About the author
Joanna Campbell (b.1946), who created the Thoroughbreds series, and who has also written under the pseudonym JoAnn Simon, was born in Connecticut. She owned a part Quarter Horse called Moe, and in her early twenties competed in point-to-points. She has also performed professionally as a pianist.
She started writing at nights after putting her children to bed, and wrote romantic teen novels for Francine Pascal’s series. Titles I have found include Caitlin, Love Lost and Forever and Always. What looks to be her first horse novel was another teen romance, part of the Sweet Dreams Romance series. Published by Bantam Books in 1981, it was called The Thoroughbred, whose heroine, Maura, had to compete against Kevin, the boy she loved. Joanna Campbell wrote at least two more horse books before embarking on the Thoroughbred series: A Horse of Her Own (1988) and The Wild Mustang (1989). The first Thoroughbred book was A Horse Called Wonder, published in 1991.
Ah, the Thoroughbred series. They do long series, the Americans, epic 50-book-plus efforts, putting our paltry British 20-book attempts in the shade. The big difference between most British series, and the very long American ones is that although they may have been started off by the author whose name is on the front of the book, they have rarely been carried on by them, and who can blame them? Once you have started a successful series, being wedded to it for upwards of a hundred books sounds more like a life sentence than a liberating and creative lifestyle, and publishers are of course loathe to give up their handy moneyspinner.
The answer is to carry on the series, but to farm it out to other authors. This is a lesson Britain has at last taken on board, with Ben Baglio, an American book packager, and Rod Ritchie, managing director of Hodder before it merged with Headline creating the long and multi-authored Lucy Daniels’ Animal Ark series.
Still, up there with the Saddle Club is the Thoroughbred series, with 72 titles in the Thoroughbred series proper, four special editions, a prequel spin off series of 15 titles, and the Ashleigh’s Thoroughbred series, which I believe are supposed to be horse books Ashleigh read.
Joanna Campbell wrote the first 14 books, and a few of the sequels, but the majority of the series was farmed out to other authors. Besides Joanna Campbell, the series has been written by: Karen Bentley, Alison Leonhardt (Alison Hart), Allison Estes, Karle Dickerson, Dale Blackwell Gasque, Lois Szymanski, Brook James, Mary Newhall Anderson, Jennifer Chu and “Brook James”.
The series’ focus has changed as it developed. Ashleigh, the original heroine, grows up during the series, marries and has a child, Christina. After book 23, the books move forward in time 10 years, and focus on Christina and her friends. The spin-off Ashleigh series deals with Ashleigh’s childhood before the start of the Thoroughbred books. The last book was published in 2005, but the series has maintained its popularity, with a blog devoted to reviewing every book in the series going strong. An unsubstantiated statistic in Wikipedia states that over 2 million titles have been printed.
I’m afraid the Saddle Club defeated me and I merely linked to other sites who put up the information on the books far better than I could do, and I am going to do exactly the same thing with Thoroughbreds. If you want to know about Thoroughbreds, you can do no better than follow the Whitebrookfarm blog. They have reviewed almost all the Thoroughbreds series, and most of the other books, and if you click the titles in the list below, Whitebrookfarm is where you will go.
Finding the books
It’s reasonably easy to find all the titles, both in the USA and the UK
Links and sources
Whitebrookfarm – the best stop for all things Thoroughbred. It hasn’t been updated for a while, but most of the info is still there.
Wikipedia on Joanna Campbell and the Thoroughbred series
Bibliography (horse books only)
Early books by Joanna Campbell
1. The Thoroughbred – Joanna Campbell
Bantam Books, 1981, Sweet Dreams Romance series
2. A Horse of Her Own – Joanna Campbell (1988)
3. The Wild Mustang – Joanna Campbell (1989)
The Thoroughbred Series
1. A Horse Called Wonder – Joanna Campbell (1991)
2. Wonder’s Promise – Joanna Campbell
3. Wonder’s First Race – Joanna Campbell
4. Wonder’s Victory – Joanna Campbell
5. Ashleigh’s Dream – Joanna Campbell
6. Wonder’s Yearling – Joanna Campbell
7. Samantha’s Price – Joanna Campbell
8. Sierra’s Steeplechase – Joanna Campbell
9. Pride’s Challenge – Joanna Campbell
10. Pride’s Last Race – Joanna Campbell
11. Wonder’s Sister – Joanna Campbell
12. Shining’s Orphan – Joanna Campbell
13. Cindy’s Runaway Colt – Joanna Campbell
14. Cindy’s Glory – Joanna Campbell
15. Glory’s Triumph – Karen Bentley
16. Glory in Danger – Karen Bentley
17. Ashleigh’s Farewell – Karen Bentley
18. Glory’s Rival – Karen Bentley
19. Cindy’s Heartbreak – Karen Bentley
20. Champion’s Spirit – Karen Bentley
21. Wonder’s Champion – Karen Bentley
22. Arabian Challenge – Karen Bentley
23. Cindy’s Honor – Karen Bentley
24. The Horse of Her Dreams – Allison Estes
25. Melanie’s Treasure – Allison Estes
26. Sterling’s Second Chance – Allison Estes
27. Christina’s Courage – Alice Leonhardt
28. Camp Saddlebrook – Dale Blackwell Gasque
28. Melanie’s Last Ride – Alice Leonhardt
30. Dylan’s Choice – Dale Blackwell Gasque
31. A Home for Melanie – Alice Leonhardt
32. Cassidy’s Secret – Allison Estes
33. Racing Parker – Dale Blackwell Gasque
34. On the Track – Lois Symanski
35. Dead Heat – Alice Leonhardt
36. Without Wonder – Brook James
37. Star in Danger – Alice Leonhardt
38. Down to the Wire – Mary Newhall Anderson
39. Living Legend – Alice Leonhardt
40. Ultimate Risk – Mary Newhall Anderson
41. Close Call – Karle Dickerson
42. The Bad Luck Filly – Alice Leonhardt
43. Fallen Star – Mary Newhall Anderson
44. Perfect Image – Alice Leonhardt
45. Star’s Chance – Alice Leonhardt
46. Racing Image – Alice Leonhardt
47. Cindy’s Desert Adventure – Mary Newhall Anderson
48. Cindy’s Bold Start – Mary Newhall Anderson
49. Rising Star – Karle Dickerson
50. Team Player – Alice Leonhardt
51. Distance Runner – Jennifer Chu
52. Perfect Challenge – Alice Leonhardt
53. Derby Fever – Mary Newhall Anderson
54. Cindy’s Last Hope – Mary Newhall Anderson
55. Great Expectations – Karle Dickerson
56. Hoofprints in the Snow – Karle Dickerson
57. Faith in a Long Shot – Alice Leonhardt
58. Christina’s Shining Star – Mary Newhall Anderson
59. Star’s Inspiration – Mary Newhall Anderson
60. Taking the Reins – Jennifer Chu
61. Parker’s Passion – Karle Dickerson
62. Unbridled Fury – Karle Dickerson
63. Starstruck – Mary Newhall Anderson
64. The Price of Fame – Mary Newhall Anderson
65. Bridal Dreams – Mary Newhall Anderson
66. Samantha’s Irish Luck – Mary Newhall Anderson
67. Breaking the Fall – Jennifer Chu
68. Kaitlin’s Wild Ride – Karle Dickerson
69. Melanie’s Double Jinx – Mary Newhall Anderson
70. Allie’s Legacy – Mary Newhall Anderson
71. Calamity Jinx – Mary Newhall Anderson
72. Legacy’s Gift – Mary Newhall Anderson (2005)
Super Editions
Ashleigh’s Christmas Miracle – Joanna Campbell
Ashleigh’s Diary – Joanna Campbell
Ashleigh’s Hope – Karen Bentley
Samantha’s Journey – Karen Bentley
The Ashleigh Series
1. Lightning’s Last Hope – Joanna Campbell (1998)
2. A Horse for Christmas – Joanna Campbell
3. Waiting for Stardust – Joanna Campbell and Mary Newhall Anderson
4. Good-
5. The Forbidden Stallion – Chris Platt
6. A Dangerous Ride – Mary Newhall Anderson
7. Derby Day – Chris Platt
8. The Lost Foal – Chris Platt
9. Holiday Homecoming – Chris Platt
10. Derby Dreams – Chris Platt
11. Ashleigh’s Promise – Chris Platt
12. Winter Race Camp – Chris Platt
13. The Prize – Chris Platt
14. Ashleigh’s Western Challenge – Chris Platt
15. Stardust’s Foal – Chris Platt (2003)
Ashleigh’s Thoroughbred Collection
1. Star of Shadowbrook Farm – Joanna Campbell
2. The Forgotten Filly – Karle Dickerson
3. Battlecry Forever! – Joanna Campbell
