Enjoy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flle83PY9vg&feature=youtu.be
My favorite movie as a child, still love it.
I loved that movie as child and I enjoyed it again recently on youtube. 
The book was quite good, too, but I think if you want to get a copy now, it’s been out of print for so long is costs a bloody fortune. Ditto for two very good young adult books about riding/hunting/eventing, Alice O’Connell’s Pamela and the Blue Mare, and The Blue Mare at the Olympic Trials. I just don’t have $345+ to spend on an old children’s book. (I think part of the problem is the books are illustrated by the great Paul Brown and that’s what ads to their value.)
I have all 3. I’ve told my daughters not to toss my horse books when I die THEY ARE VALUABLE!
Here’s another good movie
http://e123movies.com/watch/RGbj7EGY-the-horse-in-the-gray-flannel-suit.html
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Ah, Carol, I have Pamela & the Blue Mare and I did just find a somewhat battered copy of “in the Olympic Trials” in the UK for $97 US. I am debating. the purchase…
I LOVED The Horsemasters book. Learned words like to “skip” out a stable, “morning and evening stables”, learned and to never ever, leave a bit of hay or straw on a pitchfork or rake when I’m finished with the tool, and to never, ever be late to morning or evening stables or risk getting the worn out broom or the pitchfork missing a tine.
Years later I worked for a very efficient British barn manager, and she would yell “STABLES” in the afternoon when it was time for us to all gather for feeding/topping off water. I got a kick out of hearing someone use the term.
Would like to find a copy of the book to re-read and put in my little library. Someday I will.
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You can read The Horsemasters in PDF in Open Library if you sign up for an account; it appears to be free.
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I had an old paperback copy of the Horsemasters, but I think I read it to death. I loved how the protagonist wasn’t the best rider, the best anything, but she still kept working hard and improving and growing in confidence. No far-fetched Olympic future for her, just a good grounding in horse basics.
StG
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I went off Googling after reading this thread and found a whole blog about pony stories, with plot summaries, publishing info, and a bit of evaluation! http://ponybookchronicles.blogspot.ca/2010/01/pamela-and-blue-mare-1952.html
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I have all of them, the Blue Mare books are the most expensive, Horsemasters was pretty reasonable but its not illustrated by PB, at least my copy isn’t. I think I paid $175 for one of my Blue Mare books and about $100-$150 for the other, and they are like brand new condition and worth every penny, I think they are among my most favorite possessions. I think there are very few Blue Mare books in existence, so in addition to the PB illustrations their rarity contributes to the value.
That’s a bargain, buy it before its too late, there are very few available copies.
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I’ve told my sister the same thing, in fact I left her a note with my will about who to contact who will know their value and find them good homes after I am gone.
The $97 one was gone. Wah. But I found two others for $89 and one “collectible” for $139. I don’t really have money to throw around, but the $139 one was, from the description, in much better shape than the $89 ones which were described as “acceptable,” and the $139 still has the dust jacket, if a somewhat battered one, so I did it. One of my bosses gave me a $100 gift card when she left the company a couple of weeks ago, so…
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Good for you. What a nice use of your gift card by buying something that will always remind you of your former boss. My Pamela and the Blue Mare has a beautiful color dust jacket preserved in plastic.
Go for it Salty! You guys made me curious so I searched values for my copy of The Monday Horses. $714. A few years ago it was $65. So it might be a good investment. (I collect and occasionally sell old horse books).
OTOH my first edition Arnold Rojas Vaquero books, signed by both him and the illustrator, (he was awesome) were in the $600-$800 range just ten yrs ago. Now, maybe $100 because they have been reissued as paperbacks. Unlikely to happen (we wish) with the O’Connells.
Have you seen these?.I have reproduced paperback copies. I remember getting them from my branch library in the Haight-Ashbury when I was a kid. The illustrations are wonderful.
I still have a copy of The Horsemasters.
Rebecca
I’m on the Open Library waiting list for Horsemasters. Wonder how many signed up as a result of this thread?
I got it right away, but read it overnight and “returned” it! LOL Then I remember another (non-horsey) book I had enjoyed as a tween - Fire Hunter by Jim Kjelgaard - and got that and read it. Wonderful resource. Thanks so much cllane1 for posting the link.
