The Swallow Tales

High Horse #1

by K.M. Peyton

Rowan is desperate for a horse of her own - so when her father narrowly misses colliding with a dark, beautiful stray, she feels he was always supposed to be hers.Exciting, passionate and adventurous, these stories from bestselling author K M Peyton are the perfect read for any girl who loves horses.

Genres: Horses, Fiction, Audiobook

592 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 1996

About the author

Kathleen Wendy Herald Peyton MBE, who wrote primarily as K. M. Peyton, was a British author of fiction for children and young adults

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another brilliant book by K.M. Peyton. She has this real gift for writing horsey books that are exciting and interesting while still feeling real. Her characters are always well developed and complex and I grow to love them very quickly. Also the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter, done by the author are lovely. I'll have to track down the other two now! ☺

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like I got to know the characters well even though it was quite a short book. I really enjoyed the setting of the story: being around lots of horses and with people always in and out of the stables and things happening.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up as I’ve been re-reading some of my childhood favourite pony books. I had the third book of the trilogy Swallow, the Star, and only recently realised that it was actually a collection of three. This meant I had both the joy of reading two new stories and also revisiting a tale that I have read many times over the years. I absolutely adored reading the bind-up, both the experience of reading and the stories themselves were wonderful. I love Rowan, she is such a determined young girl and reminds me a lot of myself when I first got my own pony at eleven – the hours of dedicated time in the school with my pony and my mum are fond memories – although I was lucky enough not to have such a difficult pony as Swallow! The stories themselves are well thought-out and move along well, and reading them now, twenty-five years since the first published is a really interesting experience as you realise how different they would be if they were set in the present (the seventeen-year-old Charlie would not be driving the horse box for instance!). I absolutely loved being re-immersed in this world (and discovering new aspects to it) and reading these three tales has undoubtedly been a highlight of my reading year.

[Falynn - the TyGrammarSaurus Rex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series. It's a comfort read that I keep coming back too - especially when my own horse riding life isn't going quite to plan.

Rowan has moved from the city to the country & has fallen in love with the horsey life - inspired by the Hawes family up the road. Unfortunately, the pony she has her eye on is a wild one.

[Yellowoasis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this tender, warm-hearted story of a girl longing for a pony (didn’t we all?). I enjoyed how the author crafted a story without easy answers and where the young characters have to work for what they want. It’s a good message.

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Swallow Tales is a fantastic read, I adore who Rowan rescues Swallow when her father accidentally crashes into the pony at the start, and then strides off to pastures new. Rowan then strides to work at High Hawes and rescues more horses and ponies, and helps with riding lessons, teaching horses how to cope with children and adults riding on their backs after redemption.

This book continues with three consecutive stories about Rowan's bid for Swallow and other horses in need of her care.

[Debbie Tink · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so brilliant. I loved the tale the first chapter isn't great but if you continue it becomes brilliant.

[Jill Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and read it in between others because it was easy to pick up the thread of the stories.

Having read Fly-by-night by the same author I knew the author would envelop me in the world of horses and pony clubs. This was a gift for my granddaughter for Christmas but I decided to just give her Fly-by-night. This book follows a very similar story line. I enjoyed it because I learnt something of the equestrian world, K M Payton puts you on the back of the animals and in the midst of family crisis, dominating personalities and learning to change lifestyles.

Rowan is a tense and sensitive girl who is immersed in a new world in the country where she becomes enchanted with horses. In particular she is drawn to Swallow, the pony she named, after her father nearly ran him over. Her father and mother have bought a large fashionable home which is a bike ride away from the Hawes property, a warm family home with many children who all seem to be expert riders. They have many horses and offer to teach her to ride.

Rowan wants to ride Swallow, she wants to learn to ride on him. She dreams of doing competitions on him and winning ribbons. The only problem is she can’t ride, he keeps bucking her off. He is a strong willed horse with thoroughbred veins making him unsuitable for twelve year old girls, no matter how much she tries. This is a hard lesson to learn. Will she ever have the horse of her dream? She shows extreme determination and perseverance in her journey to become a competent competition rider, while fearing she would never own her beloved and suitable mount. Her plan to win over the owner to grant her the perfect horse is hatched. The final story is a satisfying outcome.

[Claire (Cem) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read the Swallow trilogy when I was 11 or 12 I think. And they were brought back to my attention recently when they were rereleased as a complete omnibus. I couldn't help the desire to reread them and having just finished this, book one, I'm really glad I sought out the old copies of them.

The Swallow Tale is the story of 11-year-old Rowan, and her new friends the Hawes family, with runaway pony Swallow. Rowan was a city girl, but when her family moved out to the country, she fell in love with the open spaces and the horses up the road at High Hawes. When a collision one night introduces her to beautiful, willful, Welsh pony Swallow things take a more serious turn for Rowan as she's determined to have her very own pony. But only Swallow will do.

Beautifully written, The Swallow Tale is fantastic for pony mad children, and older readers alike. It's sweet, heartfelt and I can easily see my younger self in pony-mad Rowan! I'm now 24, still horse crazy (though sadly still without my own pony) and loved reading this story again! Looking forward to rereading the other two books next!

[CLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Rowan's family moves to the country, she does not expect to make "horsy" friends and become obsessed with a homeless pony. Her new friends are not the designer dressed types her parents would approve of but the cozy local families who are dedicated to their horses. Rowan yearns to learn how to ride but her first lesson ends in concussion! Can she persevere and catch up with the effortless skill of her friends Charlie and Babar?

I am giving this to my niece Victoria as an unbirthday present, although I don't know if she likes "horse books." It is not up to the standard of Flambards (what is?) but Peyton is incapable of writing a bad book.

[Yellowoasis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love these stories. I wish I'd read them when I was a pony-mad 12 year old, I might have realised what hard work it is looking after and riding horses! Peyton doesn't sugar coat the experience, and her young characters all work hard for their achievements in the show ring and in life.

[Rachel Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was a good book. i liked how each book in it wasn't too long or drag on. i really like horses so i enjoyed these three books