Primrose Cumming (1915-2004)

British author. Primrose Amy Cumming is one of the earliest of all the writers of traditional pony stories.

She was born on 7th April 1915 on the Isle of Thanet in Kent. and wrote her first book (
Doney) when still a teenager. Further books soon followed, both pony and non-pony. Her non-pony books were concerned with animals and farming and the countryside, subjects that were close to her heart. She said of her books, "I aim to be consistent with my observation of country life and share my pastoral pleasures with my readers." But despite the down-to-earth nature of many of these stories Primrose was not afraid to move away from the limitations or conventions of the normal pony book. She wrote books set in different countries, historical times and even fantasy.

As well as books Primrose Cumming also wrote a number of stories for annuals, some of them non-pony. In the 1960s she was commissioned to write a series of ballet stories for a comic. This despite the fact she knew nothing about ballet!

Although she loved horses and animals in general, Primrose was particularly interested in farm draught horses, which she thought had descended from the warhorses of the middle-ages brought across to England by the Normans. One of her books
The Great Horses is a fictionalised account of this metamorphosis from battle charger to peaceful farm worker. She also wrote a sympathetic account of a contemporary farm horse called Ben.

Many of her books are fairly rare and very collectable. Some also have sumptuous illustrations by some of the best illustrators of the time such as Allen W. Seaby and Stanley Lloyd. Her most famous book of all is
Silver Snaffles. This is considered a classic in terms of plot with it's story of a fantastic world where ponies can talk and teach their riders. Until recently, it was a very hard book to find and could set collectors back a fair bit of money. However Fidra Books have now re-published this classic in paperback form making it easier on the pocket!


(Sources: Contemporary Authors, 20th Century Childrens Writers 3rd Ed, Book and Magazine Collector March 98.)

Silver Eagle Series:
Three sisters start up a riding school in order to pay the bills left by their father's death. There is a worry in the first book about whether the stables will have to close, but as we know there are 2 later books in the series, the tension is a tad diminished!

1) THE SILVER EAGLE RIDING SCHOOL
(A & C BLACK 1938)
ILLUSTRATED BY CECIL G. TREW
Reprinted in hardback a number of times by original publisher.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1940s reprint
SUMMARY: Sisters Mary, Josephine and Doctor start up a riding school to prevent their ponies being sold after their father has died. Mary loves the school but when Josephine has the chance of becoming a professional showjumper it seems as if one of the sisters will have to sacrifice their dreams…
PONYMAD RATING: 3-4 HORSESHOES

2) SILVER EAGLE CARRIES ON
(A & C BLACK 1940)
ILLUSTRATED BY CECIL G. TREW
Reprinted in hardback a number of times by original publisher.
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, 1950s reprint.
SUMMARY: The outbreak of the Second World War changes everything, including the Silver Eagle Riding School. The girls come up with ideas to help them carry on through the conflict but then a slippery horse dealer arranges for the army to appropriate the riding school's horses. Can the girls save their beloved mounts?
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

3) RIVALS TO SILVER EAGLE
(A & C BLACK 1954)
ILLUSTRATED BY EVE GOSSET
There was also an edition in Swedish.
Rare.
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Last in series. A rival riding school opens nearby to the Silver Eagle, and its manager is determined to see off the girls' stables.

Collectors Info:
The first two in the series, if not exactly common titles, can be found in the UK without too much trouble. The third however is far rarer and is usually expensive. The very large thick first editions are not as easy to come across as the thinner and more common reprints All harder to find and usually more pricey outside of the UK.

Other Horse & Pony Books

DONEY: A BORDERLAND TALE OF PONIES AND YOUNG PEOPLE
(COUNTRY LIFE 1934)
ILLUSTRATED BY ALLEN W. SEABY
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: The author's first book written when she was just a teenager. Not set in the borders of England or Scotland as may be expected, but in the area around Kent and Sussex. A gentle charming story of a girl and her pony Doney.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES
Read/join in with a discussion of the book on our forum reading circle

SILVER SNAFFLES
(BLACKIE 1937)
ILLUSTRATED BY STANLEY LLOYD
Reprinted in hardback a number of times by Blackie.
Reprinted (and revised) in paperback by Knight in 1976 unfortunately with no illustrations.
Reprinted in paperback by Fidra Books with original text and illustrations in 2007
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Blackie reprint, Knight paperback, Fidra paperback.
SUMMARY: Classic pony book about a girl who enters a fantasy world of talking horses by whispering the password 'Silver Snaffles' and learns to ride and look after ponies there, taught by the horses themselves!
PONYMAD RATING: 5 HORSESHOES
Read review

THE WEDNESDAY PONY
(BLACKIE 1939)
ILLUSTRATED BY STANLEY LLOYD
Reprinted in hardback by Blackie
American edition published by Mill & Co.
EDITIONS PICTURED: Early and later Blackie reprints.
SUMMARY: A pair of butcher's children have only their father's cart pony Jingo to ride and dream of one day finding the perfect riding pony. But through their various horsy adventures, they learn to appreciate Jingo for what he is.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

BEN: THE STORY OF A CART-HORSE
(DENT 1939)
Reprinted in hardback by Dent
American edition published by Dutton
EDITION PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: A picture book format story (though not for very young readers) of a draught horse, illustrated with photographs by Harold Burdekin. Ben has to leave his London home when the hard roads become too much for his legs. He moves to the country and becomes a farm horse. At first life is strange but he soon adapts to his new life. A nostalgic look at a world gone by.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

THE CHESTNUT FILLY
(BLACKIE 1940)
ILLUSTRATED BY STANLEY LLOYD
Reprinted in hardback by Blackie
American edition published by Mill & Co.
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Blackie reprint
SUMMARY: Randall buys the chestnut filly Amber Light who is reputed to be unmanageable. He eventually manages to break her in, but then his friend persuades him to train her for the movies!
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

THE GREAT HORSES
(DENT 1946)
ILLUSTRATED BY LIONEL EDWARDS
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: An unusual story which is best for older teenagers and adults. Explores the idea that the great war horses of old who came across with the Normans in 1066 are the ancestors of the modern Shire horse. Tells the story of  three horses from different eras, the first two are battle horses, the third is Major, a working cart horse who finds he too inherits the fighting spirit of his forbears. Very informative as well as a great character study of both human and equine.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

FOUR RODE HOME
(DENT 1951)
ILLUSTRATED BY MAURICE TULLOCH
Reprinted in hardback by Dent.
Reprinted in paperback by Knight.
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Dent reprint, Knight paperback.
SUMMARY: Holly and Roy are bored with riding around their Romney Marsh home and want to roam pastures new. They decide to organise a long distance ride from the New Forest back to their home, and recruit two friends, Rebecca and Clive, to join them in their adventure.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

NO PLACE FOR PONIES
aka THE MYSTERY PONY (USA edition)
(DENT 1954)
ILLUSTRATED BY MAURICE TULLOCH
Reprinted in hardback by Dent.
Published in the USA as The Mystery Pony by Criterion.
EDITIONS PICTURED:  Dent reprint.
SUMMARY: Toni and Jane are sent to a stuffy guest house where their ponies are not very welcome guests. Once there, they try to find out the secret the other children are keeping.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

THE DEEP-SEA HORSE
(DENT 1956)
ILLUSTRATED BY MARY SHILLABEER
Very rare.
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition.
SUMMARY: Unusual fantasy story. A horse called Claud is taunted by his fellow equines because he has no tail, so he runs away to live with the mermaids under the sea!

FLYING HORSEMAN
(DENT 1959)
ILLUSTRATED BY SHEILA ROSE
Reprinted by Dent
Australian edition also published
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Dent reprint.
SUMMARY: Morgan, a flying-mad young man, must come to terms with the fact he can no longer achieve his ambition of becoming a pilot after contracting polio. He is sent to convalesce with the Croxley family by working on their fruit farm where he will learn farm management. The younger Croxleys are all show-jumping mad and Morgan is drawn into their horsy world when he agrees to exercise Sarah's horse for her when she has been injured. But will horses ever take the place of his dreams of flying…?
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

THE MYSTERY TREK
(DENT 1964)
ILLUSTRATED BY SHEILA ROSE
Published  by the Children's Book Club in 1965
EDITIONS PICTURED: Book Club edition.
SUMMARY: Susan tries unsuccessfully to persuade her grown up sister Leonie to go pony trekking with her in order to help her sister get over the death of her horse. But when the girls arrive at the trekking centre and there is no-one to lead the trek, Leonie overcomes her resolve to never ride again in order to prevent the other children losing their holiday. She rescues a horse from barbed wire, and as all the other ponies are taken she decides to ride him and nicknames him "Nonny." But the mysteries seem to come thick and fast. Why are all the equipment and maps ready for the trek but with no-one to lead it? Who is the mysterious V. Mankelow? And who is trying to hurt Nonny? The answers are surprising...and even more surprising is the way Leonie feels at the end of the trek.
PONYMAD RATING: 4-5 HORSESHOES

FOAL OF THE FJORDS
(DENT 1966)
ILLUSTRATED BY WENDY MARCHANT
Reprinted by the Children's Book Club in 1967
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition, Book Club edition.
SUMMARY: Unusual pony story set in Scandinavia. Based on a short story called
The Fjording by Marcal. Two children form a deep bond with a horse, watching it grow from a foal to an affectionate and intelligent horse. Will that bond be strong enough to help them when tragedy and disaster strike?
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

PENNY AND PEGASUS
(DENT 1969)
EDITIONS PICTURED: First edition
SUMMARY: Penny is devastated when she has to leave behind her pony and miss out her chance of being in the Pony Club team in order to go on holiday to Greece. But once there she rescues a mistreated horse she names Pegasus and finds an exciting new friendship with a Greek boy. There is adventure too as the children search for a precious family heirloom. But at the back of Penny's mind is the worry about what will happen to Pegasus when she has to return home…
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

Collectors Info:
Primrose Cumming's early books were first published by either Country Life or Blackie. From the 1950s onwards they were then published by Dent. Very few were reprinted as paperbacks -  the only ones I have seen are Silver Snaffles and Four Rode Home.

The books range from fairly easy to find to extremely rare.  Silver Snaffles is probably the most collectable of all the books and used to be quite rare and expensive, but now ironically is one of the easiest of all to find due to a new paperback copy being recently published by Fidra Books. Other titles which are reasonably easy to find are
Four Rode Home (especially the paperback edition), The Chestnut Filly and The Wednesday Pony. Doney and Penny and Pegasus can be quite hard to find. Hardest of all to get hold of is now is The Deep Sea Horse, which can be expensive.

A few of the titles were published in the USA and these are the easiest ones to find there. These included
No Place for Ponies which was re-titled as The Mystery Pony. The other books are harder to find in America and can be a fair bit more expensive than their counterparts in the UK.

As far as I know only one book had an Australian printing -
Flying Horseman.

Short Story Collections:

PURNELL'S TREASURY OF HORSE AND PONY STORIES
(With Dorothy Baldock & Sally Haylor)
(PURNELL 1979)
SUMMARY: Large colour illustrated book of short stories from Primrose Cumming, along with two other authors. It sadly does not say which stories were by whom.

Collectors Info:
Reasonably easy to find in the UK. Prices vary a lot so shop around. Harder in the USA and Australia, though not impossible.

Short Stories in Other Books and Collections:

DELVERY'S DAY WITH THE HOUNDS
in THE OXFORD ANNUAL FOR CHILDREN 22ND YEAR
(OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1934)
Rare
SUMMARY: One of the author's first ever stories! A shire horse is having trouble fitting in with his new team, until an impromptu run with the local hunt changes things for the better.
PONYMAD VIEW: A nice gently humourous story, very well written considering the tender years of the teenage author. Evokes a long lost world where horses were part of everyday life.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

THE THREE D'S AND THE VICARAGE FETE
in THE CHILDREN'S GOLDEN TREASURE BOOK FOR 1937
(OLDHAMS 1937)
Rare
SUMMARY: Donkey story. When the local vicar persuades Daphne and Donald Davidson to give donkey rides on their cantankerous donkey Dinah at the village fete in order to keep them out of mischief, he wonders if he will regret his actions….

OPERATION ACORN
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1966
(MAX PARRISH 1965)
ILLUSTRATED BY JOHN BOARD
SUMMARY: A boy determines to stop a pony being sold at an upcoming sale.

A MATTER OF BACKGROUND
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1968
(MAX PARRISH 1967)
ILLUSTRATED BY JANET JOHNSTONE
Also in
CHRISTINE PULLEIN-THOMPSON'S BOOK OF PONY STORIES
(PAN PB 1975)
ILLUSTRATED BY GARETH LLOYD
SUMMARY: Two sisters wish they had horsy parents.

BRIDLE PATH OR WAR PATH
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1970
(PURNELL 1969)
ILLUSTRATED BY JANET JOHNSTONE
SUMMARY: When three children from the local Pony Club set out to check the local bridle paths for their District Commissioner, they end up at loggerheads with a woman who does not want them across her land. But her rather strange but beautiful daughter and an unwanted horse manage to patch up the quarrel in an unexpected manner.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

FIREFLY'S FOAL
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1972
(PURNELL 1971)
ILLUSTRATED BY SALLY WEBB

A PONY SHARED
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1974
(PURNELL 1973)
ILLUSTRATED BY LESLEY BRUCE
SUMMARY: Two girls must share a pony

THE FERNOY AFFAIR
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1975
(PURNELL 1974)
ILLUSTRATED BY ELLEN GILBERT

ONE EVENTFUL DAY
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1977
(PURNELL 1976)
SUMMARY: Pony Club eventing story. When disaster strikes the team for the upcoming one day event,  Dilys is asked to step in as the last resort. She is not pleased at the prospect as her pony Badger has his own ideas about jumping. However on the day itself Dilys and Badger excel themselves in a very surprising way!
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

A MAN'S WORLD
in PONY CLUB ANNUAL 1979
(PURNELL 1978)
ILLUSTRATED BY CAROLINE DINAN

Collectors Info:
Availability of the annuals varies quite a lot, but in general the annuals from the mid 1970s seem the easiest to find and are usually quite low cost. The earlier editions can be fairly hard to track down but they are usually not too expensive. Unfortunately, for those collectors outside the UK, these annuals may prove hard to find and their weight may make them quite pricey to buy from the UK.

For more info on the books above you can visit the Pony Club Annuals web page or the British Short Stories web page.

This is not an exhaustive list so if any collectors out there know of any other stories in different books/collections I would love to hear from you.