Pony Tale: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''There is a type of girl who, while incapable of cleaning her bedroom even at knifepoint, will fight for the privilege of being allowed to spend the day shovelling manure in a stable.''|'''[[Discworld/Soul Music|Soul Music]]'''}}

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Back in the day, horses were for men. The gentry cavorted about the countryside on them, often in pursuit of some hapless fox, farmers worked the land with their loyal draught horses, and [[The Wild West]] hero galloped into town aboard one. While women did ride horses, the mastery of such a powerful and often unpredictable animal was seen as a task fitting to Real Men.

Around the 1930s and 1940s, however, something changed. The "horsy girl" was created, and the [[Pony Tale]] was born. Mainly seen as a British genre - and more often than not, featuring an English setting - the story is ostensibly about ponies, but actually follows the development of a central character (usually female) via their experience of equestrianism.

Around the 1930s and 1940s, however, something changed. The "horsy girl" was created, and the '''Pony Tale''' was born. Mainly seen as a British genre - and more often than not, featuring an English setting - the story is ostensibly about ponies, but actually follows the development of a central character (usually female) via their experience of equestrianism.

A true Pony Tale features a very specific type of heroine. Usually a misfit, or displaced in some way, she happens across a horse, or a riding school, or some experienced riders out for a gallop. She is immediately enchanted, and resolves to become a rider herself. After she acquires a pony, often through some pretty bizarre circumstances, the story follows her as she progresses as a horsewoman, usually entailing detailed descriptions of horse care, competitions and the technical aspects of riding.

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While this genre has a lot in common with [[A Boy and His X]], there's a twist to it, other than the obvious gender flip. The former concerns itself with achieving "manhood", whereas the Pony Tale is not (usually) concerned with achieving "womanhood." The regulars of the stables are almost genderless. Romantic plotlines are rare, and the two sexes will regard each other as equals, at least until the obligatory loudmouth declares a battle of the sexes. This is Truth In Television to a great extent: the equestrian sports are one of the few arenas in which the two genders compete on equal terms. The stables are a culture unto themselves, and unless they give up riding, they are the centre of the protagonist's world. This is less true in North America, as everyone over there wants to see a [[You Go, Girl!]] story about a girl triumphing where others said she couldn't.

However, this genre is extremely prone to [[Growing Up Sucks]]. Ironically, while male heroes may be few and far between, it's the men who are more likely to pursue their equestrian career past adolescence. All too often, the formerly tomboyish, independent female lead will discover boys, decide that her love of horses was [[Freud Was Right|just a sublimated desire to get married and have babies]] (bear in mind how many ponies have much in common with the [[Troubled but Cute]] boyfriend) and quit riding altogether. Some authors avert this by ending the series/novel while the heroine is still young. It's very rare to see a highly talented female rider actually make it to the Olympics or the World Equestrian Games, or even keep her love of horses as she grows up and gets a job. A larger issue that the genre often avoids is the reality that competing a horse at the top levels of the sport is spectacularly expensive, involving animals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, thousands a year in training fees, and very little chance or earning back an income comparable to expenses. Few riders of either gender (though increasingly the top teams are evenly divided and the US has fielded show-jumping Olympic teams that were entirely female) can manage to make horses a viable full-time profession, at least in the dramatic ways expected in a [[Pony Tale]].

However, this genre is extremely prone to [[Growing Up Sucks]]. Ironically, while male heroes may be few and far between, it's the men who are more likely to pursue their equestrian career past adolescence. All too often, the formerly tomboyish, independent female lead will discover boys, decide that her love of horses was [[Freud Was Right|just a sublimated desire to get married and have babies]] (bear in mind how many ponies have much in common with the [[Troubled but Cute]] boyfriend) and quit riding altogether. Some authors avert this by ending the series/novel while the heroine is still young. It's very rare to see a highly talented female rider actually make it to the Olympics or the World Equestrian Games, or even keep her love of horses as she grows up and gets a job. A larger issue that the genre often avoids is the reality that competing a horse at the top levels of the sport is spectacularly expensive, involving animals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, thousands a year in training fees, and very little chance or earning back an income comparable to expenses. Few riders of either gender (though increasingly the top teams are evenly divided and the US has fielded show-jumping Olympic teams that were entirely female) can manage to make horses a viable full-time profession, at least in the dramatic ways expected in a '''Pony Tale'''.

The whole genre is rapidly becoming a [[Dead Horse Trope]] (no pun intended), on its British turf at least. There could be a number of factors to this, often contradictory ones. In the media age, it could be that riding is getting less popular, compared to video games and celebrity culture. On the other hand, some claim that horses are more accessible now, meaning that anyone who wants to go riding can; they don't have to rely on books for wish fulfillment. Almost certainly a factor however, is the genre's vanishing demographic; its target audience, 7- to 14-year-old girls, are increasingly being steered towards the "feminine" culture of fashion, cosmetics and boyfriends rather than the tomboyish Pony Tale heroine. However, the feminine association with horses remains. Just count how many "fashion doll" lines feature a pony range. Alternatively, a new type of horse story, aimed at a younger demographic, is emerging that features more traditionally feminine characters who can ride a horse without damaging their manicure.

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== Played Straight:==

== Played Straight==

=== Comics ===

* The works written and drawn by Swedish [[Lena Furberg]] ([http://www.lenafurberg.com/verklighet.html Examples of her series]), especially her longer series such as ''Freddie På Firefoot Farm'' and ''Stallgänget På Tuva'', tend to reconstruct the classic Pony Tale conventions and avert many clichés and instances of [[Somewhere an Equestrian Is Crying]]: horses cost money (and a lot of it, or there will be problems), ''keeping'' horses costs a lot of money, beginners and young horses don't match well (at least without regular help from experts), etc.

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== Borderline cases: ==

== Borderline cases ==

=== [[Literature]] ===

* Katie Price (better known as Jordan) wrote a series of pony books called ''[[Perfect Ponies]]'' aimed at younger readers. According to reviews, it has "You can be horsy and still be glam!" as its mantra, frequently dwelling on the beauty of the characters. Might reflect an attempt to integrate "love of ponies" with "interest in fashion and beauty" in order to interest its target audience.

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== Horse stories that are not Pony Tales: ==

== Horse stories that are not Pony Tales ==

=== [[Literature]] ===

* ''[[The Black Stallion]]'' ~~series -- Very~~ much A Boy and His X. Puts the focus on hero Alec Ramsey's rise to manhood through mastering a difficult and genuinely bad-tempered horse rather than the culture of the stableyard and affection between horse and rider. Alec and the stallion have a mutual respect, rather than more "sentimental" emotions like love. Further, Alec eventually moves full-time into the Thoroughbred industry as a jockey and farm manager.

* ''[[The Black Stallion]]'' series—Very much A Boy and His X. Puts the focus on hero Alec Ramsey's rise to manhood through mastering a difficult and genuinely bad-tempered horse rather than the culture of the stableyard and affection between horse and rider. Alec and the stallion have a mutual respect, rather than more "sentimental" emotions like love. Further, Alec eventually moves full-time into the Thoroughbred industry as a jockey and farm manager.

** On the other hand, one title in the series (''The Black Stallion and the Girl'') is vaguely similar: the titular girl, Pam Athena, is a free spirit who wins the love of Alec and his horses, and her desire to ride as a jockey is genuinely scandalous in the 1960s-era Thoroughbred world in which the books are set. Pam is also directly contrasted to the domineering, aggressive Becky who rides because she wants to win, not because she loves the horses.

*** Besides being an example of the story aging in real time (Alec starts out as a teenager in a time that appears to be pre-[[World War II]]) Pam is basically Alec's [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]] and wounds up being [[Put on a Bus]] which, in the next book, {{spoiler|suffers a [[Bus Crash]]}}.

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* Most horse racing stories, such as those by Dick Francis, are not pony stories, being more focused on the industry than the characters. They also tend to be thrillers.

* A series of fairly diverse horse stories were released in the late eighties/early nineties, and was aimed at teenage readers. Some were more grown up Pony Tales, such as ''[[The Hidden Horse]]'', but others were a totally different genre altogether with some horses wandering around in the plot. ''[[The Silver Bridle]]'' features a genuinely dangerous horse, but is largely about acting. Several other books in the series were cunningly disguised romance novels (look out for a mysterious, dark eyed horse trainer, or a strangely charming stable manager if you want to be sure where the plot's going), one involving a disturbing rape in a stable. As for Caroline Akrill's ''[[Flying Changes]]''... well, it started out as a dressage story, but by the time a homosexual groom had hung himself out of unrequited love for the arrogant dressage superstar and heroine Francesca was put through the emotional wringer, it was pretty obvious that this was no idealistic pony story. Even the horses must have been wondering what the hell was going on at the end of it.

* ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]''. Particularly worth noting because, while it's nothing at all like a [[Pony Tale]], [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]] suggested in a letter to his publisher that the title "might allure the 'pony book' public".

* ''[[The Horse and His Boy]]''. Particularly worth noting because, while it's nothing at all like a Pony Tale, [[C. S. Lewis|CS Lewis]] suggested in a letter to his publisher that the title "might allure the 'pony book' public".

* The first ''[[Unicorns of Balinor]]'' book, aside from its title, starts out like a standard [[Pony Tale]] despite beginning after a horrific accident that broke both of Ari's legs as well as [[Trauma-Induced Amnesia|her memories]]. It's when her foster parents warn her away from the nearby caves and she [[Telepathy|starts to hear Chase's voice in her head]] that the REAL story begins.

* The first ''[[Unicorns of Balinor]]'' book, aside from its title, starts out like a standard Pony Tale despite beginning after a horrific accident that broke both of Ari's legs as well as [[Trauma-Induced Amnesia|her memories]]. It's when her foster parents warn her away from the nearby caves and she [[Telepathy|starts to hear Chase's voice in her head]] that the REAL story begins.

* The ''[[Silver Brumby]]'' series by Elyne Mitchell, perhaps unique in that they're written from the view of the horses and the humans are largely antagonistic, if not necessarily evil.

* ''[[The God Of Animals]]'' by Aryn Kyle unpleasantly (but not unrealistically) subverts many of the elements of this trope with its dark plot and gritty, failing-stable setting.

* Apart from the usual magic-politics plotline, ''[[The Pinhoe Egg]]'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]] was this for Eric (Cat) Chant and his horse. There's a bit of recursion in here, in that the horse initially came into the family when Eric's foster sisters began reading ~~[[Pony Tale|~~horse stories]] and begged [[Chrestomanci]] for a pony. When he acquired one for them, the girls discovered that they were terrified of horses/didn't actually like riding after all, respectively, and the horse came to Eric as the only one who was able to bond with it. They quickly became fast friends, and the horse ends up being Eric's ticket into the fairy world that this book's plot revolves around.

* Apart from the usual magic-politics plotline, ''[[The Pinhoe Egg]]'' by [[Diana Wynne Jones]] was this for Eric (Cat) Chant and his horse. There's a bit of recursion in here, in that the horse initially came into the family when Eric's foster sisters began reading horse stories and begged [[Chrestomanci]] for a pony. When he acquired one for them, the girls discovered that they were terrified of horses/didn't actually like riding after all, respectively, and the horse came to Eric as the only one who was able to bond with it. They quickly became fast friends, and the horse ends up being Eric's ticket into the fairy world that this book's plot revolves around.

=== [[Theatre]] ===