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Penny in Harness

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When naughty Penny is walking in the woods one day, she is surprised to find a couple pony-carting. Penny is so excited by watching this new form of adult entertainment that she has to pleasure herself on the spot. Realising how keen she is to discover for herself what it is all about, she begins to investigate this bizarre world of whips and harnesses. Will she ever be able to win the highest accolade in their world of kinky games - the honour of being a pony-girl.

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

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Penny Birch

68 books45 followers

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5 stars
17 (45%)
4 stars
9 (24%)
3 stars
7 (18%)
2 stars
2 (5%)
1 star
2 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Adam.
304 reviews48 followers
July 22, 2015
This is definitely a highlight to the erotica genre and Penny Birch is one of the finer authors that I've certainly come across. It's written entirely in the first person, but it doesn't really feel like you are reading a diary log about her experiences. It feels every bit of a novelized adventure in the first person, since I rarely see this executed very well, her skill at conveying the tale caught me by surprise. "Penny in Harness" brings us on a delightful romp through the country side with a girl discovering a very interesting form of sex play called the "Pony Girl".

"Penny in Harness" was prefaced with the fact that the author Penny Birch is actually a practicing pony girl, so the things written are likely taken from experience. This is precisely the kind of novel I was looking for. While I don't personally practice the things covered in this book, I find different tastes of this nature incredibly fascinating. Penny Birch exquisitely explains what it feels like for her and does a novel job at trying to get at the heart of the fetish. I found this incredibly inspiring in order to grasp the desire for the differing fetishes out there and I think it does the fetish justice when a great writer is found that can aptly explain what makes the person tick. This is so much better than just laying out a scene and going through the motions, I find this doesn't really capture the passion or the joy that those participating feel. There are even passages where Penny pauses to reflect upon her experiences and give them careful consideration. While I loved reading about the scenes, I find I wanted a little bit more of this reflection to really get inside her head and see what specifically makes her tick. As this is her first novel, maybe we'll be treated to more of this inside look as she grows into writing for this genre.

I'm not sure how much this is drawn from actual experience, but it is written in a very fluid and real manner focused on Penny's exploration into the realm of Pony Girls. She herself is initially brought in to be a Pony Girl, which is the submissive, and is harnessed, just like a horse to a cart, and then pulls the driver around. We get to see her change roles every now and again as the novel progresses so we get to see the delight of some people as they change from a submissive role to a dominant one, then change back. She points out how enjoyable this role reversal can be for those participating. While the main focus of this book is on the Pony Girl fetish, there are some other aspects in this book that touch on other areas. Naturally there is a lot of spanking in this novel as we can expect and it certainly wouldn't feel complete without it. We're treated to lesbian stories and heterosexual relationships primarily, as I find typical with Nexus novels they are specifically for these crowds and do not cater to the gay. However, there is mention of the existence of Pony Boys with male drivers with the brief introduction to Mr. Novak. Although we are never brought into his world, which I am thankful for because I have no interest in that; as it is not my preference. There is a brief display as Penny takes the form of a new fetish concept called "Piggy Girl". If you enjoy the thought of girls being messy and covered in mud, I believe you will quite enjoy the end of this novel as it peaks with quite an erotic display in a Pony Girl competition. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is an erotica enthusiast or is interested on getting a bit of an inside look on this fetish world.
Profile Image for Aishling Morgan.
Author 70 books28 followers
October 19, 2013
Penny in Harness is probably the definitive pony-girl novel. Written from real experience after several years of belonging to an English pony-girl club, it captures the fantasy as it really happens and in exquisite, unabashed detail. The story is written from the first person viewpoint of the author's alter ego, Penny, which gives great intensity to the erotic scenes, while the background is no less vivid. A word of warning though, this is full-on, no-nonsense erotica, not the sort of book in which the bedroom door is closed just when it starts to get interesting. With Penny Birch the bedroom door stays wide open, although in this case it's more like the stable door.
Profile Image for BookAddict  ✒ La Crimson Femme.
6,948 reviews1,443 followers
November 28, 2013
Devious minx Ms. Birch crafts yet another delicious tale of debauchery. I've been a fan of Ms. Birch for a long time, well over a decade. I've finally read this story which is all about pony play. The focus is on pony girls, although it does contain a pony boy or two. This book is dangerous. Do not read it in public. I made the mistake of reading this on a transatlantic plane ride. If there were not such heavy fines for joining the mile high club, I would have jumped on my spouse and ridden him.

Penny, the trouble seeking sex addict in this story spies upon a girl dressed up in pony gear, pulling a cart. Intrigued, she gallops full speed ahead into the world of pony play. This niche BDSM fetish is real. There are people in real life who do practice dressage on humans. The taboo material is slowly seeping into the vanilla world, but it isn't fully there yet. In this sensual packed story, Penny starts out as an innocent girl and ends up as a crop wielding pony driver. What is so fun about this story is the sexual fluidity. There are no set categories of must follow rules. Every character is there to enjoy themselves. While some prefer females only or to only top, it isn't a hard and fast designation. Characters can be "convinced" to switch to the other team or to submit to another person despite their protests. This is much more accurate to real life. While most stories designate characters as only Top, bottom, Dom, sub, lesbian or hetero, Ms. Birch breaks down all those barriers.

One of Ms. Birch's trademark is how dirty and rude some of her sexual acts become. For those who are squicked out by scat or golden showers, it's best to skip over those sections. For those who may not find it sexy but still erotically humiliating to be peed on, Ms. Birch is your author. There is a gritty realism to Ms. Birch's stories which takes it up a notch in taboo. She's not afraid to graphically describe bodily functions. She still does it in a way which illicit a strong positive response. At least, for kinky readers like me who are depraved, it elicits strong sexual responses. Even the jaded BDSM reader will find Ms. Birch refreshing.

While one could argue this is just a porn book, I'm going to say otherwise. This is an erotic journey of a curious and open minded woman. She's enjoying life to the fullest through kinky acts. She is enjoy women and men. She experiences first hand being punished. She also deals out humiliating punishments. Penny is a brat, there is no doubt about it. Still her brattiness is kind of charming. One could say she is topping from the bottom. Since this is less about BDSM but more about kinky enjoy and getting fucked hard, I see it a different way. I see a naughty girl instigating situations which results in pleasure for everyone. No disrespect is intended. This is why I'm okay with Penny's bratty behaviour and how she reveals in being "caught".


This book is definitely going into my spank bank. Highly recommended to kinky readers who enjoy pony play.

*I received this book as a review copy in return for an honest review
Profile Image for Stephanie.
15 reviews1 follower
Want to Read
July 25, 2007
Yes it's another one...so hilarious.
Author 29 books3 followers
February 1, 2021
I absolutely adore Penny Birch's work. It is so witty and fun, and HOT. Her pay play books are what made me interested in the kink.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews