Jill's Pony Trek

Jill's Ponies #9

by Ruby Ferguson, Eeva Heikkinen (Translator)

"Really, Jill I never knew anybody like you for falling on your feet. When other people would be landed in an absolute mess, you find yourself a house and plenty to eat."Jill and her friends are going on a pony trek. Of course, nothing goes absolutely to plan, especially when Jill and Ann manage to forget where they're supposed to be meeting up with the rest of the trek. Rather than have to spend the night shivering in a ditch, they manage to come to the rescue of someone who's fallen down the stairs, and stay in their house. This is not their only adventure, and this last Jill story sees Jill back where she belongs, surrounded by ponies and the people who love them.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Horses, Juvenile

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Ruby Constance Annie Ashby Ferguson
aka
Ruby Ferguson and R.C. Ashby

Reviews

[Enikő · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a couple of hours and was thoroughly entertained the whole time. Jill has a super voice as she recounts her pony trek. She also has a flair for descriptions that can make me laugh, like when she says something is so old it must come from the ark, or in this description of Mrs. Gilpin: "I thought she looked terrific. Although quite ancient - she could have been even fifty - her clothes were smashing. (...) and was obviously still able to enjoy herself in spite of her burden of years." I did permit myself a chuckle at the thoughts of this teenage narrator!

Unlike the last two books I read, I actually remember reading this one as a young girl. I especially remember three-year-old Babs naming the new filly Teddy and how everyone was trying to get her to change her mind because it was a boy name. (No one seemed bothered by the fact that it was a name for a different species!) The other part I remembered was how Jill wanted to be up early the day of the pony trek, so she had about three alarm clocks set, but she woke up way before any of them rang and went out to tend to her pony, while the three alarm clocks went off one after the other in the house, so no one else could sleep either. lol

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am feeling a bit weepy at letting it go, but the idea was to read it one more time before passing it on, as I am trying to create a little more space in our cluttered apartment and, sadly, my daughter doesn't like these kinds of books. I want to let it out into the world so someone else can enjoy it as much as I have.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final Jill book, told by a 17 year old Jill who is now done with school and presumably doing some kind of outside training, looks back at the time she went pony trekking when she was 14.

This book is a delight, Jill, Ann and a motley crew of other girls and their leader Mrs Folds head off for 5 days of pony trekking around the countryside. There is adventuring and plenty of cosy descriptions of food and sleeping in hay lofts.

There is a definite bitter sweet feeling for me with this book, the end of the the Jill era! A nice one to end it on tho and you can almost forget the silliness of the last book in regards to Jill's career.
In my world, Jill got to keep working with horses and that's how I'm going to keep it!

[A.E. Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite store of children's books ever, I think. I grew up reading these so often I knew them off by heart, and, oddly, can still quite long passages. It was a delight to come back to this and find that, not only were these books still good, but that they have really stood up to time. Jill is a marvellous, amusing, inspirational character, and I can't wait to reread the others as soon as I possibly can. Wonderful.

[Prudence and the Crow · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not the best Jill book, for, indeed, Jill is not at her best (often oddly curt and unpleasant), considering the wonderful opportunity extended to her in this. There's a bit of a "quickly knocked out" feel to this, although in fairness, I would say the first few pages (which aren't referenced again at any point!) does rather hint at that. Still, Jill not-at-her-best brings me joy she may or may not deserve, and I'm still happy to revisit her adventures, however incidental they may be.

[Nicky Carless · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely trek down memory lane!

[Dark-Draco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another typical adventure for Jill and her friends. They embark on a 5 day pony trek, camping at farms and in fields, enjoying their ponies and ending up with a show to win more rosettes. Funny and entertaining, although a bit old fashioned now, these books are so worth revisiting.

[Emma Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jill and Ann go on a pony trek, they have a smashing time outdoors with excellent barbecues and wonderful rides.

This is a great Jill book and I longed to be with them (how like me to daydream about enjoying nature when really you have to tempt me with the promise of food for me to ever leave the house!) but this doesn’t feel like an ending at all and I can’t believe this is the last book in the series, nothing is wrapped at all - Jill and Ann still haven’t figured out a way to make a career out of horse riding so they can be the best pony mad heroines forever and ever! I know there are sequels out there so I’m definitely going to seek them out so these girls can have a proper ending!

[Lainey Grieve Ramsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jills pony trek was first published in 1962 by Hodder and Saughton and illustrated by Caney.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

happy days! Huge part of my childood spent on this and all the Ruby Ferguson 'Jill' books. Loved this one, loved most of them