About the author
Jenny Oldfield (b.1949) must be a publisher’s dream. She can write for a variety of ages; she writes series at the drop of a hat; she can write in any currently fashionable idiom; is equally happy setting series in America and the UK, and is astonishingly prolific. She published her first book, Tomorrow Will Be My Dancing Day, in 1975, and since then has published over 160 books: a quite staggering total. Although much of her work is about animals, a sure seller with children for centuries, she has written series aimed at a wide variety of markets. ‘I talk to my publisher,’ she says, ‘about the next big thing,’ and it’s obviously very successful. She’s done historical fiction for adults, teen diary type fiction (Marsha Martinez) and the wicked boy (Totally Tom). She writes under pseudonyms too: Jasmine Oliver, Kate Pennington, Jodie Mellor, and Donna King. She has also written titles for the phenomenally successful Lucy Daniels Animal Ark series published by Hodder.
She has focused on the pony book market with several series: Half Moon Ranch, My Magical Pony, Black Pearl Ponies, and Stardust Stables (as Sable Hamilton). The Half Moon Ranch series is set in Colorado, on a ranch run by the Scott family. Kirstie Scott is the heroine of the series, which tends to focus on a different horse in each different title, whom Kirstie must save or rehabilitate. My Magical Pony is a fantasy series. Krista, the heroine, is a devoted attender at a local stables, but she’s helped in her adventures by Shining Star, a mystical pony who descends from the clouds, dispensing wisdom as he goes. The Dreamseeker trilogy is possibly not exclusively pony-orientated: it is about the young Sioux Four Winds, and his spirit horse Silver Cloud. The lengthy (and televised) Home Farm Twins series has several titles which are about horses or ponies, as does the Animal Alert series. Jenny Oldfield has also edited a book of horsey short stories for Kingfisher: Horse and Pony Stories.
Jenny Oldfield was born and brought up in Harrogate, studied English at Birmingham University, and taught before writing full time. She learned to ride so that she could research the Half Moon series and know what she was talking about. Six weeks before she left England for Colorado, she took riding lessons, and it must have paid off. She said: ‘When you’re writing for kids you have to have a good memory of childhood, so memory, observation, travel, reading, everything, there’s never a moment where you’re walking through a street and don’t look at somebody and say I wonder what’s going on there and store it and reuse it.’ She’s certainly generated a lot from those first few riding lessons.
She is, I think, the most prolific pony author working in the UK today. Her output dwarfs those of her contemporaries. She will soon no doubt overtake Christine Pullein-Thompson’s 57, making her the author of more pony books than any other author in the UK.
She has been rather less prolific over recent years: three books under the Jodie Mellor pseudonym, two pony stories as Tina Nolan, and a retelling of As You Like It for A&C Black in 2009. She has started a new pony series, Black Pearl Ponies, the first of which were issued in 2011. It is another American-based series, for Hodder, featuring Keira and her life on a ranch, and appears now to have concluded after six titles.
Jenny Oldfield is now writing another series under the pseudonym Sable Hamilton. Again set in America, it’s a series set in a stunt riding stable. Stardust Stables provides trained horses and teenage stunt riders for the film industry: quite possibly a first in equine literature. As with all Oldfield books, it’s a rollicking read. Oldfield is an excellent plotter and storyteller, and if you want entertaining reading without angst, she’s your woman.
Finding the books
The majority are still in print. All are easy to find, and generally reasonably priced.
Sources and links
Jenny Oldfield’s website (link no longer working)
Jenny Oldfield at Hodder – biographical information
The Lucy Daniels authors, The Guardian, 22nd March, 2000
My review of My Magical Pony
Many thanks to Hannah Fleetwood and Annette York for their help with the photographs.
Series
Animal Alert
Quarantine
Heatwave
Skin and Bone
Home Farm Twins
Solo the Homeless
Stevie the Rebel
Sultan the Patient
Scott the Braveheart
Star the Surprise
Home Farm Twins: Specials
Home Farm Friends (short story about a Shetland)
Smarty the Outcast
Half Moon Ranch
Wild Horses
Rodeo Rocky
Crazy Horse
Johnny Mohawk
Midnight Lady
Third Time Lucky
Navahoe Joe
Hollywood Princess
Danny Boy
Little Vixen
Gunsmoke
Golden Dawn
Silver Spur
Moondance
Lady Roseanne
Steamboat Charlie
Skylark
Eagle Wing
Half Moon Ranch: Wild Horses
El Dorado
Santa Ana
Chiquitita
Half Moon Ranch: Specials
Diamond Charm
Jethro Junior
Starlight
Dreamseeker
Silver Cloud
Iron Eyes
Bad Heart
My Magical Pony
Silver Mist
Shining Star
Dawn Light
Summer Shadows
Midnight Snow
Bright Eyes
Pale Moon
Summertime Blues
North Star
Sea Haze
Falling Leaves
Red Skies
Secret Whispers
New Beginnings
Starlight Dream
Black Pearl Ponies
Red Star
Wildflower
Miss Molly
Stormcloud
Ghost Horse
Snickers
Bibliography
Solo the Homeless (Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 1996, 118 pp.
TV Tie in version, 1999
Solo’s owner doesn’t want him any more: the twins want him, but their parents can’t afford him. Maybe their dog Speckle can help.
Quarantine (Animal Alert 4)
Hodder, 1997, 124 pp.
A contagious disease has affected the ponies at a local stable. When one of them is stolen Carly is worried that when the thieves find out they will destroy or dump the horse.
Stevie the Rebel (Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 1997, 123 pp.
TV tie in version, 2000
Stevie the donkey needs a home, but he’s so bad tempered no one can get near him.
Skin and Bone (Animal Alert)
Hodder, 1998, 138 pp.
A starving and savaged donkey is found tethered: can Carly and her friends rescue him after he breaks free?
Heatwave (Animal Alert)
Hodder, 1999, 140 pp.
Three horses have been left in a field, and Carly and her father care for them. Neighbours say the owners are on holiday. When Carly turns up one day and the horses have gone, she wonders if the owners have removed the evidence of their neglect.
Scott the Braveheart (Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 1999, 122 pp.
At the end of their Scottish holiday, the twins spot a Shetland tethered at the roadside, together with an motherless foal.
Sultan the Patient (Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 1998, 119 pp.
Sultan, Laura’s horse, falls ill while she’s away at school. The twins let the news slip, and Laura runs away to be with Sultan.
Star the Surprise (Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 1999, 122 pp. Illus Kate Aldous
A Thoroughbred foal is born at a livery stable. She is born early and needs special care. Helen and Hannah help to care for her, but while they’re left in charge, the foal disappears.
Wild Horses (Half Moon Ranch 1)
Hodder, 1999, 156 pp.
Reprinted 2000
Large print edition: Galaxy, Bath, 2006
Whitebrook Farm’s review of Wild Horses
Kirstie is leading a trek, but then gets trapped in a valley after a landslide. Trapped in the valley with her is a stallion and his band. The stallion is injured, and Kirstie is desperate to help him.
Rodeo Rocky
(Half Moon Ranch 2)
Hodder, 1999, 152 pp.
Large print edition: Galaxy, Bath, 2006
Whitebrook Farm’s review of Rodeo Rocky
Kirstie persuades her mother to buy a badly treated rodeo horse, but after he throws her, his fate is in the balance again.
Crazy Horse (Half Moon Ranch 3)
Hodder, 1999, 152 pp.
Crazy Horse’s best buddy is the beautiful horse Cadillac: both horses vanish, and Kirstie suspects Crazy Horse has been used to steal Cadillac. When Crazy Horse turns up back at the ranch, Kirstie thinks he can lead her to Cadillac.
Johnny Mohawk
(Half Moon Ranch 4)
Hodder, 1999, 154 pp.
A ranch guest falls from one of Kirstie’s favourite horses and breaks his arm. He blames the horse, but Kirstie is sure he is lying.
Midnight Lady
(Half Moon Ranch 5)
Hodder, 1999, 152 pp.
Large Print Edition, Galaxy, 2006
A neighbouring rancher is breaking in some horses, and Kirstie is horrified by his treatment of one in particular: Midnight Lady. She sneaks out to rescue the horse, but manages to let all eight loose. She’s in trouble.
Third Time Lucky
(Half Moon Ranch 6)
Hodder, 1999, 154 pp.
Kirstie’s horse, Lucky, is ill with something no one can diagnose. In desperation, Kirstie takes Lucky to find Zak Stone, a legendary horse doctor, and a recluse.
Smarty the Outcast
(Home Farm Twins)
Hodder, 2000, 121 pp.
Smarty has retired from the riding school, and moved to a new home. When the twins find him cold and without shelter, they’re not sure what to do.
Navaho Joe
(Half Moon Ranch 7)
Hodder, 2000, 155 pp.
A beautiful Appaloosa has appeared on the range, and Kirstie tries to catch him but can’t. Two strangers turn up claiming ownership, but not only does Kirstie not trust them, Joe doesn’t either.
Starlight
(Half Moon Ranch Special)
Hodder, 2000, 152 pp.
Starlight’s owner, Jay, is ill, so the Scotts take him in. Kristie engineers a meeting between the two, but it is a disaster: has she made everything worse?
Home Farm Friends
(short stories)
Hodder, 2000, 120 pp.
Short stories: one features Scott the Shetland pony in a hospital drama.
Hollywood Princess
(Half Moon Ranch 8)
Hodder, 2000, 158 pp.
Hollywood is beautiful but tough, but then an accident strikes her and Lisa down.
Danny Boy
(Half Moon Ranch 9)
Hodder, 2000, 152 pp.
Danny Boy is left in great danger, balanced on a ledge after a guest’s carelessness. Kirstie remembers the old mine workings, and hopes they’ll be a way to get to him.
Little Vixen
(Half Moon Ranch 10)
Hodder, 2000, 154 pp.
Brad Martin is a famous reining expert, and visits the ranch with his mare, Little Vixen. Kirstie doesn’t entirely trust him, and wonders if he is responsible when a fire traps Little Vixen.
Jethro Junior
(Half Moon Ranch Special)
Hodder, 2000, 155 pp.
Jethro Junior is a star jumper, and Kristie has worked with him over the summer. Some careless trippers start a fire, which rapidly gets of out hand, and the only way to get help involves Jethro making the jump of his life.
Gunsmoke
(Half Moon Ranch 11)
Hodder, 2000, 157 pp.
It’s Kids’ Week, and Lacey is visiting. She goes off on her own on Gunsmoke, and fails to return.
Golden Dawn
(Half Moon Ranch 12)
Hodder, 2000, 154 pp.
Golden Dawn gives birth to Tatum, but then a flood carries him off, and Kirstie and the mare go in search of him.
Silver Spur
(Half Moon Ranch 13)
Hodder, 2001, 154 pp.
Troy Hendren, the Ranch’s new wrangler, is full of stories about how wonderful he is. Not everyone believes him.
Moon Dance
(Half Moon Ranch 14)
Hodder, 2001, 155 pp.
Moondance is a bargain: beautiful but only half schooled.
Lady Roseanne
(Half Moon Ranch 15)
Hodder, 2001, 155 pp.
Matt’s new girlfriend, Lauren, has left her lovely horse at the Ranch. She is found covered in scratches, and Matt blames the new wrangler, but she suspects someone, or something, else.
Steamboat Charlie
(Half Moon Ranch 16)
Hodder, 2001, 144 pp.
Steamboat Charlie bucks, but all goes well with him and Kirstie until he is startled by a gun shot. Was the shot deliberate?
Sky Lark
(Half Moon Ranch 17)
Hodder, 2001, 156 pp.
Skylark and her foal become an artist’s favourite subject, but when the foal dies, Leon Powell, the artist, is convinced the Scotts are to blame.
Eagle Wing
(Half Moon Ranch 18)
Hodder, 2001, 153 pp.
Kirstie comes across an abandoned mare, heavily in foal.
El Dorado
(Wild Horses of Half Moon Ranch 1)
Hodder, 2001, 156 pp.
Kirstie and Lisa are in the Sierra Nevada, and see the wild black stallion El Dorado, who some say is crazy. When a foal is found battered, El Dorado is suspected.
Santa Ana
(Wild Horses of Half Moon Ranch 2)
Hodder, 2001, 156 pp.
Santa Ana is a badly injured yearling whose mother won’t let anyone approach to offer help. Kirstie enlists the help of a local Cherokee, Three Birds, but then he is injured, and now they have two seriously ill creatures to look after.
Chiquitita
(Wild Horses of Half Moon Ranch 3)
Hodder, 2001, 154 pp.
Rob Raburn is working with Chiquitita to gentle her, but a ranch hand is secretly using brutal methods. Kirstie exposes him, and he takes his revenge.
Silver Cloud
(Dreamseeker 1)
Hodder, 2001, 229 pp. Cover illustration David Kearney
Four Winds is part of the White Water Sioux, and they are facing extinction. Four Winds’grandfather is dying, and there are enemies everywhere. A spirit horse, Silver Cloud, brings help:but Four Winds must leave his homeland and complete three tasks in order to save his tribe. Tasknumber one is to fetch a diamond from a deep mine.
Diamond Charm
(Half Moon Ranch Special)
Hodder, 2002, 156 pp.
Sandy Scott has let Taryn West stay for free at the ranch, even though it is their busy time. Her family is in terrible trouble, and Taryn disappears on her favourite horse, Diamond Charm. Kirstie has to find her.
Iron Eyes
(Dreamseeker Trilogy 2)
Hodder, 2002, 199 pp.
Four Winds is now a warrior, and his second quest is to bring a feather from the highest mountain. He faces opposition in the form of Iron Eyes, a cruel wolf spirit.
Bad Heart
(Dreamseeker Trilogy)
Hodder, 2003, 200 pp.
Four Winds’ last quest is to fetch a breath of wind from the furthest ocean, but his grandfather has died, and all Four Winds has is his spirit horse, Silver Cloud.
The Kingfisher Book of Horse and Pony Stories
Kingfisher, 2005, 122 pp.
Silver Mist
(My Magical Pony 1)
Hodder, 2005, 143pp.
A gang has stolen some of the wild ponies who run out on Hartfell.
Shining Star
(My Magical Pony 2)
Hodder, 2005, 126pp.
Drifter is missing: Nathan Steele, a new rider, has sneaked him out and ridden him along the cliffs.
Dawn Light
(My Magical Pony 3)
Hodder, 2006, 142pp.
Krista’s Dad is threatened with losing his job, and it looks as if the family will have to move away. Krista is desperate to stay, but then manages to get involved in an accident, and needs help.
Midnight Snow
(My Magical Pony 4)
Hodder, 2006, 140pp.
A harsh winter cuts off Hartfell, and Krista and Shining Star have to come to the rescue of the cut off Lewis family.
Summer Shadows
(My Magical Pony 5)
Hodder, 2006, 126pp.
Drifter, one of the stable ponies, is sold. Krista then hears he’s being neglected and is in need of rescue.
Bright Eyes
(My Magical Pony 6)
Hodder, 2006, 142pp.
Alice is Krista’s new neighbour, and she’s terribly homesick.
Pale Moon
(My Magical Pony 7)
Hodder, 2006, 142pp.
Star’s sister, Pale Moon, is in trouble.
Summertime Blues
(My Magical Pony 8)
Hodder, 2006, 143pp.
New girl Bonnie is a pushy pain, so will Krista come to her rescue when she needs help?
North Star
(My Magical Pony 9)
Hodder, 2006, 143pp.
Krista needs to find Star’s brother North Star. Star is in trouble, mixed up in a plot involving two racehorses.
Sea Haze
(My Magical Pony 10)
Hodder, 2006, 143pp.
Krista is looking after her friend’s dog Molly, but then she vanishes on Hartfell.
Falling Leaves
(My Magical Pony 11)
Hodder, 2006, 143pp.
The stable owner has to go to hospital, and Krista promises to help.
Red Skies
(My Magical Pony 12)
Hodder, 2006, 143pp.
Comanche throws Krista and gallops off.
Starlight Dream
(My Magical Pony 13)
Hodder, 2007, 143pp.
Krista longs to enter the show jumping contest on Woody, but then Woody’s owners come back and are jealous.
Secret Whispers
(My Magical Pony 14)
Hodder, 2007, 142pp.
Krista meets Lee Harris, who has a special talent enabling him to communicate with all horses.
New Beginnings
(My Magical Pony 15)
Hodder, 2007, 143pp.
Shining Star comes to Krista’s aid when the stables where she rides is threatened with closure.
Red Star
(Black Pearl Ponies 1)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 160 pp.
Red Star is Keira’s own pony. Red Star can do anything, and she loves him more than anythingelse in the world. Then he goes missing one night. Keira thinks he’s undone the door himself and gone walkabout, but when she can’t find him in the grain store or the hay barn, she starts to panic.There are terrible dangers out there in the wild for a pony: coyotes, bears, and even mountain lions.Then a friend suggests that maybe someone stole Red Star, and Keira and her family turn detective to track him down.
Wildflower
(Black Pearl Ponies 2)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 160 pp.
Reed Walters has a new pony, Wildflower. She’s beautiful but untrained, and Keira warns Reed not to push her too hard. Reed ignores her, and shows the pony off at the local rodeo.It’s a disaster. Wildflower bolts off into the wild, and Keira and her sister head off into a snowstorm to find her. But they forget the golden rule of survival in the wilderness: stick together.
Miss Molly
(Black Pearl Ponies 3)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 161 pp.
Sable Lucas’s parents are organising a surprise birthday present: a sorrel pony called Miss Molly. Keira’s dad had to train the pony, who isn’t ideal. She’s nervy, and he has to make her spook proof in just three weeks. Then Sable’s birthday comes, and the surprise is revealed, but it all goes horribly wrong. It’s up to Keira to turn pony detective and find out why.
Stormcloud
(Black Pearl Ponies 4)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 161 pp.
Stormcloud has many, many bad habits. He’s an ex-rodeo pony, and he bites, bucks, rears, kicks out and rides through the bit. He takes terrible advantage of any nervous rider. Uncle Kevin rescued Stormy from the sale barn, cheap. He tells Keira that if she can make something of him, and manages to sell him on to a decent owner, she can keep the profit. Can Keira do it, or has Stormy been ruined for good?
Snickers
(Black Pearl Ponies 5)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 160 pp.
Vegas and Snickers arrive at the ranch, which is great. It’s the person who comes with them who isn’t. They’re owned by Rex, who is spoiled rotten. He breaks Keira’s Dad’s rules, but it soon gets worse when he mistreats one of the ponies, Snickers. Keira has a difficult decisionto make. Does she keep quiet, keep the customer happy and keep their business but see Snickers suffer, or does she confront Rex and lose his family’s custom?
Ghost Horse
(Black Pearl Ponies 6)
Hodder Children’s Books, London, 2011, 161 pp.
It’s snowing, and Keira is out tobogganing with friends. She sees a ghostly horse and rider high on the frozen mountain. She’s worried. Are the mysterious pair on the run? Are they even real? And if they are, how long can they survive in the icy wilderness?
