More Horse and Pony Stories

Christine Pullein-Thompson story collections

by Christine Pullein-Thompson, Victor G. Ambrus

Wild ponies, show jumping champions, and thorough-bred racehorses are all housed in this twenty-story stable full of winners, including extracts from favorites such as National Velvet and The Black Stallion.
The white mustang / Edward McCourt --
Golden the beautiful / Elyne Mitchell (from The Silver Brumby) --
The firebird, the horse of power and the Princess Vasilissa / Arthur Ransome --
National Velvet (an extract) / Enid Bagnold --
The broken bridge / Reginald Ottley --
A ride with Mark / K.M. Peyton (from Flambards) --
Strawberry's adventure / C.S. Lewis (from The Magician's nephew) --
A gaucho in the pampa / A.F. Tschiffely --
The birth of a king / Marguerite Henry (from King of the wind) --
The sentinel / Walter Farley (from The black stallion revolts) --
The horse fair / Daphne Du Maurier (from Jamaica Inn) --
The outlaw / Sinclair Ross --
Phantom horse comes home (an extract) / Christine Pullein-Thompson --
Animal farm (an extract) / George Orwell --
Midnight Stallion / Patricia Leitch --
Snow to the rescue / Gerard Raftery (from Snow cloud stallion) --
A star for a lady / Diana Pullein-Thompson --
Green grass of Wyoming (an extract) / Mary O'Hara --
The midwinter gold cup / DIck Francis (from Nerve) --
Billy Mosby's night ride (a New England legend) / retold by Robert D. San Souci.

Genres: Horses, Short Stories

Paperback

First published April 1, 1996

About the author

The Pullein-Thompson sisters — Josephine Pullein-Thompson MBE (3 April 1924-[1]), Diana Pullein-Thompson (born 1 October 1925) [2] and Christine Pullein-Thompson (1 October 1925–2 December 2005[2] — are British writers of several horse and pony books (mostly fictional) aimed at children and mostly popular with girls. They started at a very young age (initially writing collectively) and they were at their peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but their popularity has endured. They have written a collective autobiography Fair Girls and Grey Horses.

All 3 sisters have written at least 1 book under a different name; Josephine wrote 1 under the pseudonym of Josephine Mann, Diana 3 books under her married name of Diana Farr and Christine wrote 2 books under the name of Christine Keir.

Their mother, Joanna Cannan (1898–1961), sister of the poet May Cannan, wrote similar equestrian stories, but is better known for detective mysteries.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this collection when I was in primary school and it was nice to return to it all these years later. I think I enjoyed it even more this time around -- especially because the extract from Flambards felt like a real treat. Victor Ambrus, who illustrated both this collection of stories and Flambards has an art style I like a great deal, so it felt like getting a couple of bonus illustrations to what was my favourite read of 2021 (his illustrations to the Flambards extract are not in my editions of the full novel at least. I think they were done just for this book but I am not sure).

The short story A Star For A Lady by Diana Pullein-Thompson was another highlight. Drawing attention to animal abuse (deliberately scarring a mares forehead so the hair would grown back white, thus making her more attractive) it had a few moments that were tough reading, but was well done. I think I had heard of this practice but it had mostly slipped my mind so it was interesting to be reminded of it. I hope it's no longer done...

The extract from Green Grass of Wyoming reminded me that this is a series I want to reread this year as it's been so long since I read it.

I was also excited to see a short story from Patricia Leitch -- I adore her writing, and this one lived up to my expectations!

Overall a very good collection-- both the stories and the illustrations are great and provide a good starting point for various novels that are worth reading.

[CindySR · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like all the stories in this anthology and some I have read before, but the best thing was discovering a writer I have never read before, Sinclair Ross .

[Cathy Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways. I really enjoyed reading these stories. I can recall some of these, but there were quite a few I had never read before. Each one made me want to go look up the author or book and to read more. Very well put together. And a great read for anyone who loves to read about horses!

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

By 1996, when this was first published, Our Editor was in her sixties. I have a feeling she lent her name only to this anthology. Her first anthologies back in the 1970s were very hands on, with plenty of commentary. Here, she doesn't even bother with a token introduction. She's absolutely silent.

There were only seven complete stories here. All of the other selections were chapters from novels. Spoilers are given out, so skip them if you intend to read the book. A couple of these chapters end on cliffhangers. A few of the selections really weren't about horses. They just appear in the background. Just because a horse or pony appears, doesn't automatically make it a horse story.

The illustrator was one of my least favorite illustrator of all time, Victor Ambrus. He had a sloppy, almost lazy way of drawing his pen and ink monstrosities. His superpower was to make all horses and ponies as fugly as possible, with swollen legs, ragged hooves, huge heads, huger butts, and no sense of color or markings. He often doesn't bother to read the text, making ridiculous mistakes.

All in all, a very disappointing book.

Selections:

* "The White Mustang" by Edward McCourt. So -- how long do we get in this anthology before we get a dead horse story? Not long at all, as it turns out. Set in Canada, the illustrator drew it like it was in Somerset in the 1800s.
* "Golden the Beautiful" by Elyne Mitchell. From The Silver Brumby. I skipped this, since I want to read the whole book someday, but a major spoiler is given in the introduction.
* "The Firebird, The Horse of Power, and the Princess Vasilissa" by Arthur Ransome. From Old Peter's Russian Tales. Your basic fairy tale with a magic horse, a dumb but honest young man, and a sly princess. There's been several versions of this tale, but this one does not mention whatever happens to the firebird.
* "National Velvet" by Enid Bagnold. From the book of the same name. This is the climactic chapter, the Grand National itself, so skip this if you intend to read the book.
* "The Broken Bridge" by Reginald Ottley. Apparently a memoir from the author's life, where he recalls his favorite horse of all time, Midnight. The illustrator draws the heavily pregnant broodmare as a pack horse of normal girth.
* "A Ride with Mark" by K. M. Peyton. From Flambards. Early on in the book, but still -- you're better off just reading the book rather than this snippet.
* "Strawberry's Adventure" by C. S. Lewis. From The Magician's Nephew. Perhaps my favorite bit in the whole series, where a poor London cab horse gets wings.
* "A Gaucho in the Pampa" by T. S. Tschiffley. From My First Horse. He of the infamous 10,000 mile ride talks about his first horse, a pinto -- which the illustrator draws as an Appaloosa.
* "The Birth of a King" by Marguerite Henry. From King of the Wind. This is the book's first chapter after the match race between Man o' War and Sir Barton. The Arabians were are drawn like English cobs.
* "The Sentinel" by Walter Farley. From The Black Stallion Revolts. This is the book's first chapter, which has a special focus on Napoleon, the best equine friend of the Black. Both the Black and Satan are drawn as fat, old, lumpy plugs with lots of white markings.
* "The Horse Fair" by Daphne du Maurier. From Jamaica Inn. This is about a shady horse dealer, not about horses.
* "The Outlaw" by Sinclair Ross. One of the few good selections in this book, and a complete short story. It's set in prarie country about the 1920s. A boy is forbidden to ride a beautiful black mare with a bad reputation. So, you know what's going to happen. Still, a lively and light-hearted story.
* "Phantom Horse Comes Home" by Our Editor. From the book of the same name. This is from the second book in the series. I skipped this because I intend to read the series someday. Victor drew the palomino as a bay.
* "Animal Farm" by George Orwell. From the book of the same name. About poor Boxer.
* "Midnight Stallion" by Patricia Lietch. Complete short story, but with vague open endings about the stallion. Fuck the selfish narrator and her stupid family -- what happened to the horse, Patricia?
* "Snow to the Rescue" by Gerard Raftery. From Snow Cloud Stallion. Pretty much the climax of the book.
* "A Star for a Lady" by Diana Pullein-Thompson. This is a difficult story set in the Victorian Era, written by Our Editor's sister. There is a brutal scene of cruelty, and a weird ghostly twist. Very unsatisfying.
* "Green Grass of Wyoming" by Mary O'Hara. From the book of the same name. Near the early part of the book, when the search is on for the missing filly Crown Jewels. This centers on the young owner, who stupidly gets lost when a blizzard is coming on.
* "The Midwinter Gold Cup" by Dick Francis. From Nerve. This is an abridged version of the race from what appears in the 1964 thriller. It's only about four pages long.
* "Billy Moseby's Night Ride" by Robert D. San Souchi. Retelling of a dull New England folk tale, which is about people and black magic, and not about horses.

[Katharine Reynolds]

ok I went back and read every story. many were british so weren't ones I knew. Thoroughly enjoyed it!