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In 1996 I wrote the original edition of Little Australian Pony Girl. Written in an era where ebooks had not been even thought of, Little Australian Pony Girl was designed with many photographs and illustrations. In fact, almost 120 pictures grace the pages of the original, full colour book.
This edition is especially designed, updated and edited for ebook format. Too many illustrations do not complement an ebook so I have selected six photographs from the original book. They were selected with great care: for ease of viewing and to support the text. The ebook edition is also several thousand words greater in content and several chapters longer.
Emily is the third generation of a family whose lives have been bound up in animals, especially horses, in different parts of Australia. With one grandfather a professional horse breaker and race horse trainer, her father a professional jockey at sixteen years old and a mother whose teenage years were spent on horseback, it is not suprising that Emily can never recall a time when she could not ride.
This fascinating tale is told by young Emily and moves through the amazing range of happenings that make up both her life, and the life of her family. Horses and ponies may play the major role in Emily’s life but it is by no means a one sided childhood. Emily is a musical child who plays the flute, taking weekly lessons. Like her mother and grandmother, she sews, knits, and enjoys craft work.
Unfortunately, the light hearted days of pony competitions are now a thing of the past. The changes in insurance have forced the price of competing into a seriously high bracket and have made people very wary of casual generosity. The days when we borrowed a friend’s horse float with a cheerful word of thanks; when I rode in the float to calm troubled ponies while we climbed through the Blue Mountains; when we slept on piles of hay in the stables next to our ponies at a sleeping showground: they are long gone. Today, the word pony, is almost synonymous with the word insurance.
When I completed the first edition in 1996, Emily was a lively nine year old thoroughly enjoying life with her ponies. I had no idea that these ponies were to play a much more vital role in Emily’s life and become her main source of mobility: Emily was fifteen when she developed Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Emily’s illness plays no part in either edition of Little Australian Pony Girl. However, whilst editing and preparing this new edition for ebook publication, I was able to relive and enjoy again those happy, healthy years before illness dominated our lives. It was a wonderful time and I am even more appreciative of it in retrospect.
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Little Australian Pony Girl: 'The ponies on our farm all get new rugs and shoes long before the people get any new clothes!' so said eight year old Emily to her mother. She was quite right, of course. Little Australian Pony Girl is a true story about an Australian childhood, where animals and hard work come first and people take second place.
updated ebook edition 2014, Smashwords
0992419417 9780992419417
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Bubbles came straight from the Brumby herd running in the mountains of the Great Dividing Range west of Mackay in North Queensland. She was 14.1 hands, a very dark brown almost black mare with a sparkling white full blaze. The mare, Bubbles was given to the children of one of the cattle stations, and she and my Dad got along and were paired off together.
Bubbles and Dad began with the typical cattle station duties - lots of cattle mustering and learning to work as part of a group with the round-ups. As light relief, Bubbles was Dad's mount for the never ending games of Cowboys and Indians played by the children on the cattle stations. Dad always reckons that riding a Brumby bareback at the gallop and waving an old rifle at the opposition sure taught him to stay put on most horses most of the time. I guess it is not really surprising he hardly ever falls out of a mere saddle!
Bubbles and Dad became part of Blue Mountain Pony Club and spent the first two years struggling a bit, according to Dad. Bubbles seemed to find Pony Club a little different to what she was used to! With a lot of hard work and practice, Bubbles decided that she liked jumping, bending, flag and barrel racing. She became virtually unbeatable in competition and won a huge amount of ribbons and prizes across North West Queensland.
Nugget the black sheep is a very special member of our family. Mum bottle fed Nugget from four days old: the tiny lamb lived in the kitchen and slept in a box of straw, next to the warmth of the stove. She is now a full grown sheep and Candy’s dearest friend: they often share a fold of hay together. Because Mum reared Nugget, our sheep still thinks that Mum is her real mother: she follows her around everywhere.
I cannot recall the first horse shows I went to but I have been told about them. At six months old I attended a State title show to watch Dad compete with our palomino filly. There is a photograph taken two months later at Blacktown annual show: it shows me in my pram, with ribbons fluttering from the handle, my eyes fixed on Dad and our beautiful palomino filly.
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Feedback?May 31, 2016 | Edited by Ingrid M. Smith | added link |
May 31, 2016 | Edited by Ingrid M. Smith | added link |
May 31, 2016 | Edited by Ingrid M. Smith | add an excerpt |
May 31, 2016 | Edited by Ingrid M. Smith | Added new cover |
May 31, 2016 | Created by Ingrid M. Smith | Added new book. |