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Pony Club Secrets #8
Victory and the All-Stars Academy
The eighth gripping adventure in this exciting pony-club series. With international riding competitions to win, rivals to defeat, mysteries to solve and ponies in danger to save – for all readers who love ponies.
Perfect for fans of Esme Higgs’s Starlight Stables books, Olivia Tuffin, Pippa Funnell and Amanda Willis.
Issie has won a place in the National Junior Team and is selected to compete in the Young Rider Express Eventing Challenge in Australia! She’s got the perfect horse, Victory, so this should be her chance to shine – even if her new instructor is hard to impress.
But Issie’s faced with a nightmare room-mate and a secret in the stables that’s proving hard to keep…
Perfect for fans of Esme Higgs’s Starlight Stables books, Olivia Tuffin, Pippa Funnell and Amanda Willis.
Issie has won a place in the National Junior Team and is selected to compete in the Young Rider Express Eventing Challenge in Australia! She’s got the perfect horse, Victory, so this should be her chance to shine – even if her new instructor is hard to impress.
But Issie’s faced with a nightmare room-mate and a secret in the stables that’s proving hard to keep…
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
23 people are currently reading
263 people want to read
About the author
Stacy Gregg
82 books208 followersAs a young girl living in New Zealand Stacy Gregg wanted to be two things when she grew up – a horse rider and a writer. She now considers herself very, very lucky to be both at once!
Becoming a writer was the easy part – all she needed was an exercise book and a pen. Stacy wrote loads of poetry and short stories at school and then became a journalist, writing features for magazines and newspapers and working as a fashion writer (v. glamorous and lots of fun!) before her first book in the Pony Club Secrets series was published in 2007.
Extract from author's web page
Becoming a writer was the easy part – all she needed was an exercise book and a pen. Stacy wrote loads of poetry and short stories at school and then became a journalist, writing features for magazines and newspapers and working as a fashion writer (v. glamorous and lots of fun!) before her first book in the Pony Club Secrets series was published in 2007.
Extract from author's web page
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 17, 2019
I like the NZ/ Australia setting. However it has to be said that most of the time the location setting does not feature as one equestrian school looks much like another.
Issy and her NZ friends find the accents of the Aussies funny, just as we in Ireland do, when they are sent over to the continent for a short stay to participate in team training and a contest. I was a bit surprised by the way this contest is conducted, and how Issie never seems to contact her parents, which for a mid teens girl is odd.
The young people are given school horses of varying abilities and while it makes sense to some that the best riders get the best horses, giving the younger or weaker riders the less skilled horses does seem unfair to them.
We just see training training training so this is not for the reader who wants to read about kids going out for a ride and having an adventure. As the series is about secrets, the secret in the book is a puppy kept quietly in a stable (and none of the people running the stables notices? I don't think).
Lots of info about higher level riding is imparted but the horses are pretty much treated like machines there to work and their personalities don't come through. Issy is given Victory, a schoolmaster. At the end the riders have to compete at a one-day event. Crowds are gathered. Issy's parents are not shown phoning her to wish her luck and tell her to be careful.
The event seems rather too challenging for young riders and I simply cannot agree with riders having to change from showjumping gear and into a back protector and helmet against the clock. The safety gear is obligatory and having something worn loose or wrongly fastened won't help anyone. The rider may also need to adjust stirrup lengths. I believe if the jumping and cross country are run together this way, the clock should be stopped when the rider enters the pit stop area, with let's say a maximum time of three minutes, then that gives time for a correct change of safety gear and the clock starts again as soon as the rider leaves. This is how three-day-events are run after the warmup phases. And why couldn't the jumping be held first and separately, which happens in any one-day-event I've seen. The time appears to be too tight as the riders are shown galloping around a set of fixed jumps. Dangerous, horses flatten at a gallop.
And what is the reason why one side has to jump all their riders first? If a side loses the toss why doesn't their first rider go and then the first from the other team, alternating? It's not cricket. The toss gives far too much advantage to the second team as described by the author. And of course she has to put Issie's team second to go, because the story's tension would deflate otherwise. In a showjumping Nation's Cup (and any Riding Club event here) the teams jump their first riders, then the second riders for each team and so on, sustaining tension right to the final round for all the teams.
One girl calls out helpful directions to the rider who has lost her way. The girl gets praised and the rider gets a clear round. I don't know what rules this is run under, but in showjumping the rider would be eliminated. However perhaps all of this oddness is how Australian riding contests are run.
This is an unbiased review.
Issy and her NZ friends find the accents of the Aussies funny, just as we in Ireland do, when they are sent over to the continent for a short stay to participate in team training and a contest. I was a bit surprised by the way this contest is conducted, and how Issie never seems to contact her parents, which for a mid teens girl is odd.
The young people are given school horses of varying abilities and while it makes sense to some that the best riders get the best horses, giving the younger or weaker riders the less skilled horses does seem unfair to them.
We just see training training training so this is not for the reader who wants to read about kids going out for a ride and having an adventure. As the series is about secrets, the secret in the book is a puppy kept quietly in a stable (and none of the people running the stables notices? I don't think).
Lots of info about higher level riding is imparted but the horses are pretty much treated like machines there to work and their personalities don't come through. Issy is given Victory, a schoolmaster. At the end the riders have to compete at a one-day event. Crowds are gathered. Issy's parents are not shown phoning her to wish her luck and tell her to be careful.
The event seems rather too challenging for young riders and I simply cannot agree with riders having to change from showjumping gear and into a back protector and helmet against the clock. The safety gear is obligatory and having something worn loose or wrongly fastened won't help anyone. The rider may also need to adjust stirrup lengths. I believe if the jumping and cross country are run together this way, the clock should be stopped when the rider enters the pit stop area, with let's say a maximum time of three minutes, then that gives time for a correct change of safety gear and the clock starts again as soon as the rider leaves. This is how three-day-events are run after the warmup phases. And why couldn't the jumping be held first and separately, which happens in any one-day-event I've seen. The time appears to be too tight as the riders are shown galloping around a set of fixed jumps. Dangerous, horses flatten at a gallop.
And what is the reason why one side has to jump all their riders first? If a side loses the toss why doesn't their first rider go and then the first from the other team, alternating? It's not cricket. The toss gives far too much advantage to the second team as described by the author. And of course she has to put Issie's team second to go, because the story's tension would deflate otherwise. In a showjumping Nation's Cup (and any Riding Club event here) the teams jump their first riders, then the second riders for each team and so on, sustaining tension right to the final round for all the teams.
One girl calls out helpful directions to the rider who has lost her way. The girl gets praised and the rider gets a clear round. I don't know what rules this is run under, but in showjumping the rider would be eliminated. However perhaps all of this oddness is how Australian riding contests are run.
This is an unbiased review.
August 7, 2025
3.7☆
The ending was so bittersweet. The story had nice pacing and it kept me interested from beginning to end. I especially loved Issies interactions with Tara and Dee Dee. I loved the competition theme. I'd definitely recommend this series to tweens or anyone that has an interest in horse riding.
The ending was so bittersweet. The story had nice pacing and it kept me interested from beginning to end. I especially loved Issies interactions with Tara and Dee Dee. I loved the competition theme. I'd definitely recommend this series to tweens or anyone that has an interest in horse riding.
March 16, 2025
best in the series. banger.
December 16, 2019
This is a really good book that I would defiantly recommend for girls and boys who like animals and adventure as this book is packed full of it. In this book Issie has gone to a riding academy for the summer, and meets a beautiful horse called victory, the book follows what Issie and Victory get up to and the adventures they go on. My favourite part is probably when issie and victory save a puppy in the middle of the night as it is full of tension and adventure. This is a great book you should definitely read it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 14, 2012
LOVE! Reccommended for horse & pony lovers like ME!
October 19, 2015
took it from my sister room when i was board . it was acctually quite good
April 17, 2016
Wonderful book one of my favourites!
Stacy Gregg is so incredible! :)
Stacy Gregg is so incredible! :)
February 18, 2025
This is the eighth book in the “Pony club secrets” series. There is a total of 12 books in the series, 13 if you count the novella.
With showjumping contests to win, rivals to defeat, mysteries to solve and ponies in danger to save, these books are perfect for all girls who love ponies.
Issie has won a place in the National Junior Team and is selected to compete in the Young Rider Express Eventing Challenge in Australia, along with two other riders from Chevalier Point Pony club. She’s given the perfect horse to ride, Victory, so this should be her chance to shine. Issie believes things are going to go well, even if her new instructor is hard to impress.
One night Issie and Victory are out riding, and they end up saving an abandoned puppy. When they get back to the stables Issie knows she can’t just leave the puppy to fend for itself so she hides it in a stable hoping that no one would fine the puppy.
Things start going downhill when Issie is faced with a nightmare roommate and a secret in the stables that’s proving hard to keep.
In my opinion the book really picked up the pace near the end and it made it a much more enjoyable read because it was set at a pace where it wasn’t so fast that the reader didn’t know what was going on, but it wasn’t so slow that the reader got bored. Usually Issie is quite a “perfect” character, so it was very intriguing to watch her get humbled in this book.
I would give this book 5 stars because it constantly kept readers on the edge of their seats. It was so good even though it is more character driven rather than plot driven. I would recommend this to anyone aged 8 or over and its great to read alone or as a family but there are some emotional parts.
With showjumping contests to win, rivals to defeat, mysteries to solve and ponies in danger to save, these books are perfect for all girls who love ponies.
Issie has won a place in the National Junior Team and is selected to compete in the Young Rider Express Eventing Challenge in Australia, along with two other riders from Chevalier Point Pony club. She’s given the perfect horse to ride, Victory, so this should be her chance to shine. Issie believes things are going to go well, even if her new instructor is hard to impress.
One night Issie and Victory are out riding, and they end up saving an abandoned puppy. When they get back to the stables Issie knows she can’t just leave the puppy to fend for itself so she hides it in a stable hoping that no one would fine the puppy.
Things start going downhill when Issie is faced with a nightmare roommate and a secret in the stables that’s proving hard to keep.
In my opinion the book really picked up the pace near the end and it made it a much more enjoyable read because it was set at a pace where it wasn’t so fast that the reader didn’t know what was going on, but it wasn’t so slow that the reader got bored. Usually Issie is quite a “perfect” character, so it was very intriguing to watch her get humbled in this book.
I would give this book 5 stars because it constantly kept readers on the edge of their seats. It was so good even though it is more character driven rather than plot driven. I would recommend this to anyone aged 8 or over and its great to read alone or as a family but there are some emotional parts.
November 23, 2022
This is a return to the best of the series and a delightful read for the most part.
Using an excellent thread from its predecessor, this book takes strides to move the story along and justify interesting scenarios and settings, also introducing some new and interesting characters.
In the climax of the third act is my favourite sequence which pleasantly pulls together a number of threads from previous books centralising around a character named . An excellent achievement to wrap this story up nicely.
However, this book also unfortunately introduces another completely unnecessary level of threat and the adult theme of sheeps' throats being torn out, and the persistent threat of death to the main character's new dog by a local farmer. This is wholly unneeded as a B plot and detracts massively from the sunny tone that this book otherwise coasts by on.
Additionally, it introduces a new character who is so disgustingly awful that the typically flawless main character struggles to navigate. Rather than introducing an emotional antagonist in a way more balanced for the tone of this novel, we instead get a teenager using our main character's toothbrush and being two-dimensionally grating in the most absurd ways. This really wasn't necessary and takes away from the book as a whole.
Using an excellent thread from its predecessor, this book takes strides to move the story along and justify interesting scenarios and settings, also introducing some new and interesting characters.
In the climax of the third act is my favourite sequence which pleasantly pulls together a number of threads from previous books centralising around a character named . An excellent achievement to wrap this story up nicely.
However, this book also unfortunately introduces another completely unnecessary level of threat and the adult theme of sheeps' throats being torn out, and the persistent threat of death to the main character's new dog by a local farmer. This is wholly unneeded as a B plot and detracts massively from the sunny tone that this book otherwise coasts by on.
Additionally, it introduces a new character who is so disgustingly awful that the typically flawless main character struggles to navigate. Rather than introducing an emotional antagonist in a way more balanced for the tone of this novel, we instead get a teenager using our main character's toothbrush and being two-dimensionally grating in the most absurd ways. This really wasn't necessary and takes away from the book as a whole.
August 20, 2023
part 8 of healing my inner horse girl!
this one is definitely my favourite of the series so far, I absolutely love the side characters and I think we get to see some of the most exciting riding in the series so far.
as always it's not exactly a realistic portrayal of equestrianism as a sport - I most definitely was not jumping 1m20 at age 14, lol - but the characters are believable and overall, it's an engaging story.
we also get to see some character development for Morgan, I do like the fact she gets a redemption arc after sabotaging her teammates in the earlier books, and it's an interesting portrayal of how pressure from parents can affect a person.
this one is definitely my favourite of the series so far, I absolutely love the side characters and I think we get to see some of the most exciting riding in the series so far.
as always it's not exactly a realistic portrayal of equestrianism as a sport - I most definitely was not jumping 1m20 at age 14, lol - but the characters are believable and overall, it's an engaging story.
we also get to see some character development for Morgan, I do like the fact she gets a redemption arc after sabotaging her teammates in the earlier books, and it's an interesting portrayal of how pressure from parents can affect a person.
December 27, 2022
This was a strong book in the series and it was nice to see how the familiar characters slotted in with a bunch of rivals. Issie is normally a flawless character so it was interesting to see how she coped with being humbled in this story. Some of the themes were quite cutthroat and mature but I feel that these were handled well by the author. The express eventing made for a fun read and there were some really heartwarming moments between the team members. Having read Pony Club Rivals first, I enjoyed meeting Tara Kelly again and seeing a different side to her.
November 3, 2021
Si te encantan los caballos, como a mí, y buscas una lectura amena, divertida y rápida, estos trece libros son una opción estupenda para esos días en los que nos apetece leer algo facilito.
Están recomendados para una edad de nueve años o más, pero no por eso se trata de una saga infantil. De hecho, yo el último libro lo he leído hace tres o cuatro semanas y me ha encantado. Ha sido una lectura muy fresca.
Cada uno de los libros cuenta una aventura distinta de Isa, la protagonista, siempre con relación al mundo de la equitación.
Por lo tanto, podrían leerse como volúmenes independientes, pero tened en cuenta que pueden aparecer datos de libros anteriores. Por eso, yo recomiendo leerlos por orden. De esa manera, entenderéis mejor la historia, la evolución de la protagonista a medida que crece y su relación con los distintos caballos, yeguas y ponis que aparecen en cada uno de los libros.
¿Alguien en la sala que conozca estos libros? ¿Qué os parecen?
Están recomendados para una edad de nueve años o más, pero no por eso se trata de una saga infantil. De hecho, yo el último libro lo he leído hace tres o cuatro semanas y me ha encantado. Ha sido una lectura muy fresca.
Cada uno de los libros cuenta una aventura distinta de Isa, la protagonista, siempre con relación al mundo de la equitación.
Por lo tanto, podrían leerse como volúmenes independientes, pero tened en cuenta que pueden aparecer datos de libros anteriores. Por eso, yo recomiendo leerlos por orden. De esa manera, entenderéis mejor la historia, la evolución de la protagonista a medida que crece y su relación con los distintos caballos, yeguas y ponis que aparecen en cada uno de los libros.
¿Alguien en la sala que conozca estos libros? ¿Qué os parecen?
September 4, 2019
Another fun read!
Amazing how an author can keep putting out such fun reading for an old lady who used to do it all! Looking forward to the next one! I am addicted!
Amazing how an author can keep putting out such fun reading for an old lady who used to do it all! Looking forward to the next one! I am addicted!
Read
July 19, 2023Súper recomendado para niños de 10-12 años. Fue mi infancia.
October 15, 2024
4.7 stars
Want to read
August 25, 2011My horsey friend Devon has read this book and I think it sounds interesting...
Read
April 13, 2018the series that got me into horseriding - i was really into this series for a time. the plot is really very good which i wasn't expecting for hORsEriding but it is!!!!! and i haven't actually read some books ohefsdjkn cuz hard to find but the ones in the library borrowed several times over
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews