Review: JOSEPHINE - The Radney Riding Club

The Radney Riding Club is this week's book. It is the 3rd book in the ever popular Noel and Henry series (also known as the West Barsetshire Pony Club). It was first published in 1951.

The blurb reads:-

RADNEY RIDING CLUB.
Are you interested in forming a riding club to encourage better horsemanship in this district? If so, perhaps you would care to come to Radney Manor on August 5th at 2.30 P.M. to discuss the matter.
Please bring your horse.

This notice, sent out by Henry Thornton, marks the beginning of all the events in this book, which include a gymkhana organised by the club, and their entry in a horse trial.

It has been republished by Jane Badger Books, and at time of writing, is available in both ebook and paperback versions.  Both use the full original text. For this review I have used the paperback edition from Jane Badger Books, despite the picture and blurb being from a earlier (edited) reprint. 

The first chapter sets the scene, and we are introduced to David Rice-Greene, Christo Carstairs, Alex Turner,  Julie Naughton, Paula Swindon, Helen and Jannice Barbersley, plus the Marlowe Children (Fanny, Deborah and Graham).

The second chapter is the link to the Radney Riding Club.  Henry (who we met in a previous book) is so appalled by the riding standard he encounters at a local show, decides to form a riding club. There is the usual aftermath of a show, both fortunes and misfortunes included.

In the 3rd chapter we meet Noel again, who has appeared in previous books. There is a brief description of the previous book in the series goings on in case you are reading this out of order as there is a spoiler. Henry makes a reference to his meat ration, making this book set prior to 4th July 1954, as meat rationing stopped on that date. I like to think this book was set in what was, contemporary times.  Further on we have an inaugural meeting of the titular Riding Club, and without giving too much away, the reason for it's name.  They all try jumping, with mixed results. There is slight discriminatory modern day language: the term "looney-bin" is used once; which of course at the time it was published was acceptable. Thankfully we now live in enlightened times.

The next chapter is taken up mainly by schooling and the various antics of the Riding Club members. It is a good read to know that, without giving too much of the plot away, things don't always go right. 

The next chapter is taken by a rally. Once again things don't go right. It is given by a Colonel Sanderson, who doesn't give the greatest of impressions. 

The next few chapters are mixed. Henry has an idea to organise a show for members of the Riding Club. Henry organises a instructional rally for the older ones given by a General de Veriac. This chapter is full of tips on riding and is the sort of thing that Josephine excels at. You feel as though you're learning something without turning into a lecture. Yet it does not jar the story at all. 

There is a gymkhana in the story which is a mixed affair but overall a success.  

The final chapter is the fortunes of the Riding Club in an Event (dressage, cross country and show jumping) organised by a rival Riding Club. Some old faces appear. It is interesting to note that an historical form of scoring is used rather than a modern day one which may confuse the reader.

It is overall a good book. There's enough to keep the average reader interested without being swept away. However it's not so fast paced that you get confused. I really enjoyed this book. Bravo Josephine. 

Review: ALL THREE: It Began With Picotee

It Began With Picotee is this week's book. It is their first book, and like their mother, all 3 sisters collabrated to do it. It was first published in 1946, the same year as both Diana and Josephine published their first solo books.

It is illustrated by Rosemary Robertson, who was not only a friend of Josephine's, but also did their mother's They Bought Her A Pony.

The blurb reads:-

It began with Picotee, then came Tony, and Pengo and a whole host of other ponies. Some were amenable to discipline, others were decidedly not. But good, or bad, for the three girls who looked after them, the more ponies they had the more they liked it.

It Began With Picotee is rather an apt title, since this began which is was obviously a rather fruitful career for all 3 sisters.

It is, as the blurb suggests, the story of 3 sisters. How much is based on themselves I do not know, but I suspect rather a lot. The first chapter they acquire a second pony - Tony - and they take him hunting. At the time of writing, unlike today, hunting was a key feature of the countryside horsey scene. Thankfully it is not too graphic in it's description so if you accept that hunting went on, it's not liable to offend.

The second chapter is taken up by the girls acquiring yet another pony - Pengo - and without giving too much away, the fun and games they have with him. 

Then in the third chapter they acquire a pony called Imp who they rename Angus. Again like the previous chapter they have - albeit different - fun and games with him.

The fourth chapter is taken up with 3 more ponies that the sisters acquire. One is called Bronx, which the groom says "Mind you sit tight, Miss, 'e didn't 'alf cut some capers in the yard this morning". This is most likely based on the sisters experience themselves as the exact words were used in a 1941 article by the sisters in Riding Magazine.  Again like the first chapter there is a hunting scene but, nothing liable to offend. 

The next few chapters is taken up with schooling which I suspect Josephine may have a hand in. Certainly they acquire no more ponies although there is a horse show the results I will no divulge as to not spoil the story. 

The final chapter is entitled Plenty of Ponies unfortunately contains the n word but it's not used as an insult but a reference to a shade of brown. Thankfully it's the only occurrence of that unfortunate word. It may be noted that none of the PTs used racial slander in their pony books since. Though it you have to remember that this book was originally published and written in the 1940s where attitudes were completely different to a modern audience. 

I quite enjoyed this book. It's a bit rambling in places but overall a decent plot. It's not their finest work but then again you have to remember it's their first work. First works by authors rarely are. Overall a decent effort. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Pony Club Team

Pony Club Team is the second book in the ever popular West Barsetshire aka the Noel and Henry series. It was first published in 1950, making it Josephine's fourth book.

The blurb reads:-

Christopher got his foot in the stirrups and jumped, but before he could swing his leg over, Fireworks was off at a gallop! Christopher tried to pull him up to get on, but he couldn't manage so he just hung on for grim death. They galloped past Glory. "Whoa, whoa," shouted June. The rest of the team turned at her shout. "Perhaps he'll stop when he gets here," said Roger.

But Fireworks didn't stop; he swerved and galloped towards the hedge. The Pony Club members stood helpless. Then Fireworks swerved again and Christopher lost hold of the saddle and fell. For a horrid moment he was mixed up with Fireworks' flying hoofs and then the pony galloped on as Christopher lay on the ground...

In 2019 Jane Badger Books published it as both an ebook and in paperback. It is this edition I am using, which as always, contains the full text. The blurb reads:-

Henry has good points, but he's keeping them well hidden.

The West Barsetshire Pony Club are trying to improve. The only way of making sure that they do is for the Major to take them back to basics and run a course for them: it's dressage all the way. Nothing runs smoothly, of course, and when the Major's nephew, Henry, arrives, sparks fly. 

Can the Major overcome the Pony Club's penchant for fighting, letting out his wife's prized birds, and destroying his farm walls, and turn them into a team who can win?

Continuing on from Six Ponies this book introduces some new characters and some old ones return. Most notable is the introduction of Henry, of which the series is sometimes partially named after. The characters June, the Radcliffes, Noel and Christopher all reappear.

It begins with a rally and like Six Ponies they are useless. Later on there is a test which is mixed fortunes, prompting the Major to organise a dressage rally for 2 weeks. This is generally met with disdain,  being called "dreary dressage". But at the time dressage did not have the popularity it commands today.  Indeed the first Olympic dressage medal won by Great Britain was only in recent times (2012), certainly a long time after Pony Club Team was first published. 

Like Six Ponies the Pony Club members quarrel though it's less catty than the previous book. It's wonderfully full of instruction/tips on riding without turning it into a lecture. 

There is some humour in this book too, as there is a humorous incident when the Major's wife's cockatoo breaks out of the home. Without giving too much away chaos and hilarity ensues. 

There are some hunting references in this book as it was written when attitudes towards hunting were different than today. But it's not graphic.

There is a moment of suspense as there's an incident involving one of the characters and their pony. It certainly makes thrilling reading.

Overall it's a wonderful book with enough interest and energy without boring the average reader. A book I personally recommend you read, especially if you have enjoyed Six Ponies.  

Review: JOSEPHINE - Six Ponies

Six Ponies is this week's book. It has a special place in many people's hearts: firstly it is Josephine's first book (published in 1946) and secondly it is the first in the ever popular West Barsetshire series, or more commonly known as the "Noel and Henry" series. For this reason I have labelled as both.

Six Ponies is a rather long book, and when Collins republished it under their Pony Library series, and also Armada and Swift, they cut it quite significantly. Consequently, until recently, a first edition with full text and original illustration had been quite hard and expensive. Fortunately, Fidra Books in 2007 in their wisdom have republished it in it's entirety. In 2019 Jane Badger also released it in it's entirety meaning that now everyone can have a full story at a reasonable price.

The edition I have used in this review is the Fidra one (the one with the blue border). If anyone is unfamiliar with Fidra's style, they always have some sort of introduction, where possible, it is written by the author. Sadly due to Josephine's ill health she could not complete one, although she has written one for Fidra's other works: We Met Our Cousins and London Pride (by their mother: Joanna Cannan). So before the main story there is a short biography by Vanessa Robertson (owner of Fidra) and an article about the "Noel and Henry" series by Jane Badger (of Jane Badger books).

I will deal with the article first, then the story.

The article begins with a bit of social history about riding in the 1920's and the 1930's, useful as most people reading any P-T books (and even some of Joanna Cannan's books) will be unfamiliar with "backwards" seat, as they have never seen it. This is often referred to in the P-T's early works, particularly Josephine's. It also details many influential books, particularly Equitation, a book by Henry Wynmalen (ironically enough they appeared an 1941 edition of Riding Magazine describing a pony called Cocktail which Henry Wynmalen also wrote an article comparing the car and the horse). This book greatly influenced the P-T sisters.

The article goes on to describe the book's characters, not only their riding but also their temperament. Not just in Six Ponies, but throughout the whole series.

It also compares other well known books, and also the schooling side of things: Josephine's books are (with a couple of exceptions) famous for being instructional. Jane comments:

"However, although pony books can easily turn into didactic tomes (J M Berrisford's A Pony In The Family bieng an example of the didactic unrelieved by either humour or plot) there is more than enough wit and character in the Noel and Henry books to make them eminently readable: we can appreciate Noel's improvement without understanding precisely how she does it."

The entire article can be found on Jane's website (link on the right if viewing this on a PC or tablet). 

The blurb reads (of the Fidra Books edition):-

When six members of the West Barsetshire Pony Club each take on the challenge of breaking in a New Forest Pony they have little idea of what they will encounter. They have to teach them to wear a saddle and bridle, to carry a rider, to jump fences and behave quietly in traffic. Then, they have to ride them in a competition to see who has done the best. Who will do the best? June Cresswell who has an expensive pony and rides in every competition: John who has no-one to help him; the Radcliffes who shout and quarrel and live in the whirl of their huge family; Susan who has a groom and hardly looks after her pony herself; or shy, dreamy Noel? The first book in Josephine Pullein-Thompson's series about the West Barsetshire Pony Club, Six Ponies introduces some of her most memorable characters and brilliantly captures the highs and lows of schooling a young pony.

and the Armada (second image) edition's blurb reads:-

Six New Forest ponies to break in and school with a year to do it in! The members of the Pony Club can hardly believe their luck when Major Holbrooke chooses them for the job.

Besides the excitement of gymkhanas, rallies and paperchases, this is an added challenge. Will they have enough spirit and determination to tackle it? Their enthusiasm sometimes wears think with bolting ponies, refusals and even broken bones.

Yet by the year's end, the children have gained the upper hand, and their six perfectly-schooled ponies are the envy of all!

The other books in the Noel and Henry/West Barsetshire Pony Club series are: The Radney Riding Club, Pony Club Team, One Day Event and Pony Club Camp. The books Pony Club Cup,
Pony Club Challenge and Pony Club Trek do not belong to this series: instead they belong to a different Pony Club (see Woodbury Pony Club tag).


This book was Josephine's first solo book and is widely regarded to be one of her best.
It's good that the publishers have decided to republish it again, this one is in it's entirety, as unfortunately all paperback editions prior to this were drastically cut. Who can argue when the only other way to get the full story, was to purchase a first edition, which is considerably more expensive than this one.
It's the story of 6 children who are given 6 young ponies to train, with a competition at the end to see who has trained them the best. The author is well known for combining training instructions, with stories about ponies, and this one does not disappoint. The trials and tribulations of training youngsters is a key part to the story, but there are some incidents there to give some humour (such as when the pony steals the apples off the greengrocer's cart).

That's not to say that the characters do not have their faults. The first Pony Club Rally (which sets the scene) the children are useless. When they are told that six ponies are to broken in by members of the Pony Club there is much criticism of each other (both by members and their mothers) over who is going to ruin their pony. This turns quite catty at times. It makes not the easiest of reading for some people. 

Although originally written over 50 years ago, it's appeal has not been lost, and should be on every pony mad girl's shelf, and every collector should have one on their shelf. Even if you aren't a pony mad girl (or a parent of one), it is written so wonderfully well that an adult who likes to train ponies should read this, although it is meant as a story the quality is so excellent it could be used as a training aid!
This book also has an introduction which covers the rest of the series, and details about the characters and the background to the book. An excellent read, and should be considered a great classic.

The ending is somewhat bittersweet but generally satisfying. I recommend getting an copy of this book, preferably the full text. 

Review: CHRISTINE - The Pony Test

The Pony Test is the third book in the Sophy series. It was first published in 1997, making it one of the last books she wrote.

Because of the short nature of the series (there are only about 46 pages) and the fact it is aimed at young children than most of Christine's books, there is a great difficulty in reviewing this book without giving away the story.

The blurb reads:-

Sophy is about to take her D Test, the first test after joining the Pony Club. She wants to be better than anyone else, so she chooses some big thick books from the library and learns all about diseases and different saddles. However, when the day for the test arrives, nothing goes quite to plan.


The book is illustrated. It is illustrated by Gilly Markew, and an example of an illustration is below. In the book there is a mixture of black and white illustrations.

It is a moral tale that proves a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Sophy gets a bit too carried away by the test which has disastrous results. It shows a more depth than previous books and what one wouldn't expect from a short story. Sophy gets nerves and fails the test. But there is more to the story than that and you will have to read it for yourself. 

It's a good moralistic tale for a pony mad youngster and not terribly expensive when found. It's a little simple for the average adult but overall a decent yarn.

Review: CHRISTINE - The Pony Picnic

The Pony Picnic is the fourth and final book in the Sophy series. It was first published in 1998, making it one of the last books she wrote.

Because of the short nature of the series (there are only about 46 pages) and the fact it is aimed at young children than most of Christine's books, there is a great difficulty in reviewing this book without giving away the story.

The blurb reads:-

Sophy is really looking forward to the pony picnic. She collects lot of important things she may need for the trip. But when she gets to the riding school the other riders, especially her rival Claire, makes fun of her overflowing rucksack.

However, by the end of the day everyone is very grateful indeed for Sophy was so well prepared...

The book is illustrated. It is illustrated by Gilly Markew. In the book there is a mixture of black and white illustrations. 

The book starts with Sophy getting very excited over a pony picnic and as the blurb suggests she packs a rucksack. It is interesting from these health and safety pov days as everything would be essential and unlike in the story Sophy wouldn't be laughed at. In the UK today there is a health and safety side of things with all matters equine - and not so equine - risk assessed.  But this book was published in the 1990s where it was not so health and safety.

But forget about the health and safety. Sophy has to deal with sadness - albeit brief - in this book. It's a more rounded book than the previous one.

I think that the average youngster would enjoy this book. It's not deep enough - or long enough- for the average older/adult reader though the signs are there. Personally speaking the Sophy series aren't my favourite but I am not the target audience. 

Review: JOSEPHINE - Black Swift

Black Swift is this week's book. It was first published in 1991, and was the penultimate book she wrote.

The title causes some confusion, despite it's name it has nothing to do with the Black Beauty's relatives books which were published in the 1970s and 1980s. It has yet to be republished, so can only be found in this edition. However, like the Black Beauty's relatives books, it is told in the same style, which may or may not be a problem, depending if you like it or not.

The blurb reads:-

Born at Radstock Castle during the Civil War, Black Swift is the fastest filly in Sir Thomas Wakefield's stable. Taller and stronger then any horse in England, she is the first new breed with which her owner hopes to repair his battered fortunes. But before she can be put to the test, Black Swift is stolen by Bernard, Sir Thomas's younger son, and taken to the heart of the battlefield.

Written by the famous pony novelist, Josephine Pullein-Thompson this book brilliantly evokes the wild and lawless time that followed the war as well as the great spirit of hope that it brought forth.

Now I am not a big lover of pony point of view books as they seem to follow the Black Beauty stereotype. But I needn't have worried here. It follows the fortunes of Black Swift a mare during the English Civil War. Now living in Wales my school years history teaching were full of Welsh history and more modern history such as the Second World War and the Cold War. I am, it has said to be said a little bit lacking in the knowledge of the English Civil War. So I cannot comment on how accurate the portrayal of the War is in this book. 

It touches on the horrors of the war without being too bloody/violent. Certainly nothing to frighten you. But that doesn't glorify or gloss over the harsh reality: in the book both people and horses die. 

There is plenty of action in this book as barely a page goes by without some let alone a chapter. Though the main focus is on Black Swift it doesnt mean that the human characters are left out. Indeed, without giving too much of the story away they are indeed central.

All in all a satisfying book and the length is just right. I didnt get bored. The ending is somewhat bittersweet but satisfactory. If you're like me and don't generally like pony point of view books then I would highly recommend it. You  might be surprised. If you like history too then it's  a bonus. I think that to make what could be a borefest into an engaging and exciting book is down to Josephine herself as any of the lesser authors couldn't rise up to the challenge. The plot is generally quite good too.