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Saddle Club #7
Horse Play
Upon learning that their riding instructor is in serious financial trouble, three friends drum up new business for him and arrange a riding demonstration--starring themselves!
134 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1989
19 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Bonnie Bryant
390 books203 followersAmerican author of children's books. She is best known for creating the intermediate horse book series The Saddle Club, which was published from October 1988 until April 2001. The Saddle Club chronicled the adventures of thirteen-year-old Lisa Atwood and twelve-year-olds Stephanie "Stevie" Lake and Carole Hanson. The series was static in time; the girls never aged in 101 books, 7 special editions, and 3 Inside Stories.
Bonnie Bryant also wrote two spin-off series: Pony Tails, aimed at beginning readers, and Pine Hollow, aimed at teenage readers. The 16 Pony Tails books followed the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corey Takamura, and Jasmine James. Pine Hollow featured Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and their new friends in a series set four years after The Saddle Club. Unlike The Saddle Club, Pine Hollow conformed to a realistic timeline. The 17 books took place over the span of less than a year. Later a television show called The Saddle Club, based on the books, was filmed in Australia.
Bonnie Bryant wrote at least 38 The Saddle Club books and 2 Pine Hollow books herself; after that they were taken over by a team of ghostwriters, a common practice in long-running children's book series. Ghostwriters for the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.
Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Karate Kid, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, written under her married name, B.B. Hiller. She also collaborated in the ghostwriting of The Baby-sitters Club Super Special #14: BSC in the USA, published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.
Bonnie Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She met her husband, Neil W. Hiller, in college, where they both worked on the campus newspaper. They had two sons, Emmons Hiller and Andrew Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him.
***from wikipedia.org
Bonnie Bryant also wrote two spin-off series: Pony Tails, aimed at beginning readers, and Pine Hollow, aimed at teenage readers. The 16 Pony Tails books followed the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corey Takamura, and Jasmine James. Pine Hollow featured Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and their new friends in a series set four years after The Saddle Club. Unlike The Saddle Club, Pine Hollow conformed to a realistic timeline. The 17 books took place over the span of less than a year. Later a television show called The Saddle Club, based on the books, was filmed in Australia.
Bonnie Bryant wrote at least 38 The Saddle Club books and 2 Pine Hollow books herself; after that they were taken over by a team of ghostwriters, a common practice in long-running children's book series. Ghostwriters for the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.
Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Karate Kid, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, written under her married name, B.B. Hiller. She also collaborated in the ghostwriting of The Baby-sitters Club Super Special #14: BSC in the USA, published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.
Bonnie Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She met her husband, Neil W. Hiller, in college, where they both worked on the campus newspaper. They had two sons, Emmons Hiller and Andrew Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him.
***from wikipedia.org
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 28, 2024
The seventh Saddle Club book and one I love for its fun simplicity - Stevie thinks Max is broke and may need to sell Pine Hollow, so the girls band together to bring in more students/more money. There are a lot of funny moments, Lisa's horrendously overbearing mother features frequently, leading to some good character development for Lisa, and Veronica is determined to get revenge on the Saddle Club, for various minor reasons she has blown out of proportion.
Very enjoyable.
Very enjoyable.
September 28, 2019
The One Where Max is Broke
Very cute with a light plotline featuring a lot of work on the girls' riding and Stevie's sense of humor. Less dramatic and more upbeat than other books in the series, like Horse Shy and Dude Ranch (the Westerns are the worst in the series for me). Definitely not as good as Horse Show (love Skye Ransom), but solid and a lot of fun.
Very cute with a light plotline featuring a lot of work on the girls' riding and Stevie's sense of humor. Less dramatic and more upbeat than other books in the series, like Horse Shy and Dude Ranch (the Westerns are the worst in the series for me). Definitely not as good as Horse Show (love Skye Ransom), but solid and a lot of fun.
October 30, 2024
I'm still reeling a bit from the crappy last book, but didn't enjoy this much. I could see the ending after the first few pages. Oh well -- at least no one dies this time around.
Although Bonnie Bryant is listed as the author of all 105 or so of the Saddle Club books, this one has a couple of major continuity errors, which makes me wonder if this was written by a ghostwriter. The errors:
* Lisa suddenly has a brother?
* Carole asks Red if Veronica ever cools out her own horse. I don't think she was being sarcastic. Carole knows Veronica better than anyone else in The Saddle Club. After all, it was Veronica that killed Cobalt.
Veronica's turning over a new leaf didn't last, which is bad for the horses in the series, but great for the reader. A good series needs a strong baddie. It's just that simple.
There's not a lot of horse action in this book, although Commanche gets a good moment in the spotlight, finally. There's more people action in this book, which is a bummer.
By the way, kids -- if you try to drum up business for your favorite riding instructor in a grocery store like Stevie does here, expect to be kicked out of the store and threatened to be arrested. That's because what Stevie did was "solicitation" and is illegal.
It was a different world in the 1980s.
Although Bonnie Bryant is listed as the author of all 105 or so of the Saddle Club books, this one has a couple of major continuity errors, which makes me wonder if this was written by a ghostwriter. The errors:
* Lisa suddenly has a brother?
* Carole asks Red if Veronica ever cools out her own horse. I don't think she was being sarcastic. Carole knows Veronica better than anyone else in The Saddle Club. After all, it was Veronica that killed Cobalt.
Veronica's turning over a new leaf didn't last, which is bad for the horses in the series, but great for the reader. A good series needs a strong baddie. It's just that simple.
There's not a lot of horse action in this book, although Commanche gets a good moment in the spotlight, finally. There's more people action in this book, which is a bummer.
By the way, kids -- if you try to drum up business for your favorite riding instructor in a grocery store like Stevie does here, expect to be kicked out of the store and threatened to be arrested. That's because what Stevie did was "solicitation" and is illegal.
It was a different world in the 1980s.
September 22, 2017
Stevie, Lisa and Carole try to save Pine Hollow for Max by rounding up a bunch of new students and putting on a horse show. Whoever happens to be pranking the girls is giving them a really hard time, and they cannot figure out who it is. Lastly, Lisa's mother is acting even more protective than usual, and no one knows why.
The main storyline plot here is the girls helping Max. This was very frustrating for me to read now, probably since I'm older and know a little better, because the communication between parties in this book stinks! And well, just felt a little unrealistic. The girls putting on a show with choreography they barely know and not even running it by the stable's owner?! Well, maybe it's a typically twelve-year old thing to do, making it accurate.
The prankster was quite obvious to me, but then again that wasn't really the point of that side plot. I found it quite funny, although partly worrisome that they end up getting revenge. You'd think Veronica would notice and then retaliate with even worse pranks.
The plot with Lisa's mother was rather strange. I've never known a mother who was quite that worried about her children, then suddenly not after she gets a job. However, anything can happen. And I have to admit, it was rather funny.
Definitely not my favourite Saddle Club book. I'm not sure if it's needed for plot reasons, it's short enough that you might as well read it, but just not as enjoyable for me as the others.
The main storyline plot here is the girls helping Max. This was very frustrating for me to read now, probably since I'm older and know a little better, because the communication between parties in this book stinks! And well, just felt a little unrealistic. The girls putting on a show with choreography they barely know and not even running it by the stable's owner?! Well, maybe it's a typically twelve-year old thing to do, making it accurate.
The prankster was quite obvious to me, but then again that wasn't really the point of that side plot. I found it quite funny, although partly worrisome that they end up getting revenge. You'd think Veronica would notice and then retaliate with even worse pranks.
The plot with Lisa's mother was rather strange. I've never known a mother who was quite that worried about her children, then suddenly not after she gets a job. However, anything can happen. And I have to admit, it was rather funny.
Definitely not my favourite Saddle Club book. I'm not sure if it's needed for plot reasons, it's short enough that you might as well read it, but just not as enjoyable for me as the others.
February 23, 2019
This was a nice return to normal after the last edition that took the Saddle club out west. It doesn’t just take place back at Pine Hollow, but most of the plot centers around a misguided attempt to save it. It’s a sweet, quick read and I think the level of stakes in this book are a bit more reasonable for the 12-year-old protagonists. No rattlesnakes here, just some kids jumping to assumptions and trying to save the day in an adorable and harmless way.
June 28, 2018
Read the Norwegian edition, out of nostalgia.
December 10, 2023
A very meh book. Seemed unrealistic in the extreme and no one was communicating well.
January 29, 2016
the saddle club meets a famous dressage champion and demonstrates their skills.
i wish i could have done drills in college they sound like a lot of work and skill. But, so rewarding in the skills you gain and the new part of the bond between horse and rider you achieve in preforming them.
i wish i could have done drills in college they sound like a lot of work and skill. But, so rewarding in the skills you gain and the new part of the bond between horse and rider you achieve in preforming them.
January 28, 2017
I'm always disappointed when veronica is portrayed as 100% bad. there is so much more potential when you make her a multifaceted character. I liked the hard work involved in this story and I liked how Lisa had to learn that her parents lives don't revolve around her.
January 26, 2009
I really liked this book. They are always trying to help people out. I think these books are really good because they teach kids to help each other out and take responsibility for there actions.
August 4, 2011
A good series for horse crazy young teens. I loved it when I was younger.
September 26, 2014
Really enjoyed the interplay of subplots on this one.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews