About the author
Robert Sidney Bowen (1900–77) also wrote under the name James Robert Richard. He had an incident-packed life; he left school when aged only 14 to drive an ambulance for the French Army in World War One. He survived this experience, and enlisted with the British to fly, having lied about his age, as he surely must have done to get into the French Army. After the war, he worked for the Daily Mail in London, and went on to become editor of Aviation magazine.
He started writing fiction for various pulp magazines, and with the outbreak of World War II, was commissioned to write an aviation series. The Dave Dawson series was the result, followed by another war series, Red Randall. He had a phenomenal work rate, being capable of completing a novel in ten days. After the war, he continued writing, producing boys’ stories featuring sport and adventure. He used the pseudonym James Robert Richard for horse stories (and some on American football).
Finding the books
All the books are reasonably easy to find.
Links and sources
Terri Wear: Horse Stories – An Annotated Bibliography
Thanks to Lisa Catz for the summary of Joker
Wikipedia on Robert Sidney Bowen
Bibliography (horse books only)
Phantom Mustang
Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, New York,1954, 192 pp
The Purple Palomino
Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, New York, 1955, 189 pp
While taking wildlife photographs, Billy hears an argument and a gunshot, and sees a man take off riding a purple horse with a white tail, but afterwards no one can find the dead man or the purple horse.
The Appaloosa Curse
Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, New York, 1956, 189 pp
The big city boy Frankie wins a summer vacation at an Appaloosa horse ranch in Idaho, but he arrives to find that the Todds are worried about offers to buy their ranch and about the unexplained murder of one of their ranch hands.
Snow King, the Lipizzan Horse
Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, New York, 1957, 187 pp
After the end of the Korean War, two Lipizzaner horses, Snow King and Snow Queen, are to be delivered to Frank Baker’s ranch, but Baker doesn’t know that the horses’ handler has sworn to get revenge on Baker, and starts by stealing Snow King.
Double M for Morgans
Lothrop, Lee and Shepherd, New York, 1958, 154 pp
Joker the Polo Pony
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, New York, 1959, 175 pp
Fourteen-year-old Dave Banks is invited to spend his vacation on the Craven ranch in Texas. Already an experienced rider, the people of the ranch are still surprised at his skill at handling the polo ponies that are raised and trained at the ranch. Dave quickly learns the sport of polo, and has a special
connection with Joker, one of the ranch’s best polo ponies. After a bad stable fire, Joker is frightened of everything, and Dave works with her, trying to bring her back to her old glory.
As robert sidney bowen
Canyon Fury
Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, New York, 1952, 159 pp
Cassell & Co, London, 1954, 192 pp
Johnny goes to visit his school friend Jeff at his uncle’s Arabian horse ranch, but when he gets there, many of the colts have been stolen. When Jeff goes to look for them, he disappears too.