Pony Jobs for Jill/Challenges

Jane Badger Books

Pony Jobs for Jill (Challenges for Jill)

Synopsis

The different versions

Original Hodder & Stoughton printing
Illustrated by Caney 1960

Armada 1960s
Cover by Peter Archer

Knight 1970s
Cover W H Underwood,

Knight 1980s
Cover uncredited

This book was re-titled by Knight in their 1990s version. Why I am not quite sure: maybe they felt the new title was more exciting.

Armada 1968
Cover uncredited

Hampton Library cheap edn
Illustrated by Caney

Jill and Ann are 16 and have just left school, and they have 6 months to fill in before they start training for a career. Ann has just found a job advertised for 2 girls knowledgeable with horses: they apply and get the job. When they reach Little Chimneys Farm, they find they are to break in 9 New Forest Ponies and start a riding school with them. Captain Sound, the owner, is blithely unaware of the pitfalls to his plan: his wife is equally unaware of how to cook, and their supper is flavoured with the Jane Austen she dropped in it. Jill and Ann eventually manage to break some of the ponies, but Captain Sound leaves the gate open and all the ponies escape back to the New Forest, where they stay. Jill and Ann’s next job is to organise a treasure hunt and musical ride for a bazaar run by Mrs York, who turns out to be Cecilia’s godmother. The musical ride is a success, with unexpectedly useful help from Cecilia, and the girls return home. Their last job is to teach a Miss Day’s nieces to ride. Norrie and Dorrie are utterly, and completely, hopeless. Jill and Ann, about to give up, spot a poster advertising an exhibition of riding by the famous Cannon twins, Noreen and Doreen Canon. They are, of course, Norrie and Dorrie. They do not want to confess to their aunt in case they upset her, and so she announces to all and sundry that the twins were taught to ride by Jill and Ann. Captain Cholly-Sawcutt is there at the exhibition, and tells Jill and Ann it is time to get themselves trained for a proper profession: they both decide to do secretarial courses with languages.

Knight 1990s