The Pony Question

The happiness of a young girl and a pony in desperate need of saving depends on the other.


Essie doesn’t believe in signs or wishing on stars. She likes facts, and the fact is, she’s left her love of horses firmly in the past. She doesn’t want a new horse and she certainly doesn’t need one, not with the price she’d have to pay. That’s a line she just won’t cross. But the universe has other ideas.

Essie may not need a pony, but there’s a pony that needs her. But taking on a pony without a past brings a lot of unanswered questions, and in searching for answers Essie is going to have decide if to go forward, she is able to forgive the past.

“This is a well-paced hopeful story. ... The setting is well imagined and the characters all have their own interesting personalities.”

a heart-warming narrative of family, friends and community … a beautiful story of reconciliation in a very divisive and unhappy circumstance. No doubt there will be many for whom this will resonate, with or without a horse involved. … Highly recommended not only for your horse-tragics but all your upper primary and lower/middle secondary readers who enjoy a contemporary story with real depth. Just So Stories
This is a well-paced hopeful story. … The setting is well imagined and the characters all have their own interesting personalities. ReadPlus
This is a very engaging read – perhaps it is the compelling nature of animal rescue, but I did not want to put this book down from the moment I started reading it. Reading Time
This is a comfortable, comforting story that will find an enthusiastic audience amongst middle school readers, horse lovers and others alike Magpies
Jackie Merchant has written a truly heart-warming novel that will hook readers from the beginning Kids' Book Review

Jackie Merchant has worked as a designer, art director and copy writer. She spent the majority of her childhood on the outskirts of Sydney, where, when she was 10, her parents bought an old run down riding school. Even with no ponies at the time it was a dream come true for a pony-mad girl with an imagination fuelled by ponies and horses. As an adult Jackie is lucky enough to share her life with 3 beautiful horses (Moxie, Percy and young Douglas) and one small disagreeable pony (named Mrs Wilkinson) and several other animals. She currently lives in Tasmania. The Promise Horse is her debut novel.

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