Ride a Wild Pony

by James Aldridge

At the center of this human drama stand two children: a thirteen-year-old boy, wild, poor, and very stubborn, and his antagonist, the proud, crippled daughter of a wealthy rancher. They have only one thing in a horse, a wild Welsh pony both claim for their own, but only one can possess. With growing fascination, the townspeople watch the fierce struggle between the two erupt—and spread—until even the town itself is involved. Neighbors begin to take sides against neighbors; tempers flare; the whole rural community is about to come to a standstill—until someone thinks to offer a solution, a sort of sporting proposition…

Genres: Fiction, Australia, Horses, Childrens, Animals

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

From Wikipedia: Harold Edward James Aldridge is a multi-award winning Australian author and journalist whose World War II despatches were published worldwide and formed the basis of several of his novels, including the prize-winning The Sea Eagle about Australian troops in Crete.

Aldridge was born in White Hills, a suburb of Bendigo, Victoria. By the mid 1920s the Aldridge family had moved to Swan Hill, and many of his Australian stories are based on his life growing up there. Aldridge moved to London in 1938; he currently lives in Battersea, South West London.

The stories that are based on the real living conditions of his hometown of Swan Hill include his 1995 Children's Book Council of Australia book of the year "The True Story of Lilli Stubeck", one of his St Helen series of children's books. He lived in Cairo for many years, writing several books about the Middle East, including "Cairo - Biography of a City" and the novels "The Diplomat" and "Heroes of the Empty View". His 1973 children's novel "A Sporting Proposition" was adapted for the 1975 Disney film "Ride a Wild Pony".

Reviews

[Lucia Galluzzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was just a good book.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read books about horses both wild and domesticated by the time I found this one, so I did feel that it lay somewhat flat. Ride A Wild Pony was originally published as A Sporting Proposition.

Set in Australia, we meet a boy who is not well off but trains a wild dun pony to be ridden. He later loses it and a similar-looking pony is caught by a wealthy family in the scattered community. They don't try to break it for riding but train it to harness, to pull a little trap for the daughter of the family. If I recall rightly she could not walk. Each child has of course given the pony a different name but he is not branded.

So the scene is set for a clash between rich and poor when both children claim the pony is theirs.

I found that for a child, there were too many non-interesting interactions between people and not enough pony, and the pony himself was presented as a bicycle rather than as a wild spirited brumby. An adult might have a different view on the social aspects of the story.

[Tanya Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with other reviews who note that yes, the book is about the people and setting, and not the pony. The pony is the catalyst to the rest of the book which, by the way, is a gorgeous piece of Australiana. Ride a Wild Pony presents a setting in a similar tone to The Man From Snowy River, and evokes the same sense of class division. Notably, though, this is near entirely a picture of early 1900s white Australia - it would have been excellent to see some translation of themes of belonging between white Australians and First Nations Australian people in here, too. That said, as horrible and tumultuous as Australia's modern histories have been, I doubt this idea would have been well received at the time.

[Kathy GWRH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this-one of my favourite books as a kid- read this and My Friend Flicka over and over when I was young.
Lovely story

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book back in 1977 during my first year at secondary school. I picked this copy up when I was ferreting about in a second hand bookshop in the town of Bendigo. I didn’t recognize the story as this edition had a different title to that which I had read at school. At school the title of the nook I read was To Ride A Wild Pony.

Somehow though on reading the synopsis on the inside of the books dust jacket it felt very familiar, warmly familiar. So I bought it and on returning home and researching the title I discovered that the book I read at school was a tie-in with the Disney film Ride a Wild Pony made in 1976 based upon the book I had just purchased with the title A Sporting Proposition. I had purchased the first edition from 1973 which was a few years previous to the film release.

I have to say it was a pleasure to reread this book. An innocent tussle over a horse set in an Australia that even when being written had largely disappeared. The Australian identity of Country life rich with hardships, divisions of wealth and peppered with larrikin type characters. Histories of the harsh back breaking land taking its toll upon the lives of poor workers and giving spoons to the rich.

It is a story which both divides and unifies, and also a story about law and justice, including natural justice. The court scenes even felt slightly reminiscent of Atticus lawyering in Catcher in the Rye. A polarized country town already making up there minds before any evidence has come to court.

I was also surprised by how touched I was by the characters of the two young protagonists. There was some heartwarming sentiment amongst all the conflict.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story for older children about law, justice, class struggles, and maturity centered around a mischievous little pony.

It really bothered me though, how Aldridge went through such pains to point out that Bo was never saddle broke, and yet, when Scotty rides into town on the pony, nobody comments on that. Seems to me, the fact that this pony is broke to ride would have been a great argument in court in favor of it being his pony, not Josie's. But then the main event would never have occurred.

Maybe I'm over thinking it, but I read this book as a kid and remembered not liking it too much. This could be the reason.

[milea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Беше ми приятно, докато чета. В детските книжки, сякаш животът и реализмът са в едно друго измерение. Тук се разказва за класовите различия, присъстват бедността, болестите, болката, но същевременно справедливостта възтържествува, човечността, добротата. Не беше типично детско четиво - понито е в самият център на сюжета, но по-скоро като изразител на идея, отколкото като главен герой. На мен ми подейства носталгично и умилително книжката :)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about a pony in the Australian outback and the love for the pony that divides the town. Set in a small Australian town, the battle is between two children, Scott, a poor farm boy, and Josie, the handicapped daughter of a wealthy ranch owner, for ownership of a horse that both children love.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I once had an old paperback version called "A Sporting Proposition' (this book's original title.) This is yet another case of the book being much better than the movie. The pony at the center of the tussle is an interesting character, but most of the attention is focused on the two equally interesting camps vying for him. Interesting introduction to Australian slang.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently, a horse story and ac ourtroom drama. A pony disappears in the Australian outback, and when a similar pony appears in town, the two owners spar over the animal's identity. In the end, the pony is allowed to choose his owner.

[Bryn]

Not really a review -- I could not get very far, it is just not my sort of book, all wild ponies and looking into the life of a small Australian town. There is nothing wrong with it, the prose is solid, but I am just not interested when there are so very many books in the world.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite childhood books. I am going out looking for it and will reread it and pass it on to my children.

[Beatriz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgettably poignant!

[Pat Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great horse (pony) story

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story for youths.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Sporting Proposition, James Aldridge, RDC-M, V 5 1975, 6/78. Fiction