And then, you grow up...

As a kid I read HEAPS of horse books (actually I still do!) - ANYTHING I could lay my hands on that was vaguely horse-related, I devoured. Since my Mum was a sole parent until i was 14, I couldn't afford to have lessons or join pony club, so i relied on books to teach me to ride.

Undoubtedly, my favourite horse books of all time were the Jinny series, which were written by Patricia Leitch and set in Scotland in the 70's. I still have all 12 books in the series, and I still pick one up every so often and read them.



I also loved:

The Saddle Club - Bonnie Bryant
The Taronga Road Riders - Toy Martin
Anthing by the Pullein-Thompson sisters (Christine, Josephine, Diana)
The "Jill" series.
The "Blue Ribbon" series.

These books offered a young horse-mad girl like me such optimism: Girls can do anything; good things happen to good people; one little girl can save the world; there's always a happy ending....



AND THEN, YOU GROW UP.

And life begins to suck.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this list is dedicated to all the ways the Saddle Club let me down...

1) It rains. And it gets muddy, and cold, and horses get dirty.
2) Horses hurt you. They bite, they kick, and they throw you off and break your bones.
3) Horses cost money. LOTS of money.
4) As a result of the former point, to afford to own a horse, you need to work. ALOT. And therefore, you never have time to ride your horse.
5) Your friends won't always be there.
6) Sometimes, you're tired, and you don't want to ride, but you have to anyway. Usually alone.
7) There are virtually NO male riders. The ones who do, are gay.
8) There is NO WHERE to keep your horse in the real world, that resembles anything like Pine Hollow Stables.
9) The good guys don't always win. Sometimes, you do work as hard as you can, and you still dont succeed.
10) Even if you REALLY REALLY WANT TO: You will never be a famous rider.

...sorry for that flood of disillusionment. But kids: Real life and owning a horse is NOTHING like the Saddle Club.