Review: CHRISTINE - Pony Parade

Pony Parade is another one that strictly does not fit the blog: it is an anthology. It contains a combination of non fiction and fiction stories/extracts. However, as it is one of the few anthologies I do have, I will include it.

One of these extracts is from their mother's book: A Pony For Jean. Considered by many to be one that defined the pony book genre, it is the archetypical pony story.

The second is an extract (and slightly humorous) about a show ring. Personally I found it ok, but if you aren't interested in that it can be boring.

The third is an short piece about choosing a (pony) name.

The fourth is about caring for a pony - not very interesting if you don't want a pony. Generally not out of date except for the odd mention of ton (as in weight) which most people use kilos these days and oats (which are seldom used these days).

The fifth and best part of this is a short Pony Patrol story. Because of this it has a Pony Patrol tag. That is, provided you like the Pony Patrol series. It is entitled Pony Patrol Ends A Racket.

The rest of the extracts are:- an poem about a rocking horse; about horse colours; strange pony actions; about horses in the First World War (by Diana, taken from Black Princess); about how a team trained for the Prince Phillip Cup; how to sit properly (by Josephine); pair driving; a poem about a pretend horse; about possibly curing rearers; a horse themed dictionary/definition; British ponies; how to draw horses; an article which features exploits of a sister trying to care for her sister's ponies - in letter form (by Christine); two poems about olden days horses; an article about a Przewalskii horse working down a coal mine; making a dressage arena (by Josephine); an "Did You Know" article; an article about horse doping in the show ring and finally an poem about an abandoned stable.

As far as anthologies go it isn't a bad one. The star turn is the brand new Pony Patrol story. However as far as anthologies go, they generally have a shortcoming: they never have the full story. As for this one, generally the only bit that lets it down is the bits about schooling/pony care, the pony mining article (there are no coal mines these days that use ponies) and the doping article. Mainly because security is so tight than compared to 1978 (which this was first published) and people today don't know who Harvey Smith is.

Still, it's not an expensive buy, and worth getting for the Pony Patrol story alone.