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Ponies Plot
Riding schools are always for children who can't ride - as soon as they are any good they get ponies of their own - and children never listen to their ponies, although they always have lots to say.
Faced with this tedious round for ever, what could Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett's spirited ponies do but rebel?
Faced with this tedious round for ever, what could Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett's spirited ponies do but rebel?
- GenresHorses
129 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
C. Northcote Parkinson
96 books49 followersCyril Northcote Parkinson was a naval historian and author of some sixty books. He was educated at Cambridge, and went on to teach in Malaya, and in the United States at Harvard and in Illinois.
He was an important scholar in the field of public administration.
His most famous work is Parkinson’s Law, or The Pursuit of Progress.
He was an important scholar in the field of public administration.
His most famous work is Parkinson’s Law, or The Pursuit of Progress.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 26, 2020
Several ponies find that their riding stables is being closed and they want to go to good homes. Smoky, the eldest, gives good advice and the ponies plot as to how to impress the girl and boy riders and their parents.
What I most recall is that there were several times where Professor Parkinson is writing for adults who might be reading along with children. For instance the lady who runs the riding school is called Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett. An adult would hear deadly circuit and laugh; kids don't know the phrase and just think it's a silly posh name.
The story is amiable as each pony picks a child and alters their behaviour accordingly. A girl assures her father that manure would be so good for the strawberries - I mean, the roses! A lot of fun for young people.
Obviously it is dated now but books issued around the same time include Silver Snaffles, Jill's Gymkhana and A Pony In The Luggage, all for the same age group.
What I most recall is that there were several times where Professor Parkinson is writing for adults who might be reading along with children. For instance the lady who runs the riding school is called Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett. An adult would hear deadly circuit and laugh; kids don't know the phrase and just think it's a silly posh name.
The story is amiable as each pony picks a child and alters their behaviour accordingly. A girl assures her father that manure would be so good for the strawberries - I mean, the roses! A lot of fun for young people.
Obviously it is dated now but books issued around the same time include Silver Snaffles, Jill's Gymkhana and A Pony In The Luggage, all for the same age group.
April 8, 2013
This is a really unusual and funny book. From the preface - "In the ordinary run of pony books the story centres on a small girl who dreams of pnies, wants a pony, secures a pony for nothing (saving it from ill-treatment in a gypsy encampment), rides it with growing confidence and ends with First Prize in the Hunter Trials. Among ponies, however, the same story would be told with the pony as hero. Ill-treated and underfed, Blackie dreams about children, wants a child for himself, plans to attract Brenda's attention, defeats the scheme of a rival pony, saves the girl from drowning, wins over the reluctant parents and finally (guess what?) wins First Prize in the Hunter Trials." The story is about 8 riding school ponies that need to find new homes, ending up in diverse places such as going to space, entering the circus and going hunting. Funny and a great little read.
October 20, 2021
I adored this book as a child! I was a pony less but pony mad youngster, and had fantasy ponies! The story of the 8 riding school ponies looking for new homes and the tales of how they achieved them really captured my imagination, although I always found the space adventure a bit of an odd choice in an otherwise believable (for the time:60s-70s) story. What none of the other reviews (that I’ve read) mention, is the secondary story of the townie girl who collects 8 ornamental china ponies… Well the book must have had a huge impact on me… as a 48 yr old I finally became a horse owner- by buying a riding school pony!! Ok, he’s a big pony and I can ride him ok, we’re growing old together! He knows all the tricks in the book (literally!) and if he wasn’t called Dave he might be Prune…or Skylark on a good day!
July 2, 2020
Browsing through a list of vintage books I came across an ancient, yellowing copy of Ponies Plot by C. Northcote-Parkinson, first published in 1965. I decided I must have it, purely for the sake of nostalgia and, I told myself, pertinent to the writing of my equine diaries.
My Life in Horses: Part One: Disappearing Dreamscapes
And so I reacquainted myself with the story of Dundreary Riding School and its imminent closure. Narrated partly by eight rebellious inmates it soon becomes clear that the future is not entirely in the hands of their owner, Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett. Being especially bright, Daisy’s ponies are fully aware that the most desirable outcome lies in acquiring a loving, knowledgable little girl of their own. Of course, all ponies know that little girls are something designed by nature to look after them. Naturally, they dread being sold to an ill-trained, wilful child. In the event of impending disaster along these lines, Old Smoky’s advice is to fully utilise the four equine aids at their disposal: the head, the hooves, the whinny, and the teeth. It’s important to seem more confident than you are, he says. And don’t forget… you are in charge.
Smoky goes on to explain that head-shaking is usually enough to dispel small disagreements such as being asked to trot instead of staying in walk, turning left instead of right, and so on. Fix those too-tight reins by stopping to graze; thus allowing the errant child to suddenly shoot forwards and hit the grass. If the child clutches at your mane and begins to kick and scream instead, fling up your head and hit the child smartly on the nose. With exceptionally ill-mannered children it might be necessary to force a temporary separation through swerving, rearing, or bucking. At any chosen moment – preferably in full gallop – simply change course with no warning and the offending child will sail smartly over your withers. Some ponies scamper away after such an event, others choose to consider the matter closed and graze quietly. On the yard, it’s important to draw attention to any instances of neglect by whinnying; instances such as being late with your bucket feed, not noticing an empty hay-net, failing to refresh your water, and so on. If all else fails, a firm nip is always a good reminder of who is in charge. Meanwhile, at The South Dorset Pony Club, there’s a dismounted rally taking place and Miss Nutshell offers some sage advice to the beginners and nervous children. It’s important to seem more confident than you are, she says. And don’t forget… you are in charge.
I begin to wonder just how much ‘training’ I’ve been given over the years without realising! Is 'being in charge,' quite so relevant these days? 'Show him who’s the boss,' was something I heard throughout the sixties and seventies. The principle is perhaps much the same, although we talk more about Leadership than Mastership in these politically correct times. And as the ponies of Dundreary discover, that point when novice riders became tolerable and gain sufficient equine intelligence (what a wonderful term this is; it suggests that good horsemanship is a satisfactory dovetailing of a concessionary partnership, something I believe in wholeheartedly) they vanish, and buy ponies of their own. And the tiresome learner-rider business begins all over again. How true these sentiments are. And I love that Smoky tempers his advice with the idea that once discrepancies have been settled, the relationship between rider and pony must continue with kindness and consideration. Every pony deserves an owner blessed with a modicum of equine intelligence. I do hope there’s a special place in heaven for all riding-school ponies, fictional and otherwise. They sure deserve it.
My Life in Horses: Part One: Disappearing Dreamscapes
And so I reacquainted myself with the story of Dundreary Riding School and its imminent closure. Narrated partly by eight rebellious inmates it soon becomes clear that the future is not entirely in the hands of their owner, Daisy Dedleigh-Sirkett. Being especially bright, Daisy’s ponies are fully aware that the most desirable outcome lies in acquiring a loving, knowledgable little girl of their own. Of course, all ponies know that little girls are something designed by nature to look after them. Naturally, they dread being sold to an ill-trained, wilful child. In the event of impending disaster along these lines, Old Smoky’s advice is to fully utilise the four equine aids at their disposal: the head, the hooves, the whinny, and the teeth. It’s important to seem more confident than you are, he says. And don’t forget… you are in charge.
Smoky goes on to explain that head-shaking is usually enough to dispel small disagreements such as being asked to trot instead of staying in walk, turning left instead of right, and so on. Fix those too-tight reins by stopping to graze; thus allowing the errant child to suddenly shoot forwards and hit the grass. If the child clutches at your mane and begins to kick and scream instead, fling up your head and hit the child smartly on the nose. With exceptionally ill-mannered children it might be necessary to force a temporary separation through swerving, rearing, or bucking. At any chosen moment – preferably in full gallop – simply change course with no warning and the offending child will sail smartly over your withers. Some ponies scamper away after such an event, others choose to consider the matter closed and graze quietly. On the yard, it’s important to draw attention to any instances of neglect by whinnying; instances such as being late with your bucket feed, not noticing an empty hay-net, failing to refresh your water, and so on. If all else fails, a firm nip is always a good reminder of who is in charge. Meanwhile, at The South Dorset Pony Club, there’s a dismounted rally taking place and Miss Nutshell offers some sage advice to the beginners and nervous children. It’s important to seem more confident than you are, she says. And don’t forget… you are in charge.
I begin to wonder just how much ‘training’ I’ve been given over the years without realising! Is 'being in charge,' quite so relevant these days? 'Show him who’s the boss,' was something I heard throughout the sixties and seventies. The principle is perhaps much the same, although we talk more about Leadership than Mastership in these politically correct times. And as the ponies of Dundreary discover, that point when novice riders became tolerable and gain sufficient equine intelligence (what a wonderful term this is; it suggests that good horsemanship is a satisfactory dovetailing of a concessionary partnership, something I believe in wholeheartedly) they vanish, and buy ponies of their own. And the tiresome learner-rider business begins all over again. How true these sentiments are. And I love that Smoky tempers his advice with the idea that once discrepancies have been settled, the relationship between rider and pony must continue with kindness and consideration. Every pony deserves an owner blessed with a modicum of equine intelligence. I do hope there’s a special place in heaven for all riding-school ponies, fictional and otherwise. They sure deserve it.
August 30, 2020
I love old horse books (pre-1970s). I picked this up in a used bookstore on Chincoteague Island. It's adorable, silly, and fun.
July 10, 2016
This tome is a product of its time as a young woman, only sketchily discussed in the book, "must" close her pony riding academy as she is fulfilling every XX-chromosome carrier's post-pony aged dream--marriage. Of course she won't pursue her stable after she marries. *eye roll* She is a mere set piece as those circumstances establish the central drama of the story.
The story is told from the viewpoints of the ponies as they realize they will all be disbursed. OK, that's cute gimmick, well-played Old Bean. All ponies want to have a little girl who belongs to them. There is parallel structure where the narrative is told from the riders' viewpoints and then the ponies' that is effective. Fans of CNP's management books will enjoy the wisdom of Smokey, the old pony, who lays forth the strategies for getting a girl. He lists the 4 Aids to controlling a girl at the disposal of the ponies--a twist of the Aids available to riders to communicate with mounts. Clever.
All 8 ponies must find homes and it goes down to the wire whether it will happen. Fans of his naval histories will find the "passages" (pun intended) about one pony's trip to Guernsey via ferry woefully inadequate to whet their appetite that has been stoked from say, the Horatio Hornblower "biography." There is scarcely enough naval content here to satisfy readers who lust for a good salty breeze to stir their hair, figuratively, as they read their CNP.
I would have rated this more highly but for the unfortunate inclusion of the ill-conceived space-themed adventures that infects the stories of two herd ponies. It is a proverbial turd in the punch bowl, but can be understood as part of the international space exploration that infected imaginations in the 1960s. Perhaps CNP felt this would make his tale resonate with the contemporary young reader of the time. There is even an allusion to pop musicians, so there was some bordering-on-pandering choices made by the author. One imagines CNP writing today might give one of the ponies a Segway. This led me to remove one of CNPs stars posthumously from an otherwise splendid read.
The story is told from the viewpoints of the ponies as they realize they will all be disbursed. OK, that's cute gimmick, well-played Old Bean. All ponies want to have a little girl who belongs to them. There is parallel structure where the narrative is told from the riders' viewpoints and then the ponies' that is effective. Fans of CNP's management books will enjoy the wisdom of Smokey, the old pony, who lays forth the strategies for getting a girl. He lists the 4 Aids to controlling a girl at the disposal of the ponies--a twist of the Aids available to riders to communicate with mounts. Clever.
All 8 ponies must find homes and it goes down to the wire whether it will happen. Fans of his naval histories will find the "passages" (pun intended) about one pony's trip to Guernsey via ferry woefully inadequate to whet their appetite that has been stoked from say, the Horatio Hornblower "biography." There is scarcely enough naval content here to satisfy readers who lust for a good salty breeze to stir their hair, figuratively, as they read their CNP.
I would have rated this more highly but for the unfortunate inclusion of the ill-conceived space-themed adventures that infects the stories of two herd ponies. It is a proverbial turd in the punch bowl, but can be understood as part of the international space exploration that infected imaginations in the 1960s. Perhaps CNP felt this would make his tale resonate with the contemporary young reader of the time. There is even an allusion to pop musicians, so there was some bordering-on-pandering choices made by the author. One imagines CNP writing today might give one of the ponies a Segway. This led me to remove one of CNPs stars posthumously from an otherwise splendid read.
December 8, 2011
If this is the book I think it is, I loved it when I was a kid. About a group of ponies in a riding school. I think the school is being sold and they all want to find homes with little girls (and boys?). There is an old pony who gives them all advice.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews