We Hunted Hounds

Christine Pullein-Thompson (1925-2005) was quite probably the most prolific British pony book author. She has over 100 books to her name, dwarfing the output of her sisters, Diana and Josephine. Her first solo book was We Rode to the Sea, and she followed this by what is probably a unique trilogy, the Chill Valley Hounds series, in which the heroes and heroines set up their own hunt. The likelihood of a story like this being published now is incredibly remote: but these stories were amongst Christine's best, showing an interaction with the adult world that the pony story does not always embrace. Probably her other most noteworthy book is The Horse Sale. Christine was always interested in portraying riders from very different backgrounds, and this is probably one of her most successful. Like her sister, Josephine's, Six Ponies, this book takes a situation and looks at how a very different set of characters react to it. The Horse Sale shows various teenagers and children coping with loved ponies being sold, and in some cases looking at, and changing their own behaviour. It is a satisfying read: without being too overtly fairytale, we see the struggle some of the characters have with themselves and their situations to achieve their dreams.