Brumbies

by Paula Boer

When city girl Louise moves to the country, she discovers the mountain brumbies are to be killed for pet food. She and Ben, a local farm boy, determine to save as many of the wild horses as they can. Despite opposition, they arrange a muster, but nothing goes according to plan. Following in the hoof-prints of "The Silver Brumby" and "The Man from Snowy River", this horse-packed adventure encounters challenges through some of the toughest territory in Australia.

117 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Paula Boer started her lifelong love of horses when she first rode a pony on a ranch in Canada, aged 7. On moving to England at age 9, she commenced weekly riding lessons and became hooked. Her horse infatuation led to Paula’s bedroom being filled with toy stables, posters of golden stallions, horse gear and, of course, horse books. Her books included non-fiction works as well as novels, most notably Elyne Mitchell’s The Silver Brumby series.

Paula’s own writing career started at school where she wrote a story from the horse’s perspective for her final English exam. Combining her love of horses with her passion for travel, she raced the native horses in Mongolia, climbed the heights of Colombia on horseback, and competed in Endurance rides around Australia. She claims the best way to experience a country is from the back of a horse.

Although not always on horseback, Paula has travelled in sixty countries on six continents. After retiring from the hectic life of computer consultancy, she wrote her first novel, The Okapi Promise, based on her adventures in Africa in 1990. This fictional memoir was published by IFWG Publishing in November 2010.

From her own experiences of catching and breaking in brumbies, Paula decided to set her next novel in the Snowy Mountains of NSW. The Brumbies series was created, with the first book of five becoming an Amazon ‘Best Seller’ in 2012.

Paula went on the create The Equinora Chronicles, a horse fantasy trilogy. Equinora is a world ruled by unicorns, supported by tiny dragons, where people live in a symbiotic relationship with the herds.

Paula lives on 500 acres in the Snowy region of New South Wales, Australia, which, since the 2020 bushfires, has become a wildlife sanctuary.

Reviews

[Dion Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben and Louise are horse lovers. Ben lives on a cattle station that owns a number of horses. Louise is new to the district and is delighted when Ben offers to take her riding in the mountainous national park. When they come across wild brumbies, they put together a plan for a muster.

Brumbies is a YA that is aimed at people who love horses and want to read stories with horses in them. The plot is straightforward, but it is well written. The author is clearly knowledgeable not just about horses, but wild brumbies. I enjoyed the book as an easy read and would consider reading the others in the series. I would recommend the book to teenagers who have a love for horses.

[Melina · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Louise goes for her first horse ride in the country, she is enchanted to come across a group of brumbies. However, when she discovers that their numbers will be reduced and some brumbies will be sold for pet food, she and her new friend Ben are determined to undertake a muster and save their favourites. But despite the backing of Ben’s family and the park ranger, nothing seems to go to plan.

I came across this book when I was alerted that it was free on Amazon – I’m really glad I did, as I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m probably going to be purchasing the sequels! Horse books were never my thing as a child – although I once rode a horse at my friend’s property and many of my friends were horse riders (I did grow up in a rural town), I was a small kid and always a little scared of the big horses. Plus I had a tonne of ballet books (and Baby-Sitters Club books) to read.

I really enjoyed this look at horses though – the way horses were treated by the main characters and the way they were described through the book. It reminded of the respect given to horses in the Ranger’s Apprentice series and the old Trixie Belden books I read.

The book had a rather lovely old fashioned feel to it – in a really good way. The characters are teenagers, but there’s no romance, just good developing friendship. The risks are there and real (a possible bushfire, getting caught unprepared in the bush) but they never feel over the top – they’re handled very practically. And the writing style reminded me a lot of some of the older, calmer books I read when I was younger. I’m finding that a lot of YA and kids books I’m reading a bit frantic at the moment, so this calmer pace was very welcome.

This is also a great book to hand to those more advanced readers who are looking for a challenge, but aren’t ready for more adult themes in their books – a group of readers who are often looking for recommendations. The story line is a little more mature than early readers or earlier middle grade books, but there’s nothing which would be too old for the 7-9 yr old age group. It would also make a nice read-aloud book, probably prompting some interesting discussions about how introduced animals are dealt with in Australian parks and the moral issues raised through some of the events in the story.

Originally reviewed at Subversive Reader

[Gerry Huntman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brumbies, a children's adventure set in the Australian Snowy Mountains, and the first of a five part series, is a wonderful read for the 8 to 12 year old set, but certainly enjoyable for all ages. This is IFWG Publishing's first venture in publishing a book written in Australian English, in part to retain the authenticity of the characters and setting, as well as recognizing that Australian children - especially those who love horses - will be the primary readers. But don't misunderstand me - this book is a classic horse adventure and could very well turn into a classic, much like "The Silver Brumby".

The story is about a horse-loving city girl moving into the country - the highlands of Australia where, surprisingly for those who aren't Australian, can get cold and even snow in winter. A hardy wild horse, the Brumbies, roam the diminishing countryside, and have, to some extent, become a 'pest' to local farmers and parks. There is an annual mustering of Brumbies for the purpose of putting them down, and this shocks Louise, one of our protagonists. She and Ben, a local boy she befriends, work hard to find a way to save some of these beautiful creatures. This is the basis of the story for the first book.

I love reading children's titles as they take me back to when I was a child and enjoyed reading. My taste was quite eclectic, but I certainly can remembering reading every single one of Willard Price's 'Adventure' series. Reading Paula Boer's Brumbies rekindled those enjoyable years, and I certainly can thank her (and illustrator Rowena Evans) for that. While not a horse story reader, I can only imagine how wonderful stories will be for those with an equine bent.

Five deserved stars.

[Christine Meunier · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book in the series, Brumbies by Paula Boer explores the summer school holidays of fourteen year olds Ben and Louise. The pair strike up a friendship when they realise they have something in common – a passion for horses and riding.

Ben works hard on his parents property over the summer holidays, but he still has time to ride out in the local bush area in rural New South Wales... More at http://equus-blog.com/brumbies-by-pau...