I never knew these American “Saddle Club” novels growing up, but I’d aged out of any pony books but ones I already knew by the time these started publishing in 1988 (these are 1990s editions). Matthew found them for me in the San Diego Public Library library sale on a work trip, which is why I’ve left the price stickers on (25c each!). Out of the nine print books I acquired in March 2023, I have now read and reviewed six (and two of the others are in Spanish, while one is on my 20 Books of Summer). And yes, I did pick two “quick wins” from my older TBR to make some space on the shelves towards the end of last month. They also form part of my 2024 TBR project which I’m galloping through at the moment, ha ha.
Bonnie Bryant – “Horse Crazy” (The Saddle Club #1)
(6 March 2023, from Matthew)
In the first in a massive series of 101 books (some written by ghostwriters, apparently), we meet Stevie and Carole and their new friend Lisa, who comes to the stables to learn to ride. Stevie gets embroiled in a scheme to make money to go on an overnight trek they’re all keen on and of course needs to learn a thing or two. The usual rivalries and learning points ensue, and we learn a bit about horse care as we go along. I was pleased to read Carole is African American, although really in these two books there’s nothing to distinguish her experience from that of the others; still, I don’t think I’ve seen a Black girl in a British pony book (tell me if I’m wrong!).
Bonnie Bryant – “The Secret of the Stallion” (The Saddle Club Super Edition #2)
(6 March 2023, from Matthew)
The Super Editions are apparently a spin-off series, a bit longer than the originals, and here we get the amusement, found with the Three Investigators series, too, of an American author writing about Europe. The girls, plus nemesis Veronica, posh and self-absorbed, go to the UK to do a pony club exhibition at a three-day event. They have adventures in a very American London and that old school story staple of an Alarming Event happens, with people having to be saved. It’s interesting that class issues play out in US as well as UK horsey circles, with Veronica enthusiastically joining in but making a fool of herself.
Two fun novels, I would pick up more of these if I encountered them but won’t make a huge effort to buy the other 100-odd (also there seem to be a fair number of animal deaths in subsequent books!).
These are Books 33 and 34 in my 2024 TBR project – 107 to go!
Elle
Jun 07, 2024 @ 08:56:30
I never read these, but I did ride a bit as a child and loved a rather sappy YA novel called The First Horse I See, by Sally Keehn, about a motherless girl finding confidence and love through riding. There were some great classic horse books knocking around in my childhood, too: King of the Wind, by Marguerite Henry, a historical about the horse who became the Godolphin Arabian, sire of the whole Thoroughbred breed; and Misty of Chincoteague, same author, about a colt born to the herd of wild horses who live on Chincoteague/Assateague islands off the coast of Virginia.
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 11:57:40
I read mainly British pony books but also loved the Henrys, which I think I had from the library.
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Laura
Jun 07, 2024 @ 12:31:41
So many incredibly long US 90s kids/YA series, of very varying quality! I was never into horses but my sister used to read these.
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 11:58:24
I was horse-mad as a kid – I still love them and go riding about once a decade. So I loved all the British ones but stopped reading them for a bit around when these started. A mammoth series, for sure!
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Laura
Jun 10, 2024 @ 12:09:17
I think I’ve said before, I did like Ruby Ferguson’s Jill books a lot!
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Rebecca Foster
Jun 07, 2024 @ 14:02:26
What a blast from the past! I read this series when I was c. 9 years old. (I also read the Marguerite Henry novels Elle mentions above.) I wasn’t a big horse girl but I did have riding lessons at summer camp a few years in a row.
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 11:59:04
Excellent! I would have loved them if I’d been the right age I’m sure but I was 16 when they came out.
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hopewellslibraryoflife
Jun 07, 2024 @ 15:44:16
My cousin’s daughter still has every one of her Saddle Club books and all the Marguerite Henry books and now her niece is reading them. So fun to read this today!
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 11:59:22
Oh, that is lovely!
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kaggsysbookishramblings
Jun 07, 2024 @ 18:57:03
Perfect for the pony lover, but shame about the animals deaths in some of the books!
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 11:59:51
Yes, it’s very rare in the British books, I can only remember one or two out of all the books I read.
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whatmeread
Jun 07, 2024 @ 22:21:51
Gosh, these would have been right up my alley if published 20 years earlier. I read every horse book I could find, Marguerite Henry, Walter Farley, Anna Sewell, I guess that was it back then.
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 12:00:42
Yes, indeed, ten years for me! I loved Walter Farley’s Black Stallion books although re-read them as an adult and was a bit nonplussed by the one set at the end of the world!!
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whatmeread
Jun 10, 2024 @ 15:00:37
I don’t know if I read that one.
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Michelle Chai
Jun 10, 2024 @ 12:19:36
I feel like I remember these books from my childhood and spotting them in a local garden centre that my parents used to peruse! What a jolt in my memory! Perhaps I’ll have to hunt out some copies if only for the nostalgia…
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Liz Dexter
Jun 10, 2024 @ 14:35:05
Aha – lovely to bring back that memory for you!
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heavenali
Jun 13, 2024 @ 17:59:03
I never read pony books as I think you know, I was never a child who yearned for riding lessons or ponies. I’m impressed by that massive 101 books in a series – that is incredible.
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Liz Dexter
Jun 13, 2024 @ 18:04:46
Written by a whole army of ghostwriters, it appears, like those alliterative animals ones that were popular here in the 2000s!
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