About the author
Elinore (Elinor) Havers wrote 13 pony books. She started off being published by Country Life, and her first book, Three Day Adventure, is a typical pony book of that era; well illustrated, and the sort of book that is attractive in its own right. She wrote another book for Country Life, Wigwam Island, and after that had rather a long gap before she started writing for Lutterworth. Lutterworth published the Crown Pony Library series, and Elinore wrote more titles for it than any other author: nine out of the twenty two.
The Crown Pony series didn’t feature top rank authors, but its stories are solid and readable, and Elinore’s stories are typical of it. As far as I know, she wrote no series.
Finding the books
Pony Hunt is the hardest title to find. Pricing can be fairly lunatic for this title on Amazon, but reasonably priced copies do occasionally turn up. All the other titles are reasonably easy to find, and usually cheap. Again, beware of stupidly priced titles on Amazon, to which this author, at the time of writing, seems prone. The monstrous prices charged don’t reflect rarity or fabulous condition. Very good copies indeed are available at decent prices, so beware.
Bibliography
Three Day Adventure
Country Life, 1948
Kit Brownriggs bets his brother and sister, Kit and Rosemary, that he can hide themselves from him for three days. They accept the bet. Kit’s original plan to come back to the village in disguise and stay with their nurse soon falls apart, and he becomes involved in trying to stop a burglary. Not a huge amount
of pony content: it’s more a holiday adventure in which ponies happen to be present.
Wigwam Island
Country Life, 1951, illus Phyllis Ladyman
Many thanks to Jacquie Thomas for the picture.
Dream pony
Lutterworth, London, 1962, 128 pp.
Lutterworth, pb, 1976
Carol longs to have a pony, and buys Blue Smoke when she goes to an auction with
her friend Kim. Blue Smoke is not, however a bargain; old and tired and tending to
lameness.
pony hunt
Max Parrish, Illus Sheila Rose, 1963
“The lonely parts of the Devon countryside provide an ideal setting for mystery and adventure, and there is indeed a mystery when Nicola Blake’s pony, Toffee, disappears one night without a trace. Nicola suspects Jenny, a new girl in the village, but it soon turns out that they are up against a much more powerful and determined opponent
than a lonely girl. Unexpected adventures follow when Nicola and her brother, Simon, begin the long hunt for Toffee.”
In their efforts they are aided by Liz and Andrew Gilmore, their Pony Club friends, by a half-reluctant Jenny, and of course by the dogs, Rattle and Rumpus. Their search takes them further afield until it finally culminates in an exciting chase across the moor.”
A Pony to Catch
Lutterworth, 1964
Lutterworth, pb, 1975 (uncredited cover photo taken at Spire House, Headley)
Stormalong has been running wild in the woods for two years. If Tessa and Martin
can catch him, they are told by his owner, they can keep him.
Gay and the Ponies
Lutterworth, London, hb, 1964, 128 pp.
Lutterworth, pb, 1976, cover photo Cecric E Bush
Gay is actually a poodle, who gets lost on the Downs. Joanna and Penny find Gay when they are out for a ride,
Only One Pony
Lutterworth, London, hb, 1965, 126 pp.
Lutterworth, pb, 1975
Carol and Jane are allowed to look for a pony, but they both do and they both buy one and bring it home. Their mother says they can keep only one, and gives them a week to make their minds up between Turpin and Toby.
Pony Sleuths
Lutterworth, London, hb, 1966, 128 pp.
Lutterworth, pb, 1975
Janet promises to look after the greengrocer’s pony, Laddie, while he is in hospital. The pony then disappears, and Janet and her friends (the Pony Sleuths) set out to try and find him.
Pony Watch
Lutterworth, London, hb, 1968, 128 pp.
Lutterworth, pb 1975
“Mandy and Michael Foster live on Exmoor. Their father has a farm. So many of his sheep have been stolen that Mr Foster is seriously thinking of leaving Exmoor and going to a city to live. So Mandy and Michael, on Inkspot and Chipmunk, their friend Sally on her Exmoor Whitestock, and Neil on Sinbad, his father’s hunter, form a band of mounted vigilantes to patrol the moor at dawn,
and catch the sheep stealing gang red handed.”
The Surprise Riding Club
Collins, 1968, cover Geoffrey Whittam – uncredited. Not illustrated)
Collins 1973 (Collins Pony Library)
Sarah and her friends start a riding club during the summer holidays so they can
improve their riding. The “Surprise” element comes in as each president is supposed
to provide a surprise for the members when they finish their time as president.
The Great Pony Mystery
Lutterworth, 1969
Lutterworth, 1975
“Debbie rode Puck, Jonathan rode Kit-Kat, Lucy, Tiger and Locket rode in the gipsy caravan drawn by Ajax, who was a slow but steady walker. they were on holiday, exploring day by day, and at night making camp in a field or an orchard. Then on Saturday afternoon Ajax cast a shoe. The blacksmith would not be back until Monday; so the caravan and pony party settled down to wait. That Saturday night Jonathan and Mark, who were in a tent, heard the noise of hooves in the street; had one of the
ponies got out? They were both in the field. The next night Debbie and Lucy watched too.
The street was full of moonlight, the hoof beats sounded and there was no pony to be seen.”
Ponies Across the River
Lutterworth, 1970
Cathy and Vicky often see the field over the river full of ponies, which then disappear. Sometimes there are three children in with the ponies, byt they always run away when anyone comes near, and they never ride the ponies. Vicky and Cathy are determined to find out what is going on.
The Merrymarch Ponies
Lutterworth, 1974
Simon and Phillipa discovered the Merry March stud farm on the very first day of the holidays. There, grazing in sunlit paddocks, were the most beautiful palominos with their streaming silvery manes and tails. The loveliest of all was the three year old Golden Ripple; and when Simon and Phillipa made friends with Lynne, whose sister worked at Merry March, she told them what high hopes Mrs Russell, the owner set on him. He was the only pony left of an original strain with which her father had started Merry March, and though he was very valuable, she would never, or could never, sell him. Lynne’s friendship made a great difference to the holiday. She took them riding in the hills, showed them how to jump, helped them to have a wonderful time. And eventually their liking for her, and their admiration for Merry March led them, and Jake, the gypsy boy, into adventure high in the hills. For Golden Ripple disappeared.
