Desert Island Pony Books: Kate Cuthbert
Kate is the author of the excellent Hatters series, which is set in a school where riding is on the curriculum. The series is full of sparky and believable characters, and if you're looking for a new series to get your teeth into, I can highly recommend this one. The first book is For the Love of Fly, and it's had (deservedly) excellent reviews on Amazon. The second book will be out soon, and there are three more in the pipeline.
National Velvet: Enid
Bagnold
National Velvet had to be on my list. It is such a
triumphant story about chasing your dreams with passion and determination,
about being female and brilliant and about living a life, poor in material
possessions, but rich in love and support. The main protagonist, 14-year-old
Velvet Brown, isn’t a typical sort of heroine. She definitely has some strength
of character, but is quite sickly, skinny and a bit nervy. I love the fact that
even though she isn’t a strong, super-human sort of heroine, she has the pluck
to do something like ride in the Grand National … there is hope for us all! I
also love the fact that, along with her own determination, it is the love and
support from her family and Mi that gets her through.
It really is a gloriously satisfying tale that would make me feel all
warm and fluffy inside, whilst I while away the hours waiting to be rescued. I
know that some people find the prose hard work and dated, but, to be fair to
it, the story was first published in 1935. For me, the reward of reading National Velvet as I sit under a palm
tree on the island would outweigh any struggle that there might be with the
text.
Mystery at Black Pony Inn: Christine Pullein-Thompson
This choice comes from an eminent stable of equestrian authors, namely
the Pullein-Thompson sisters. Between them, Josephine, Diana and Christine
amassed an impressive body of work. The Black Pony Inn series, written by
Christine, saw the hard-up Pemberton family trying to make ends meet by opening
the doors of their home to paying guests; something I bet they sometimes wished
they’d never done as it seemed to bring with it a whole heap of misfortune and
drama. The B&B setting provides the perfect vehicle for the introduction of
new characters throughout the series. Some were desirable, and some less so,
like Commander Cooley in Mystery at Black
Pony Inn. He didn’t turn out to be quite the respectable gentleman that he
at first seemed.
I haven’t read any of the Black Pony Inn stories for years, but I
remember enjoying them immensely as a child. I would happily take any of them
with me to read on the island, but I have chosen Mystery at Black Pony Inn for a very special reason. When I was
about 8 years of age I travelled with a family friend, a young man of about 28-years-old,
from Cambridgeshire to Anglesey, a journey that lasted some 4.5hrs. I had this
story on a cassette tape and he put up with listening to it over and over and
over again. As I remember it, the entire 235-mile journey was accompanied by Mystery at Black Pony Inn. The friend,
sadly, was tragically killed a few years later, but I always felt indebted to
him for letting me listen to this charming story on what could otherwise have
been a very boring journey. Who knows, maybe he did actually enjoy it on the first
listen, but I suspect by the fourth or fifth time around, he was just being
kind. So, in that friend’s memory, and because I would love the time to read it
once more, I would definitely want Mystery
at Black Pony Inn with me on the island.
Slay Ride: Dick Francis
For pure self-indulgent comfort reading, I have to include a Dick
Francis novel on my list. To be honest, I could have picked pretty much any of
them, but after some consideration I have chosen Slay Ride. As a young teenager this was the first book for adults
that I read, and it has everything that I love; horses, mystery and
bone-chillingly cold weather.
Francis’s writing style is unfussy and straightforward. I always feel,
when reading one of his books, that you are getting a gripping and exciting
adventure without having to work too hard for it. Perfect if you just want
sheer entertainment from a story.
The hero narrates all of Francis’s novels. In this particular book the
hero is David Cleveland, a Jockey Club investigator, sent to Norway to
investigate the disappearance of a British jockey, whom we later discover has
been murdered. Cleveland comes across as a very sensible, reliable,
resourceful, determined, straight-thinking sort of a man. Even when his life is
under threat he remains calm, stoic and courageous. These character traits are
often seen in a Francis protagonist, and, as a child, I couldn’t help thinking
that if all adults were a little bit more like one of Dick Francis’s heroes,
then surely the world would be a better place.
I’m
Champion, Call Me Bob – My Story: Bob Champion
Veterinary Notes for Horse Owner: Captain M. Horace Hayes
This one is a bit of a curve-ball and probably not everyone’s idea of
riveting page-turner! The weighty tome, written by artillery officer, Horace
Hayes, was first published in 1877, so it’s been knocking around for a while.
Revised and reprinted over the years, this book has remained an important
source of information for horse owners for well over a century. Covering topics
from anatomy, breeding and behavioural problems to diseases, first-aid and
surgery, I’d say that there is something for everyone … or maybe that’s just
me! The 1987 edition (edited by Peter Rossdale and reprinted in 1994) was
definitely a go-to reference book when I was in sixth form and studying for my
BHSAI exams. Even at university, when peer-review journals took over from books
as the expected source of information, it had its place on my desk. Providing a
comforting voice of authority on the stuff that I really should have already
learned, it also worked well as a coaster and, due to its size, a rather effective paperweight.
My well-thumbed, coffee-ringed copy still sits on my bookshelf today
and, if my stay on the desert island ended up being a long one, I think I could
quite happily fill my time re-reading this great work and remembering the good
old days.
Now for the one
I would pay to leave behind …
Black Beauty: Anna Sewell
I suspect this one will be a controversial choice. I’m guessing Black
Beauty would feature highly on many lists as a must-have horsey book, and
justifiably so. After all, it is a true classic that has sold in its millions
around the world for well over a hundred years. With Black Beauty as the
narrator, the book is convincingly written from a horse’s viewpoint. Sewell’s
message is a forceful one about considering how we treat animals, as well as
our fellow man. Despite being littered with moral lessons, the text manages to
avoid becoming too preachy, partly because the power of the story is so
distracting. The writing is clear and, if you don’t mind tackling a little
Victorian equestrian vocabulary, it is not difficult to understand.
Descriptions of small things, the tones of voices and the stable yard smells
are vivid and evocative. As a child, the
images that she conjured in my mind of the gritty hardship of life on the
streets of Victorian London will stay with me always.
Black Beauty is a story that has stood the test of time and I have nothing but praise for it, so why would I pay not to take it with me? Simple … because it would make me cry, and I’m not really all that keen on crying. There is just one sad, tear-inducing moment after another. I think the cruelty, neglect, illness, injury, farewells etc. etc. (the list goes on) would be too much to deal with whilst also dealing with the emotions of being stranded on a desert island. I think the moment when the chestnut horse is taken away on the cart might just send me over the edge. This scene always caused the biggest blub for me. Beauty believes the dead creature to be his friend, Ginger, although we never actually find this out for certain. The only thing more sad than the thought that Ginger is dead, is the thought that Ginger is alive and still having to endure her miserable, painful life at the hands of humans.
It isn’t all complete
doom and gloom; there are strong positive themes in the story; kindness,
sympathy, understanding, courage and perseverance, for instance. However, even
the happy scenes made me cry, and I cried right to the very end, literally to
the last line, when Black Beauty remembers his old friends under an apple tree
…that is why I would pay not to take it with me.
***
Thank you very much Kate for a wonderfully eclectic selection.
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