Portfolio, Stormy, White Stallion

Stormy, Misty’s Foal

Rand McNally, Chicago, 1963, illus Wesley Dennis

Usually, life is good on the island of Chincoteague, but when a hurricane struck in the 60's, both Chincoteague and Assateague, the island with the wild pony herds, were devastated. The people of Chincoteague had to leave the island to survive. Of course, the Beebes' ponies could not all be brought to safety so Grandpa Beebe brought them into the barn on top of their hay pile and put Misty, now in foal, inside their house and hoped for the best. The Beebe ponies survived and Misty foaled safely but many of the Assateague herd perished in the storm (because of the way the island was fenced to keep wildlife in certain areas, but that' is not mentioned in the book) unable to get to high enough ground to survive the flooding of the island. When news of the ponies' death reached horse lovers across the country, the Misty Disaster Fund was created and Misty and her new foal went on tour, especially where the completed MISTY movie was being shown, performing to raise money to re-establish the depleted Assateague herds. A "Name the Foal" contest was held which resulted in Misty's new baby being named Stormy in memory of the hurricane. The cover illustration is a head study of Misty and her foal, Stormy, and the rear cover shows Misty and a rearing Stormy at home in the meadow on the Beebe farm.

(Info from Fran Fignar)

White Stallion of Lipizza

Rand McNally, Chicago, 1964, illus Wesley Dennis

This is the story of the Spanish Riding School's famous courbetteur, Maestoso Borina, who teaches a young rider, Hans, from a beginning rider to performing beireter. Borina is a real horse but Hans was developed from numerous young riders who have been under the tutelage of Alois Podhajsky. The book is in a slightly oversized format with an illustration of Borina doing a courbette on the cover and various airs-above-the-ground on the rear cover.

Info from Fran Fignar