Colin Thiele (1920-2006) was bilingual, living in a German farming community in Australia.  He went to the University of Adelaide, and after graduating, served as a radar mechanic with the RAAF in Northern Australia during the Second World War.  He began teaching in Port Lincoln in 1946, and he combined his teaching with his prolific writing.  He wrote and edited over 100 books, most of which are set in South Australia.  

Colin Thiele was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in the 1950s, and his experience with this informs Jodie’s Journey.  Jodie is a successful rider, until she is suddenly stricken down with mystery pains in her joints.  Her struggle to even get a diagnosis, let alone live with the condition, is not an easy read, but it undoubtedly has the ring of truth.  There are no easy answers or miraculous cures for Jodie, as I suspect there weren’t for Colin Thiele.  The book is an excellent read.  It stays with you. It was one of the books of which Thiele was most fond, saying it was one in which he came closest to getting it right.  As far as I know, it is the only one of his books which involves horses.  I may very well have got this wrong - please let me know if so.

Colin Thiele was also well known as an environmentalist, and wrote several books about endangered Australian locations.  In 1977 he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia for his services to literature and education.  

Sources and links:
Austlit
A website celebrating Colin Thiele’s books
Wikipedia entry on Colin Thiele
 

Colin Thiele

Jodie’s Journey
Walter McVitty, Glebe, 1988
Harper & Rowe, New York, 1990