Horse and pony fiction

Horses and ponies have been the subject of popular fiction for generations. One of the earliest and most successful books is the story of Black Beauty. Written in 1877, by an English woman called Anna Sewell, the story is narrated by the horse, Black Beauty, who relates both the fortunes and sad misfortunes of his life at the hands of his human owners. With a strong emphasis on the welfare of animals and people, the book, including the edition here, was recommended by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Anna was born in 1820 and wrote the book in her fifties. Sadly, she passed away just after the book was published. The book is still in print and many argue that Black Beauty infuenced the creation of the animal-based novel in children's literature. Certainly there is a genre that could be called 'horse and pony' fiction that is very popular and although often aimed at the young or adolescent reader, it is loved by adults alike.

The popularity of these types of books have seen the creation of many film and television versions. The American novels The Black Stallion, written in 1949 and My Friend Flicka, written in 1941, and the series of books which followed these, were made into successful movies and adapted for television. KM Peyton's Flambards was made into a television series and in Australia The Silver Brumby series of novels became a movie and an animated cartoon series. Black Beauty itself has also been adapted for films and television while more recently the popular Saddle Club series of books has led a television series.

The topics of these novels span a wide range although quite a few focus on winning shows and competitions. The Silver Brumby books are written from the wild bush horse's point of view. The Jill books, by Ruby Ferguson, while often including a horse show of some sort, are loved for the author's wit and humour and are also well-recognised for an early feminist perspective.

In South Australia, the novels of freelance journalist Helen Barrett, who also writes as Elizabeth Whitbread, are evocative of our long, hot summers and follow with humour the lives of teenagers and their friends, families and horses. Readers, especially South Australian, can enjoy descriptions of the Royal Adelaide Show, holidays at Victor Harbor, and long drives into townships like Burra to do the shopping and collect the mail.

Colin Thiele has also published a novel about a teenager and her horse. Jodie's Journey was written in response to a request from an eleven year old girl with juvenile arthritis. It tells the story of a girl of twelve, who due to her arthritis, can no longer ride her beloved horse. They both face a crisis when the 'Ash Wednesday' bushfire approaches. Thiele has said that along with several of his other books such as Storm Boy and Blue Fin, he held a special affection for Jodie's Journey, and it was in these books that he came closest to 'getting it right'. (Steggall, 2004, p. 328).

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