Again, we’re reminded very sensibly about the hard work needed to get a pony to the standard needed for showing and general obedience. Katy tries to introduce her pony, Trifle, to the showing arena, but disasters ensue (disasters that are all too real and in fact are based on the author’s own experiences!); then again, maybe it’s more useful to teach Trifle how to stand still. The female friendship strand is going strong: Alice is going away to school and Katy’s worried that their friendship will grow apart, so then of course it does start to fray until they have it out. Money is tight at home, and in another nod to traditional pony books, which often have an artist or writer Mum or Dad, Katy’s Dad is torn between farming and painting, unable to make a real living out of either. Things begin to look up, but only after one of those PERIL!!! episodes, again looking back to so many horses stuck in quarries / barbed wire / falling when out hunting scenes, but done charmingly and realistically without being too traumatic. Katy doesn’t feel she quite does the right thing, and will it all come out right in the end? Even the “championship” theme is cleverly twisted, which raises a smile. ( )