Diana Pullein-Thompson: A Pony for Sale (paperback)

Guy Beaumont is thrilled when his mare has a foal he calls Martini. Guy breaks her in carefully and is determined to find the right home when she is to be sold. Her new owner, Pip, is thrilled with her beautiful new pony. But Pip is a nervous rider who finds it terribly difficult to stand up for herself. She doesn’t understand how to ride Martini in the best way, and she gets only the wrong sort of advice from her best friend. It all ends in disaster. Martini is sold. Lydia Pike is a professional rider, although only a teenager. She buys Martini as she thinks she can improve her and sell her on. Lydia’s idea of improvement is to beat and punish Good Form, as she calls Martini, until she does what she wants. She fails, and Martini is sent off to market. Lettie Lonsdale buys her, her head filled with theories of equitation Lydia can only laugh at. But bit by bit, Lettie and Martini get to know and understand each other, and Martini starts to be the pony she always promised to be. This book was published in the 1950s when hunting was legal and it does contain hunting scenes.