Favorite Horse Books from way back when

[Lord_Helpus]

On another thread someone mentioned “Pamela and the Blue Mare”, and I immediately went back 40 years in time. Oh what memories!

That was my favorite. My second favorite was “Challenger” about 2 girls going to the CPHA Medal finals.

My third favorite was “Hobby Horse Hill” about a family who kept their horses at home and all the fun they had (a dream of mine when I was a kid.)

Of course, I also read every Black Stallion, Island Stallion book, and the Marguerite Henry books. But to have someone mention “Pamela and the Blue Mare” is just TOO MUCH!

Anyone know where such books might be bought?

[LaurieB]

I used to know Lynn Hall but it occurs to me now that someone’s mentioned her that we’ve been out of touch for a couple of years. I know she had 2 Paso Finos that she adored. Another very good recent book is Outfoxed by Rita Mae Brown (who was mentioned above.)

[Lord_Helpus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 5jss:
Yes, Wings, he founders then comes back to win the championship at the show but the minute he steps out of the arena he is dead lame from the performance he gave.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

oh how sad to be grown up. I m sure that it was a wonderful story and a great read as a child. But as an adult, all I can think of is that the horse was drugged to the eyeballs to get him to the ring, and the drugs wore off as the class ended.

I HATE it when reality and cynicism take over…

pam

[keke414]

I always like a book called Horse in the House by William Corbin. It was written about 1964 and set in Oregon. This teenage girl had a palomino stallion and brought him into the house to eat salad (while her parents were away). She was actually trying to get the attention of a boy who wrote for the school newspaper. The horse gets stolen and taken down the river on a houseboat(!) and the girl and her boy go after him in a speedboat. Sounds dumb but it reads ok. Anyone remember it?

[Everythingbutwings]

Is about a Thoroughbred that wins the Kentucky Derby. He was bred and raced by a Native American Indian family.

Born to Trot is about a Standardbred filly (trotter) that wins the Hambletonian.

[N_B_T]

If you can find it, you might like “The High Mettled Racer” (Being the Story of “Revenge”, Racehorse and Hunter) by Ernest Lewis, E.P. Dutton & Co., 1933…about steeplechasing and foxhunting.

Or Carl Raswan’s book, which I believe was titled, “Drinkers of the Wind”…about his search for the perfect Arabian (loaned it out and still waiting for its return).

Anyone else remember these two?

Posted some others on old threads, I think, and don’t want to duplicate.

[Baroni]

I LOVED Trixe Belden!! Trixie’s little brother learned to ride on “Mr. Pony” if I remember correctly.

[Sleepy]

Someone else on the BB put me on to www.bibliofind.com Be aware though that this old book hunt can be an addiction even worse than tack shops. LOL

[rockstar]

from fred:
nullRockstar, I feel the same way. Black Beauty was so powerful in its depiction of cruelty to horses - and I get upset now just remembering. But that was Victoriann England - and the abuse continues. I was on a holiday in Malta once, and the carriage horses looked terrible - so thin and sweaty - and the people taking the carriage rides were oblivious. Abuse continues in places you wouldn’t imagine. In Southern Ontario, we have many Mennonites - a religious order, many of whom drive carriages. They get standardbreds off the track - and although many are well taken care of - many more are not - you see them trotting down the road - so lame, thin, soaked with sweat, standing uncovered in a freezing rain storm … and when they are truly “done” - they are still just comodities, shipped to the slaughter house. But of course “Man has Dominion”… .

Well I’m glad I’m not the only horse lover out there bothered by it Fred… thank you! But what I don’t get is why are ASPCA type organizations not stepping in and setting standards?

[Lord_Helpus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Beezer:
[B]Patsey Gray, Patsey Gray, Patsey Gray! Her “Horsepower” book is still one of my most dog-eared favorites. “Blue Ribbon Summer” and “Jumping Jack” are also good. Those are her main ones about “our” world, but she has several others worth checking out. (As with most old kids’ horse books, though, you usually have to settle for buying the ex-library ones … but that doesn’t seem to hurt the price or collectibility, since there seem to be so few of them around!)

After all the praise of Pamela and her mare, I will have to go looking for them … have never heard of them. Maybe it’s an East Coast vs. West Coast thing?

[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I just found out, thanks to the link provided by everythingbutwings (geeze it is hard to type athat without putting in spaces…) that Patsey Gray is the author of the book “Challenger” that was my second fave of all time! And it took place at Cow Palace (Grand National). When I was a kid, I was used to MSG and the maclay finals, so I thought that the author of challenger didn’t know whereof she spoke, until I moved to Woodside, Ca and showed at Cow Palace. Then it all made sense…

Pamela … is a VERY east coast book (hunter trials/fox hunting etc.) —veddy vedy Virginia…

But, as a cross cultural experience, it would be a good read for anyone

Authors discovered:

Pamela and the Blue Mare: Alice O’Connell
Challenger: Patsey Gray
Hobby Horse Hill: Lavinia R. Davis

[Ghazzu]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Or Carl Raswan’s book, which I believe was titled, “Drinkers of the Wind”…about his search for the perfect Arabian (loaned it out and still waiting for its return).

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes. Also, if you like desert horse stories,Homer Davenport’s “My Quest of the Arabian Horse”–a great story about a politial cartoonist who went to Syria and bought horses from the Bedu, as well as getting several pricelss animals as gifts.

Raswan also wrote “Black Tents of Arabia”, which tells of his time with the Bedu.

[dmj]

Oh my gosh BONNIE!! I had almost forgotten. Memories! Also loved “A Very Young Rider” can’t remember the author; and the books on famous racers (Farley?) Man O’ War, Ruffian…oh and Black Gold by Margeurite Henry. Sob!!

[Saddlebag]

And let’s not forget Jane McIlvaine’s “Copper’s Chance”…it embodied every fantasy of a pubescent horse crazy pre-teen…the wild but talented horse that no one but the heroine could ride…the ruggedly handsome young son of the community’s wealthiest family (who choses beautiful but impoverished Copper over the debutante snob because he is smitten by Copper’s talent as a horsewoman…and there’s fox hunting, horse shows, hunt racing…and (of course), Chance (The former rogue…now transformed into a champion) excels at all disciplines…Omigod!! I must have read it several times a week!! I still have that same old frayed and worn copy of the book…and to this day, I marvel at the wonderful Paul Brown illustrations.

And what about all the great Will James books…“Smoky The Cowhorse” …“Flint Spear”.
And then there were the John Tainter Foote short stories about horse Racing…“The Look of Eagles”…I could go on reading those forever.

BTW…for those of you who go to the UK…the village of Hay-On-Wye in Wales is a booklover’s heaven…The entire town is made up of used bookstores…I went nuts when I was last there…I even found (and bought) a 1953 AHSA Rulebook!

[Everythingbutwings]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by LaurieB:
Another very good recent book is Outfoxed by Rita Mae Brown (who was mentioned above.)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Riding Shotgun is good as well.

[starberry]

Enjoying all the comments about favorite books and was particularly glad to see Silver Birch et al because I think of them often.

Don’t be so proud of yourself. Your grandmother is an AlumnA - she and her classmates are alumnae!
Are any of you readers interested? I have a lot of old and very old Chronicles which have to go before the floor joists collapse. Will send any for the cost of postage - $3.20 for as many as will fit into a regulation allyoucaneat USPS priority mail envelope, $1.50 each additional. First come, first served for specific issues.
Some of the Cookie McClung pieces are worth the price alone!
Answer to Starberry@snet.net, if this is allowed, Erin? I hate to cart them off the recycling center!

[OnyxThePony]

PamM, I had a copy of Hobby Horse Hill till just a few months ago, when it went to a tack sale. Too bad or I would have mailed it to you!
My faves:
Black Beauty
Charlie (or something, it was the only horsey book my school library had, I had it out every week, about an old horse some kids love and buy for $25)
All the Margurite Henrey, the big board books, illustrated by Wesley Dennis (also from my school library).
But I love every horsey book!!

[OnyxThePony]

My heroes of course were always the kid who coulnd’t afford a horse so rode the outlaws well enough to hold her own at the shows against snotty rivels…hmm… how fiction imitates life or vice-versa?!

[OnyxThePony]

Trixie Belden rode horses? Wow, I missed on that one! I have one of the series… at my parents place still… sitting in with the Nancy Drews. Fancy never realizing they were a riding series!

[Lord_Helpus]

<BLOCKQUOTE class=“ip-ubbcode-quote”><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Everythingbutwings:
[B]You are a person after my heart. I have my tattered copy of Pamela and the Blue Mare!

How about “Fools over Horses”, or any of the Dorothy Lyons books? Rutherford Montgomery, Glenn Balch, Paul Brown, etc.

I use www.abebooks.com they search many used book stores and save your “wants” and will email you when copies are found. They are very good about the description of the condition of the texts and usually offer several choices in varying dollar amounts.[/B]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the site. Whenever you next pull out Pamela and the Blue Mare (and I am jealous!) could you either post or email me with the author’s name?

Also, anyone who has a copy of “Challenger”, I would love the author’s name (and perhaps the publisher, if that is information that would help in a search).

Thanks a lot. Oh, to have these books again. It is scary how vivid my memories of them are…

[Baroni]

Ok now I’m on a roll - did anyone read "Golden Sovereign’? About a palimino stallion whose best friend is a goat and turns evil whenever his friend’s not around?