Review: CHRISTINE - Riding

Riding is a rather strange book. Not only because it is not very well known: but it is one of two books that Christine wrote under the pseudonym of Christine Keir. There seems to be no logical reason for that (unlike The Impossible Horse). It is part of the Granada Guides series, which according to the blurb "...are an invaluable series of compact reference books, perfect for the bookshelf or pocket. Each handy volume contains the latest expert information on its subject, together with explanatory diagrams, brilliant colour illustrations, and a comprehensive index."

This book was first published in 1983. However, what I don't get is that if (according to Granada Publishing) it contains "the latest expert information" is why they didn't credit Christine under her proper name. After all, if you got this in the 1980s, you would be wondering who the hell Christine Keir was. Christine wrote 4 books on Riding under her proper name, so it is not like she had not got any experience on the subject (this is, of course, excluding any non fictional information in her anthologies or any others published prior to this one).

Anyway, I will leave that for now and concentrate on the actual book.This book is perhaps better suited to someone who wants an light read or is somewhat of a novice. A lot of novice books are aimed at children which makes them in turn somewhat babyish. This one is not, which does make it accessible to both adults, and fairly older children (8+).

Still it manages to pack a few things in it.

The first chapter (though they aren't clearly named as chapter) details Riding Through the Ages (an mini historical guide), Knights In Shining Armour, The Great Riding Schools (mainly about the Spanish Riding School of Vienna), Horses In War and Peace (mainly about army horses) and finally Horses In The Modern World (basically about what horses are used for today).

The second chapter details Learning To Ride (basically what to wear, how to make friends with a pony and making sure that you learn to ride at a riding school), Mounting and Dismounting (obvious!), The Seat and The Hands (basically how to sit correctly and how the reins correctly), The Aids (how they are used and what they are), The Paces (how the horse moves, and what they are called), Controlling a Difficult Horses (basically what to do, and what is considered difficult).

The third, albeit short, is called Showjumping. Basically it details what is showjumping (competitive wise), Some Common Faults (refusing, and what causes it) and finally Courses and Fences (what they are, and different types).

The fourth is details Hacking Out (hand signals etc), Care Of The Countryside (things like opening and shutting gates, don't ride on farmer's crops) and finally Trekking (group trekking, specifically at a trekking centre).

The fifth details Riding and Pony Clubs (basically a overview of them).

The sixth details Competitions and Sport. Specific sections cover details of what are Dressage, Show Jumping, Cross Country, Showing, Gymkhanas, Long Distance and Trail Riding, Polo, Hunting and finally Racing.

The seventh (and final chapter) is a short one on Famous Horses and Riders.

The book isn't too bad: like I previously said it's basic (only 64 pages in total) so there is not a great deal of detail but covers quite a lot of ground. Although published over 20 years ago, most of the information is still pretty accurate. The (now what are considered to be) inaccuracies are that it states that an elastic under the chin strap will keep an riding helmet in place (all modern ones and even ones bought brand new in the 1990s have a fixed 3 point headpiece which is definitely more secure than an elastic strap). Also I suspect that the number of branches and members of the Pony Club has changed since the quotes that are given in this book.
Also, on a sports kind of view, the hunting is definitely out of date (since the ban a couple of years ago in the UK, it has radically changed) and in eventing, the road and tracks section is no longer performed to the same extent (if at all, most major events have now abandoned this).

The pictures are a bit old fashioned, basically they still convey the point they are illustrating, but with some dodgy clothing, and in the case of the ridden shots, the hat either have no chinstrap or just an elastic one. But if you can ignore this, it still remains a perfectly sound, worthwhile book. Unlike most books of the time, the Famous Riders sections is about great ones like Napoleon, and not "current" riders (for the time) who these days would be totally lost on a modern pony audience.

A book which basically mainly still does what it says on the tin.

Dear Spammer

and anyone else who is interested in posting silly comments.

This blog comments are moderated! No amount of advertising for medication for problems with the "downstairs department", cheap boots (which are probably bootleg), cheap dvds (again bootleg), comments in a foreign language will ever be posted. And no, posting 3 times (or more) will not make me change my mind! So scoot, & find some easier target!



Apologies, for my genuine readers, but the amount of "spam" comments has been getting a little out of hand lately. I welcome genuine comments, even if a) your English is not brilliant and b) it is only short.

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.

Review: CHRISTINE - Follyfoot Pony Quiz Book

I am going to break with tradition there: my blog is mainly for reviewing (and providing further information) about the P-T's (pony) fictional works.

However as I love Follyfoot, I bought this. I agonised over where or not to put this in the Christine section on the bookshelf or the Follyfoot section. I eventually decided on the Christine section and here's why :-

Firstly, and this is the main reason: there is very little Follyfoot in it. Granted Christine may not have had the time or the inclination to watch Follyfoot, but at least a brief outline of the main characters should have been sent to her. The only bits which are Follyfoot is the title, and the two pictures of Dora (the main character in the series) on the cover.

Granted, there are a couple of exceptions to that though. They are:-

Page 50. In each sentence there is an odd one out.

• Number one is this: Monica Dickens, Mary O'Hara, Enid Bagnold, Esther Rantzen (Esther Rantzen is the odd one out btw, because the rest are pony authors).
  
• Number 3 is this: Wish for A Pony, Alice In Wonderland, Follyfoot, I Wanted A Pony (Alice in Wonderland is the odd one out: the rest are pony books)
• Number 12: Dora, Paul, Callie, Christine (Christine is technically the odd one out - but only just. Paul is a character mentioned in Cobbler's Dream and the first edition of Follyfoot, but the character is named Steve in the TV series. Both Dora and Callie are characters in the books and TV series)

Page 51. This is a true or false game; and the sole mention is number 5.

• Monica Edwards wrote Follyfoot (False: it was Monica Dickens)

Page 52. Match up the name so "famous" people. One answer is Monica Dickens.

That is about it out of 81 puzzle and 5 crosswords. I feel much more could have been done to incorporate Follyfoot, for example there are tales of things going wrong, and the quiz part is to say what went wrong. I feel that in those situations it would have been best to incorporate the main Follyfoot characters. Also, the "true or false" quiz, it would have been nice to make it solely Follyfoot only.

However, when in 1974 (when this was first published) this was quite a decent book, if you forget the lack of Follyfoot element.

These days it is not. In some ways it is dated, because these days people who dont know who Pat Smythe, Marion Mould etc are. There are a lot of Follyfoot fans on the internet, and those who aren't interested in horse/pony care are liable to be bored.

So, if you are an Follyfoot fan, don't feel guilty about leaving this off your shelf. It's best (either from a P-T or a Follyfoot of view) as an set completer.

This also rather interestingly contains drawings by her daughter (Charlotte Popescu).

Review: CHRISTINE - Little Black Pony

Little Black Pony is a book meant for younger readers, the same age group as the Sophy series. It is illustrated: by an Lynette Hemmant.

It is also hard to find, as is The Lost Cow (a non pony work) which has a similar cover and is in the same series & has the same publisher. However, I suspect this is due to the fact that it was purely meant for children's primary schools (as opposed to being available in all good book shops) because all copies that turn up are either ex-school or ex-library. The one pictured came from a school. I also remember at primary school reading a Hamish Hamilton Gazelle book (but not this one).

Because of the fact it is meant for younger children (Hamish Hamilton, the publishers say on the back it is a "complete story for the very young". It also does not contain a blurb, however, I have written one of my own.

It is a story about a family of 3 children. They hear a noise in the garden, which turns out to be a pony. They want to keep him, but what happens when they find the real owner?

It is an odd one to place. This book was originally published in 1967, and these says the formal tone and language used sounds rather stuffy and old fashioned. Consequently, because of it's short nature and it's hard to find availability, it is not popular with collectors. This makes it not very valuable, if you can get hold of it.

If you can get past the formal/stuffy nature of the book, it is not a bad short story. It still retains the quality of her other books, however it is a lot better in nature than the Sophy books (and far more realistic). The children and the pony are believable, though the ending is not, and it is nice to see a kind owner of an "lost" horse rather than a cruel one, which happens in some of Christine's later stories (A Pony In Distress for example.).

Spoiler: complete story.

The children are playing in the nursery when they hear a noise. They wonder what it is and look out: it is a pony. They rush down and tell their mother. She and their father get hold of the pony, and put it in the stable, which they conveniently have. The children want to keep it because they have no pets, and they always wanted one. The parents are not too sure: they buy some hay and straw, and call out the vet because it is sick. Fortunately it is not too sick. The next day, they trace the owner, who explains that it keeps on coming there because she used to live there. She says that they can keep it, because she has outgrown the pony. She has a new one and nobody rides it any more. She refuses the money the children's parents offer her.

It's an easy short story, that is perhaps not a delight, but a good read. It's just a shame that it is hard to place. It's hard to give a complete review, without giving away the full story, but I have included a short synopsis for those who want to know what it is about (highlight white space).

Review: JOSEPHINE - How Horses Are Trained

How Horses are Trained is this week's book. It was first published in 1961 and is a non fictional work.

The blurb reads:-

Josephine Pullein-Thompson, famous for her books on riding, explains the basic training of all riding horses and then deals with the specialists - from show jumper to pit pony. There is a chapter on how horses were trained in the past and one of advice to would-be-trainers.

Written in comprehensive language it will be of interest to all who wish to know what lies behind the accomplished performances of race horse, circus pony or show jumper.

This book is part of the "How" series and this series includes such titles as "How We Weigh and Measure" and "How A Book Is Made".

Curiously, this book has a list of acknowledgements, of which one is a Mr. Dennis Far, who is her sister Diana's late husband.

The first chapter is entitled "The Trainer", which deals with the history of training horses from early Stone Age to the (at the time) present.

The second chapter is called "The Kindergarten", which deals with the training and handling of youngsters from a foal to early riding years (generally 4-5 years). It also deals with, albeit briefly, abandoned methods, such as the use of dumb jockeys.

The third chapter is called "The General Certificate of Education" which details with basic schooling (regardless of the discipline or job the horse is used). This includes some basic dressage such as a turn on the forehand, the rein back, and the half pass. It also deals with some basic faults.

The fourth chapter is entitled "Jumping Lessons". It deals with jumping, right from the extreme basics of teaching a horse to jump, to basic jumping.

The fifth chapter is called "The Stars". This deals with the various roles of the horse. The first part is called The Showjumper, and this deals with what sort of horse is best for jumping (competitively), and also how at the time, show jumping has changed.
The second part details The Competitive and High School Horse (basically the Dressage Horse). This details the various competitions that are (or were; there are more out now) available and what sort of horse is both conformationally and temperamentally suited to dressage. It also says about various movements requited (which have not been previously been discussed) at each level.
The third part details The Event Horse, and the sort of things you need for such a horse. This is slightly out of date as it says that a horse needs to do the road and tracks and steeplechase sections of a three day event. Very few events (and certainly not the major ones) have this section these days, as in the past few years it has been phased out. It also details with a minimum weight a horse must carry (11 stone 11 pounds for men, and 11 stone for women). which was phased out in the 1990s.

The sixth chapter is entitled "More Stars", which is basically a follow on to the previous chapter.
The first part is called Race Horse, which details with early training methods (1600-1700) and the type of horses that were around then. It then details with more up to date training methods too, from early training to a two year old. I'm not too sure how accurate it is, as like Eventing, the training of racehorses has changed over the years.
The next part deals with Polo Ponies, from a short basic history, to the training and the sort of pony that is useful.
The next part deals with Show Horses-Hacks, from the brief history of them (mainly to do with Rotten Row) to what is needed for a Show Hack as opposed to a "working" Hack.
The next part details with the Show Hunters, and what details it, and what is required of it (basically a well behaved type that the judge finds easy to ride).
The next part details Show Ponies. Basically set out as above, but the pony must be suitable for a child to ride. Instead of the judge riding it, they give shows, so must be well behaved.
The next part deals with Gymkhana Ponies. Basically it details what sort of pony temperamentally and in terms of speed is needed, rather than actual games.
The next part details the Circus Horse. This is out of date as there are few circuses that use animals (and consequently very few Circus Horses) but it is interesting from a historical point of view.

The seventh chapter is entitled "The Workers". The first part is called Riding School Horses. This details (albeit briefly) about what sort of pony that is needs, and basically what a good riding school should do.
The next part deals with Pit Ponies. Basically, like Circus Horses, this is out of date, as there are no Pit Ponies in the UK. Again, this is interesting from an historical point of view.
The next part deals with the Police Horse. I suspect that has hardly changed, as the ideal police horse has to be unphased by smoke, cars backfiring etc. It details with the extra things that are generally not taught to horses, and what sort of horse is suitable.

The eighth (and penultimate) chapter is called "How Horses Were Trained". This details with the history from the early Greeks (aroundd 400-350 years B.C.) to (at the time) present day. It also details (albeit briefly) on how the Romans, Saxonse etc had an influence on the (British) way horses/ponies were handled and ridden. It is interestign to deals. It also details, again, briefly, about the former roles of the hores as (save for show purposes) horse are not used for pulling mail coaches and for ploughing.

The nineth (and final) chapter is called "Advice to Would-Be Trainers". This details with what people should have (in terms of experience) before breaking a horse or pony. It also details do's and dont's.

There are also a couple of photos/drawings included in this book, one of Josephine riding a horse called Rosebay.

This book on the whole is still basically sound, though a little bit dated in places. A lot of it is due to changing attitudes and methods over the years, for example join up. For me, it was disappointing that it did not cover Western Riding. It is perhaps best used as an informal guide, with more up-to-date information out there. Of course this is terribly subjective, even horse care books written in the 1980s are how out of date. This fortunately on the whole has not dated as much when compared to other books that were around in the 1960s. The easy readability of this, though meant to be an instructional book, is not dull or boring, but is largely down to Josephine herself. This is because generally (her fictional) book are full of knowledge and are a wealth of information, but you get so absorbed in her story, that you hardly notice that you are getting a lesson too. Though the language in some places is a little old fashioned the book is still readable. Had it been written by a less able writer, then this book would have been better off on the history shelves.

Review: JOSEPHINE - Proud Riders

Proud Riders is this week's book. It was first published in 1973, and really is an anthology, the extracts are chosen by Josephine, rather than written by.

The blurb reads:-

A superb book for everyone interested in horses, a collection of stories and verses, fact and fiction, about horses and ponies and their riders at work; in the wild and at play, all over the world. Josephine Pullein-Thompson, famous for her own stories about horse, has brought together writing from all sorts of authors, who include Shakespeare and Tolstoy, Mark Twain and John Betjeman, Siegfried Sassoon and W H Hudson, Gordon Richards and Conan Doyle.

The book is illustrated by two sections of photographs which add another dimension to the whole theme of horses and their riders and their place in life.

The first extract is from More Ponies for Jean by Joanna Cannan, the second is from Roughing It by Mark Twain, the third is from Bengal Lancer by F. Yeats-Brown, the fourth is Memoirs of a fox-hunting man by Siegfried Sassoon, the fifth is a poem by John Betjeman, the sixth is from Sir Nigel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the seventh is from The Travels of Marco Polo by Marco Polo, the eighth is from Animal Stories by Ruth Manning-Sanders, the ninth is from True Stories About Horses by Lilian Gask, the tenth is a poem called Equestrian Courtship by Thomas Hood, the eleventh is from A Galloway Childhood by Ian Niall, the twelfth is from The Horse by Seigfried Stander, the next one is a song called A Cowboy's Life by Anon., the fourteenth is from Far Away and Long Ago by W.H. Hudson, the fifteenth is a rather long poem from The Collected Verse of A.B.Paterson, the sixteenth is from Sporting Print by G. March-Phillips, the seventeenth is from My Story by Gordon Richards, the eighteenth is a rather long poem called The Worn-Out Pony by Anon., the nineteenth is from The Unvarnished West by J.M. Pollock, the twentieth is from Strider by Leo Tolstoy and the final bit is a poem from Venus and Adonis by Shakespeare.

It also begins with an introduction by Josephine Pullein-Thompson.

The quality varies. Some are quite enjoyable, others are not. I really enjoyed the extract from More Ponies For Jean by Joanna Cannan and also Memoirs of a fox-hunting man by Siegfried Sassoon. Some of the extracts include different styles of riding (such as Western) which some people. Also, An African Foal (from The Horse by Siegfried Stander) deals with another country (and continent) entirely, which again is not for everyone.

Of course this is all subjective, of course people will enjoy bits that others won't. But at least this (apart from the cover) does not date, the trouble is that with some anthologies (particularly by Christine) is that they include references to famous horse riders of the day, or horse care which is now out of date. But anthologies are a subject of love or hate themselves, some people hate them, some people love them. Personally I am in the hate category. But on the other hand, if you hate a book at least you are stuck with only one chapter rather than wasting a whole chapter.

Still, at least the quality of the extracts Josephine has chosen are of high quality and this is one of the better anthologies out there. Some anthologies do contain poor quality extracts, and this one does not. The best thing is if you find a cheap copy is to try it yourself.