Pony Magazine Annual 1972
Publisher:  Max Parrish & Co Ltd, London

Editor:  Lieut-Col C E G Hope

Date of publication: 1971

This is the last Annual Lieut-Col C E G Hope e dited before he died.  The Album had a new title style, but
otherwise the mixture was as before.

Short Stories:

Jacqueline Dana Armstrong - The Pageant, illus Harold Beards. The Pony Club put on a pageant.

Carol Vaughan - King Cole, illus Christine Bousfield. A Shire horse takes part in a sea rescue.

Elisabeth Eastwood - The Challenge, illus Janet Johnstone. Sylph’s foal is born blind

Pony Magazine Annual 1973

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1972

This was the first Annual edited by Michael Williams after Lieut-Col C E G Hope’s death.  The mixture was
kept much as before, but the Equestrian Who’s Who went.  At the time I found this incredibly tedious so
wasn’t sad, but it is a goldmine to me now so it just goes to show one should keep an open mind!  This
Annual is also notable for a long article on Julip horses, and for the number of stories written by readers:
four out of five.

Short Stories:
Elizabeth Rigbey (aged 14)- Mystery, illus Lesley Bruce.  Where has the mysterious mare come from?

Louise Scott (aged 13) - To Buy A Pony, illus Sally Webb.  The ups and downs of buying a pony.

Freda Warrington (aged 15) - The Golden Fleece, illus Janet & Anne Graham Johnstone.  Will the
Golden Mare bring Sandra luck?
Ann M Stephenson (aged 16) - Coppersmith's Chance, illus Harold Beards. Jilly-Anne rides despite her blindness.

Carol Vaughan - Elegant Eddy, illus Christine Bousfield.  The girls get a surprise - a donkey.

Pony Magazine Annual 1974

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1973

This Annual saw the first contribution from Caroline Akrill:  an article on a sopping wet Hunt Club Show.

Short Stories:

Lilian Jary - Candy's Refusal , illus Lesley Bruce.  Candy the pony sees a ghost.

Michael Hannon - Autumn Fire, illus Bobby Cubb.  It’s the driest season Night Jar Forest has ever known.

Jacqueline Dana Armstrong - Pony Club Challenge, illus Ellen Gilbert.  A duff part of the Pony Club gets
help.

Carolyn Gilbert - The Legend of Bucephalus, illus J & A Graham Johnstone. The story of Alexander’s horse.

Mona Jackson- Through the Hoop, illus Sybil Henley.  A circus story.

Shirley A. Bennet - Sultan of the Camargue, illus Merlyn Reid. Michel wants Sultan to remain free.

Delphine I Ratcliff - The Birthday Ride, illus Elizabeth Shallcross. An old man has plenty to teach the
riding school.

Rosalind Norgate - The Christmas Meet, illus Sally Bell. A hunt told from the fox’s point of view.

The Annuals 1972 -

Pony Magazine Annual 1975
Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1974

Pat and Pickles, the cartoon strip, bit the dust in this Album, but were replaced by Janet Slade’s cartoons.  
This edition has a Showing story from Caroline Akrill, as well as a Josephine Pullein-Thompson tale.

Short Stories:

Nina Ananins - The Great Leap, Nina Ananins.  Peter wants to ride like the other Cossacks.

Bess Leese - Home Run, illus Nicola Beckett.  Penny finds she’s braver than she thought.

Anne English - Rainy Day Bargain, illus Heidi Best.  The girls want to buy a Welsh pony from the sales.

Josephine Pullein-Thompson - Bound to Fail, illus Christine Bousfield.  Will Pippa fail C test yet again?

Elizabeth Hawthorne - Wild Cherry.  Illus Ellen Gilbert.  Wild Cherry is too expensive...

Mary Holmes - The Prince and the Donkey, illus Janet Johnstone. The Prince is too scared to ride until
he meets a donkey.

Sally Dudley - What Was A Horse? Illus, Nicola Palin.  Set in the future, when horses are extinct.

Caroline Akrill - The Lamentable Leading Rein, illus Elaine Roberts.  The family get a leading rein pony, but there is nobody to ride it.

Pony Magazine Annual 1976

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1975

This Annual saw the most short-lived title style:  this quintessentiallly 1970s font lasted just one year.
The physical size of the Annual increased, to include more stories, illustrations and photographs. There
were 10 in this edition, including a Caroline Akrill Showing story.  A younger reader contributed:
Pauline Harrison was 13.

Short stories:

Michael Hannon - A Way Out, illus Nina Ananins.  Mal Pringle’s gelding needs resuing.

Tom McAndrew - The Princess and the Pony, illus Nicola Beckett.  Princess Sheila is pretty useless..

Pauline Harrison -  The Fox, illus Sally Bell.  A fox’s experience during a hunt.

Brian Giles - Danger in the Rain, illus Heidi Best. Rachel gets her first pony.

Pauline Rendall - All Because of Honey, illus Jacky Edwards. Can Mark get over his fear?

John Offord - Galloway Bless, illus Julia Harris.  A story about the Battle of Bannockburn

Melanie Peterson  - A Gypsy Tour of Connemara, illus Sue O'Brian. A holiday in Connemara.

Jackie Banks: The Case of the Straw Hat... As told by Dallas the Donkey, illus Nicola Palin.  A donkey defends himself in the equine court.

Caroline Akrill - An International Incident, illus Elaine Roberts.  Mr Duffy finally has a good pony, and the family enter it in the Pairs.
Ruby Wilkinson - A Consolation Prize, illus Ruby Wilkinson. A Percheron foal experiences a show.

Pony Magazine Annual 1977

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1976

The title style changed yet again, though this font continued into the 1980s.

Short Stories:

Jane Ettridge - Jan and the Gypsies, illus the author.  Jan is kidnapped after spotting a stolen pony.

Caroline Akrill -The Difference, illus Elaine Roberts.  Lesley goes to visit Annie in France.

Gillian Harland - Lucky Star, illus Ellen Gilbert.  A Hallowe’en storm brings problems.

Barbara Cooper - Not Worth a Nickel, illus Nicola Palin.  Can Jane save Nickel, the rogue mare?

Robin Tuke - A Bid for Freedom, illus Sally Bell.  A prisoner on Dartmoor adventure.

Sue O'Brian - The Birthday Present.    Laura gets a rocking horse.

B J Kapadi - The Challenge, illus Julia Harris.  A new officer learns to treat his NCO better.

Pony Magazine Annual 1978
Publisher:  Purnell & Sons, London

Editor:  Michael Willams

Date of publication: 1977

One of the stories in this album, The Black Mustangs, was by 12 year old Stephen North.  
Janet Rising, future Pony editor and author, has an article in this magazine about here quest for a donkey.

Short Stories:

Rita Pogson - The Fantasy, illus Nicola Beckett.  Mr Shaw’s socks keep disappearing.

Stephen North - The Black Mustangs.  Illus Jane Ettridge.  Are the Black Mustang gang fair or foul?

Marueen Francis - The Reluctant Bridesmaid, illus Ellen Gilbert.  Sarah has to be a bridesmaid instead of
go to the Four Counties Show.

June M. Groves - Vision , illus Nichola Palin.  Is the Arab pony a vision or reality?

Cynthia Castellan - Happiness in the Hills, illus Nicholas Pratt.  Sue has had enough of her competitive
horsy family.

Caroline Akrill - The Churl Who Loved Horses, illus Elaine Roberts - an historical fantasy.

Pony Magazine Annual 1979

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons, London

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1978

The Caroline Akrill contribution here is a Showing story - The Celebration.  

Short Stories:

Caroline Akrill - The Celebration, Elaine Roberts.  The refreshment lady at the show suffers...

Michael Hannon - The Turning Point, illus Christine Bousfield.  Tony’s precious Wildfire disappears.

Bess Leese - A Bottle from Baghdad, illus Jane Ettridge.  Kate and Toby get a genii as a course builder.

Irene Jackson - Miss Prendergast's Aids, illus Sally Bell.  Miss Prendergast is a challenging pupil.

Stanley Tolson -  The Silver Horse of Sandford, illus Julia Harris.  A brumby story set in Australia.

Sarah Gellner - Sarah Across the Showground, illus Ellen Gilbert.  A show pony and a “normal” pony
find out just how different their lives are.

Pony Magazine Annual 1980

Publisher:  Purnell & Sons Ltd

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1979

This edition showed the results of the 1979 Painting and Drawing Competition - Design a Horsy

Headscarf.  Caroline Akrill contribued an article - “You Never Stop Learning”, and there were six short
stories.

Short Stories:

Rowena Howard - The Golden Palomino, illus Jane Ettridge. Set on an Indian reservation.

Karen Bush - The Great Rosette Robbery, illus Sally Bell.  The Ward family lose their rosette haul.

Theresa May -  Saladin's Cave , illus Ellen Gilbert.  Sonnet and her owner travel back in time.

Yvonne Saar - Happy Appy, illus Julia Harris.  The adventures of an Appaloosa.

Derek Taylor - Royal White Surrey, illus Janet Johnstone.  The story of a battle horse.

Brian Lee - The Pony Who Saw the Sun, illus Sue O'Brian.  A pit pony is retired.

B Fenton - Second Best, illus Elaine Roberts.  Cas gets a donkey.

Pony Magazine Annual 1981
Publisher:  Purnell

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1980

This annual was the first to be issued with laminated boards and no dustjacket.  One of the most
noticeable things about this annual is the use of a new illustrator:  Leslie Branton.  His (or her)
illustrations are straight from girls’ magazines of the time:  huge eyed and long lashed every one.

Short Stories:

Patricia Gardiner: Trotty & Milly’s Long Journey, illus Lynn Breeze.  A story for the younger reader.
Caroline Akrill:  Our Daisy’s Flag Day, illus Leslie Branton.: Thumper the milkman’s horse is going to be
redundant.

Jean Arnold: The Gymkhana, illus Lynn Breeze. A description of a gymkhana.

Karen Hope: The Smashing Little Rider, illus Leslie Branton. Miranda Lawson is a “smashing little rider...”
Sheila Hosken: Can Horses Talk? Illus Lynn Breeze.  A horse is interviewed.

Linda Knott: Memoirs of a Dartmoor Pony, illus Lynn Breeze.  A pony tells his story.

Noelle Jamieson: The Finer Points of Hunting, illus Lynn Breeze. A fox tells his tale.

Pony Magazine Annual 1982

Publisher:  Purnell

Editor:  Michael Williams

Date of publication: 1981

This annual appeared with laminated boards.  The mixture was otherwise as before, with the Drawing and
Painting Competition, historical and instructional articles, and of course short stories.  There’s an article
by Caroline Akrill on western riding, polo and endurance.

Short Stories:

Caroline Stickland - The Homecoming, illus Lynn Breeze.   A gaucho tames a mare.

Beverley Oyitch - Misha and Tricks, illus Lynn Breeze.  Misha finds an unexpected pony.

Veronica Riches - Mud and Understanding, illus Gordon King. John finds he can’t pigeonhole people.

Bernard Shough - The Musical Donkey, illus Lynn Breeze. The story of an Irish donkey.

Heather Gorst - Charlie and the Smuggling Man. Illus Gordon King. Charlie the horse has an adventure
with a smuggler.

Eileen Mary Chadwick: Wee Hamish the Shetland, illus Gordon King.  Hamish is desperate to take part in treks.

Pony Magazine Annual 1983
Publisher:  

Editor:  

Date of publication: 1982