Jill's Gymkhana (The Jill Books by Ruby Ferguson Book 1)

Product Information

It even sells itself by talking about how Jill is a total beginner who makes loads of mistakes with her pony, so I should be able to pick it all up as I go, right? Written in the 1950s, and set in post-war England during the 1940s, but not nearly as dated as you might think. And they keep it in their back garden which it later turns out includes not only an orchard, but a hay field (! In the first book in the series, Jill's Gymkhana, Jill's father has recently died, and she moves with her mother to a small Pool Cottage near the fictional village of Chatton. Then we went to have a look at the ponies and make a fuss of them for doing so well, and we found them resting quietly in the shade of the trees and making soft little nickering noises of pleasure when they heard us speaking to them, and saw the handfuls of oats we held out to them.

People often ask me if their Jill book is abridged: unless you have one of the hardbacks then yes, it probably is.He started out as a journalist, studying at the Edinburgh College of Commerce, and winning the Fraser Award aged just 21 for his writing. I find myself not wanting to watch or read anything American and/or overly relevant right now, is all I can say.

I've been a hands-on horse person most of my life and I'm pretty selective about the books and movies I deem worthy of my time. Knight used Bonar Dunlop’s illustrations for their versions, and cut the number from the original 27 that Caney provided to 13. Not only does Jill get her pony, but she learns to take care of it -- AND become a decent rider, too.I really love Jill, she's such a well written, real character and I admire her competance and general self confidence. As recently as 1949, the Crewes' cottage has no electricity and gas only downstairs (it does at least have a bathroom though), and Jill receives exactly one Christmas present from her mother a fountain pen. Her writing career began in earnest when she submitted some detective stories for a weekly competition in the Manchester Evening News.