The Racehorse Who Wouldn’t Gallop

Clare Balding's The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is a warm, funny farm story for 8 year olds about a girl who has only ever ridden a cow and comes home from an auction with a racehorse.

What happens

Charlie Bass lives on a dairy farm where the cows are called things like Princess Anne, Hermione Granger and Taylor Swift. She's desperate to ride, but a pony costs money the family hasn't got. So she learned on a very patient cow called Ermintrude.

School is hard work. Some of the girls call her a cow, and her brothers Harry and Larry call her Thunder Thighs. Her best friend Polly and her Border terrier Boris keep her going (she tries to smuggle Boris onto the school bus in her satchel).

Then Mum and Dad call a family meeting, because the farm is struggling. The boys suggest a chicken dancing contest and painting eggs to sell as Fabergé eggs (genius, obviously). Charlie suggests buying a racehorse.

At the sale she spots Noble Warrior, a gorgeous dark horse who's terrified of everything unless his scruffy pony friend Percy is next to him. Then she waves to Polly across the ring. The auctioneer thinks it's a bid!

So Charlie and her dad drive home in the cattle truck with a thousand-pound racehorse and a pony thrown in for free. There's just one snag. Noble Warrior won't gallop, and working out why is going to be up to Charlie.

Charlie is full of horse facts. Did you know that a racehorse who was never beaten had a heart twice the normal size? The family scenes are lovely too. Her mum's pep talk about why strong legs are something to be proud of is a real gem.

It's worth knowing that the teasing really stings, and there are tears along the way. Joe, the teenager who helps with the milking, lost his jockey dad after a fall before the story starts, and the book opens on the anniversary. It's all handled gently, and Charlie's family is firmly on her side.

If your reader is horse-mad, or has ever been teased for how they look, Charlie is a heroine they'll cheer for. It's the first book in the series too, so there's more to come if they love her.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, try The Pony With No Name. Bryony has just moved house and is missing her riding stables, until she hears a whinny in the woods and finds a frightened little bay pony who needs someone calm.