Your First Pony

Dawn Dodd (Dawn Dodd-Noble, 1925-2013) was part of the rash of young authors who wrote pony books. She wrote a non-fiction title and the novel John and Jerry at the age of 13. She also produced at least one short story, which was published in the Young Riders’ section of Riding Magazine in 1938. Her own first pony was called either Jerry (according to John and Jerry) or Dickon (as described in the profile in the Equestrian Trade News). I’ve reviewed the books here. Dawn Dodd-Noble went on to run the legendary Sandon Saddlery, working as a governess when times were bad, and taking a job in Marshall and Snelgrove Department Store to learn how to sell - the secret was to make the customer happy.

Finding the books
Both are reasonably easy to find, though Your First Pony can be tricky to track down with a dustjacket.

Sources and links
Dustjacket of John and Jerry
Riding Magazine, February 1938
Dawn Dodd-Noble profiled in Equestrian Trade News, February 2012, retrieved 4 June 2014