Stacy Gregg

New Zealand writer. She has written two of the most popular pony series  around at the moment, Pony Club Secrets and Pony Club Rivals. For me, her first books were traditional and likeable pony stories, however she appears to have been bitten by the 'celebrity' bug which many of today's pony book authors have succumbed to. Her later Pony Club Secrets books and the Pony Club Rivals series seem rather too obsessed with prestige and winning for my liking, although no doubt today's tweens and teens enjoy that sort of thing.

Stacy is very interested in the ILPH (International League for Protection of Horses and some of the proceeds from the books goes to the charity. One of the main characters in the Pony Club Secrets series works for the ILPH and the author must be commended for raising their profile amongst young readers.

For lots more on Stacy Gregg and her books please visit her website

Pony Club Secrets Series:
Has a slight mystical/fantasy element running throughout. The series gets more and more competition/winning orientated and rather unlikely as it goes along with the young heroine going from having everyday fun with her friends and ponies to aiming for the eventing 'grand slam'

All reprinted in paperback by Harper Collins with new cover art.

1) MYSTIC AND THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
(HARPER COLLINS 2007)
SUMMARY: After a tragedy, Issie is determined to give up ponies. But then she meets Blaze, an ill-treated mare who needs her help.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

2) BLAZE AND THE DARK RIDER
(HARPER COLLINS 2007 )
SUMMARY: Issie and her friends are competing in a inter-club competition but someone is out to sabotage them.

3) DESTINY AND THE WILD HORSES
(HARPER COLLINS 2008)
SUMMARY: Issie is disappointed when she has to miss the summer with her friends and the pony club dressage competition in order to stay out on her aunt's farm and help her injured aunt look after the stock. But when she finds out her aunt has horses galore and a business training animals for film and TV, she soon perks up. But as well as fun there is danger with a mysterious wild animal roaming the place and a herd of wild ponies in danger.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

4) STARDUST AND THE DAREDEVIL PONIES
(HARPER COLLINS 2008)
SUMMARY: Issie and her friends are helping her Aunt, handling the ponies on a film set.

5) COMET AND THE CHAMPION'S CUP
(HARPER COLLINS 2008)
SUMMARY: When Issie and her friends go along to help at Aunt Hess' new riding stables, Issie meets Comet, a talented jumper, but with a naughty streak. Can Issie train him in time to compete in the Horse of the Year Show?

6) STORM AND THE SILVER BRIDLE
(HARPER COLLINS 2009)
SUMMARY: When the young colt Nightstorm is stolen, the search for him takes Issie all the way to Spain!

7) FORTUNE AND THE GOLDEN TROPHY
(HARPER COLLINS 2009)
SUMMARY: Issie must try and train the dozy pony Fortune and work out who is causing ructions between the riders and a nearby golf course.

8) VICTORY AND THE ALL-STARS ACADEMY
(HARPER COLLINS 2009)
SUMMARY: Issie has won a place on the National Junior Team and is competing in Australia with superb pony Victory. But all is not well when she gets there, with a nightmare room-mate and a secret to keep.

9) FLAME AND THE REBEL RIDERS
(HARPER COLLINS 2010)
SUMMARY: Issie takes a summer job at a prestigious show jumping yard and meets the talented pony Flame. But can she keep her feet on the ground in this glamourous new world?

10) ANGEL AND THE FLYING STALLIONS
(HARPER COLLINS 2010)
SUMMARY: Issie travels back to Spain to re-claim her colt Storm and also to learn to ride Haute Ecole on the fabulous Angel! But there is both mystery and love in the air for our heroine to contend with….

11) LIBERTY AND THE DREAM RIDE
(HARPER COLLINS 2011)
SUMMARY: Issie travels to the USA to ride in the prestigious Lexington horse trials, but she then has an offer to ride a top event horse there: does she have what it takes?

12) NIGHTSTORM AND THE GRAND SLAM
(HARPER COLLINS 2011)
SUMMARY: Issie aims high with her hopes to compete on Nightstorm at Badminton and Burghley after Lexington. Can she become the youngest ever riding to win the Grand Slam?

Other editions:

CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: ISSIE AND THE CHRISTMAS PONY
(HARPER COLLINS 2008)
SUMMARY: Special prequel to the rest of the series. Tells how Issie met her first beloved pony Mystic and of the magic that kept them together.

Collectors Info:
All paperback originals. All still in print in a new edition and easy to find in the UK and USA, including Kindle e-book editions. Second-hand copies are also easy to find and cheap.

Pony Club Rivals Series:
Teen series set in a USA boarding school which is also an elite riding school where ambitious girls battle for a place against other top young riders from around the world. 

1) THE AUDITIONS
(HARPER COLLINS 2010)
SUMMARY: Georgie wants to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a top eventer. Can she make it through the gruelling auditions to secure a place in the prestigious Blainford Riding Academy? And if she does can she make the sacrifices needed to pursue her dream?
PONYMAD RATING: 2 HORSESHOES

2) SHOWJUMPERS
(HARPER COLLINS 2010)
SUMMARY: It is Georgie's second term at the academy. Soon competitive spirit threatens friendships….

3) RIDING STAR
(HARPER COLLINS 2011)
SUMMARY: Georgie turns her talents to the polo field.

4) THE PRIZE
(HARPER COLLINS 2011)
SUMMARY:It's a new term and Georgie is eager to take on her rivals once more. Having surprised everyone on the polo field, Georgie's ambitions are sky high and she's keen to take her riding to the next level. Meanwhile Kennedy Kirkwood has plans of her own which might not turn out so well for Georgie.

Collectors Info:
Paperback originals. In print and can be bought new in the UK and USA. Also available as kindle e-books.

Other Horse and Pony Books:

THE PRINCESS AND THE FOAL
((HARPER COLLINS 2013)
Reprinted by Harper Collins in paperback.
SUMMARY: Based on a true story. Princess Haya, daughter of the King of Jordan, loves her family more than anything. So when tragedy strikes at its heart, she is devastated. The Princess becomes ever more withdrawn until on her birthday the King gives her a life-changing present. An incredible new friendship grows and the heartbroken princess begins to dream of an extraordinary future.

THE ISLAND OF LOST HORSES
(HARPER COLLINS 2014)
Reprinted by Harper Collins in paperback.
SUMMARY: On a remote tropical island, twelve year-old Beatriz is about to embark on an epic journey, through hurricanes and across the high seas and back to the time of Christopher Columbus…When Beatriz stumbles across a wild mare with strange markings in the jungle she can't believe it is real. Yet from that moment on the strongest connection grows between them, and she begins to uncover an incredible history. For centuries ago, Felipa and her horse, Cara Blanca, were running for their lives. As the fates of Beatriz, Felipa and their horses become entwined, Beatriz realises that the future of the world's rarest horses depends on her.
Based on the true story of the Abaco Barb, a real-life mystery that has remained unsolved for over five hundred years.

THE GIRL WHO RODE THE WIND
(HARPER COLLINS 2016)
Reprinted by Harper Collins in paperback
SUMMARY: When Lola's grandmother Loretta takes her to Siena, Italy, for the summer, Lola learns of her family's history of heartbreak and adventure, stretching back to the Second World War. In 1945, Loretta's nickname was 'The Daredevil' due to her fearless competing in the town's famous Palio horse races - until war broke out and led to sadness and loss for Loretta. Lola jumps at the chance to enter the modern-day Palio on a beautiful horse called Nico. Can she win, in honour of her beloved grandmother? And solve a mystery that will bring happiness and hope to Loretta?
PONYMAD RATING: 2 HORSESHOES

THE DIAMOND HORSE
(HARPER COLLINS 2016)
Reprinted by Harper Collins in paperback
SUMMARY: Anna Orlov might be the luckiest girl in the world. She is the daughter of a Russian Count and lives in a beautiful snowbound palace that is home to a menagerie of wonderful animals: tigers, wolfhounds and, of course, horses. And she is also the owner of a beautiful heirloom - a diamond necklace with a secret past. But when Anna defies her father's wishes and secretly raises a young colt alongside her pet tiger cub, her actions will have far reaching consequences. And soon Anna, her tiger and her horse will be fighting for survival in the frozen tundra of Siberia…

THE THUNDERBOLT PONY
(HARPER COLLINS 2017)
Reprinted by Harper Collins in paperback
When a devastating earthquake hits Evie's hometown of Parnassus on New Zealand's South Island, she and the rest of the town are forced to evacuate. Evie's injured mum is one of the first to be rescued by helicopter and Evie will be next. But when realises that she will be forced to leave her beloved pony, Gus, her dog, Jock, and her cat Moxy behind, she is determined to find another way. Before the rescue helicopter returns, Evie flees with Gus, Jock and Moxy in a race against time across difficult terrain to reach the port of Kaikoura, where she has heard that people will be evacuated by ship in three days' time. Surely there will be space for her, Gus, Jock and Moxy there?

Collectors Info:
All in print at time of this update (Summer 2018) and can be bought new in the UK and USA. Also available as kindle e-books.