant read of love and loss set on the hunting field. *** Henry eased himself into the saddle, his bones settling, his muscles relaxing into their familiar positions as he nodded to…
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Finding Jinny
by Siân Shipley I remember it like it was yesterday. 1993. Down past the shopping precinct, the cricket pitch, the playing fields and back again. My schoolfriend Becky, sat on her chestnut pony Pepe outside the bakery, holding the reins of big bay Jolly whilst her Mam queued for sausage rolls. The surgery, the play-ground,…
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Broncho: one of the most outstanding horses jumping at Olympia between the two world wars
I first heard about famous show jumper Broncho through a book called Broncho that wasn’t about him at all. Richard Ball’s Broncho (Country Life, 1930) was inspired by the horse, but the publishers said: The book is not meant in any way to be the life story of the horse, as Mr. Ball claims no knowledge greater than…
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Step Back into Childhood: pony book heaven
Step Back Into Childhood April 7–21 2025 It’s been a whirlwind few months, working on this exhibition. The Museum of the Horse in Tuxford is the most amazing place to visit. I love visiting the museum, and seeing all those things that connect us to a world that’s now gone. The Museum’s new exhibition, Step…