Tilly's Pony Tails is a series of children's books, published by Orion Children's Books in the United Kingdom. The series was created by equestrian sportswoman Pippa Funnell.
The first two books in the series, Magic Spirit and Red Admiral, were first published in May 2009. The series has now been extended to eighteen titles in all. The first four titles have also been recorded as unabridged audiobooks, read by sports presenter Clare Balding.
The central character, Tilly Redbrow, is an adopted child, who is passionate about everything to do with horses and ponies. In the first book in the series, Magic Spirit, Tilly helps rescue a neglected horse called Magic Spirit. She discovers that she has a special gift for communicating with horses. When she helps Magic Spirit, Tilly meets Angela, who owns a stables called Silver Shoe Farm. Angela invites Tilly to spend time at Silver Shoe Farm, learning about riding, training and caring for horses. Tilly soon makes friends at the stables and spends all her free time there. Each title in the series tells a new story about Tilly's adventures with horses and ponies that she comes into contact with, as well as her continuing relationship with Magic Spirit. The series is also linked with a continuing story about Tilly's background and birth, the only clue to which is a bracelet made of horsehair. As well as the fictional story, each title also contains a tips section with expert advice from Pippa Funnell on all aspects of horses and ponies.
Pippa Funnell, MBE, is a leading equestrian sportswoman in three-day eventing. In 2003 she became the first person and currently the only person to win eventing's greatest prize, the Rolex Grand Slam of eventing (consecutive wins at Kentucky, Badminton Horse Trials and Burghley Horse Trials). [1] As part of the British team, she won a silver medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, [2] a bronze medal at the 2002 World Equestrian Games and silver again at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Pippa Funnell is a trustee of the horse charity, World Horse Welfare, and the work of the charity features throughout the Tilly's Pony Tails books.
(read by Clare Balding)
Philippa Rachel "Pippa" Funnell MBE is an equestrian sportswoman who competes in eventing. In 2003, she became the first person to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Eventing. She also won Badminton in 2002 and 2005. At the European Championships, she has won two Individual golds (1999–2001) and three team golds (1999–2003). She is a three-time Olympic medallist, winning team silver in 2000 and 2004, and an individual bronze in 2004. She also competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Clare Victoria Balding is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents for BBC Sport, Channel 4 and BT Sport and formerly presented the religious programme Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2. Balding was appointed as the 30th president of the Rugby Football League, serving a two-year term until December 2022.
The Blenheim Horse Trials is an annual international three-day event held in the park of Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock, England. It is rated CCI***.
Linda Anne Chapman is a British writer, principally of series for younger children. She is particularly known for her fantasy books about unicorns, mermaids and magic and has co-authored books with Julie Sykes, Michelle Misra, Lee Weatherly and Steve Cole. She also writes the Superpowers series as Alex Cliff. She has written several of the series books published under the names Lucy Daniels, Jenny Dale, Daisy Meadows, Rosie Banks Katie Chase, Amber Castle, Astrid Foss, Tilda Kelly, Posy Diamond and Lauren Brooke, either as part of a collective pseudonym or as a ghostwriter. She has written "about 300" books. She currently lives in a Leicestershire village with her husband and three children.
Karen Lende O'Connor is an American equestrian who competes in three-day eventing. Although she did not come from a family of equestrians, her interest in horses started at an early age, and she received her first horse for her 11th birthday. O'Connor began competing internationally in the late 1970s, and in 1986 began riding for the US national eventing team. Since then, she had ridden in five Olympic Games, three World Equestrian Games and two Pan-American Games, winning multiple medals, including a team silver at the 1996 Olympic Games and a team bronze at the 2000 Olympic Games. She has also posted numerous wins and top-10 finishes at other international events. As of 2013, O'Connor is not competing, having suffered fractures to two thoracic vertebrae during a fall at a competition in October 2012.
The DemonWars Saga is a series of high fantasy novels by R. A. Salvatore. It is set in the world of Corona, primarily in the kingdoms of Honce-the-Bear and Behren, and amongst the nomadic To-gai-ru. The series is separated into two trilogies connected by a single book, Mortalis. The saga has an accompanying roleplaying game entitled Demon Wars.
The Saddle Club is a series of intermediate children's books published by Bantam Books between 1988 and 2001. The series was created by a publishing house using the contract writing services of self-professed equestrian novice Bonnie Bryant. Many titles were also written by ghostwriters. Spin-offs include four other book series: The Saddle Club Super Editions, The Saddle Club Inside Stories, Pony Tails, and Pine Hollow. The books were adapted into a TV show also called The Saddle Club. In the 1990s, there was also a fan club with a monthly newsletter and a line of model horses manufactured by Breyer.
My Secret Unicorn is a series of children's books written by Linda Chapman. The series was first published between 2002 and 2007. The books feature the adventures of Lauren and her unicorn, Twilight, and their friends. Chapman got the inspiration for the series while nannying for a pony-mad seven-year-old in 1994, and in 1998 started writing for Working Partners Ltd. Since then she has had over a hundred books published under various pseudonyms and under her own name.
Toytown was a British event horse owned and ridden by Zara Phillips.
The British Jumping Derby meeting – known for sponsorship reasons as the Al Shira'aa Hickstead Derby Meeting – is an annual showjumping event held since 1961 at the Hickstead in June every year. It is considered one of the premier events in the equestrian calendar.
Pippa Funnell 2: Take the Reins is a horse riding simulation game developed by French studio Lexis Numerique and released by Ubisoft on October 27, 2006 for the PlayStation 2 and Windows. The player takes the role of Jade as she attends the Sycamore Riding School in Scotland. Throughout the game, the player is able to train, care for, and compete with their horse while interacting with the other students in the Academy, and solving a mystery.
Nicola Wilson is a British equestrian rider specialising in three-day eventing. Riding Opposition Buzz, she won a team gold at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games and team silver at the 2012 Olympic Games. She is also a seven-time medallist at the European Championships, including team golds in 2009, 2017 and 2021 and individual gold and bronze in 2021 and 2017, respectively.
Equestria is the fictional setting of the fourth and fifth generations of the My Little Pony toy line and media franchise, including the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and My Little Pony: Pony Life. Created by Lauren Faust, the setting incorporates many elements of fantasy, including inspirations from European and Greek mythology.
Laura Collett is a British equestrian who competes in eventing.
Yasmin Ingham is a British equestrian. In 2022 Ingham won individual gold at the World Eventing Championships riding Banzai du Loir.
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Emily King is a British Equestrian. She is the daughter of Mary King.