Thelwell's Pony Cavalcade: Angels on Horseback, a Leg in Each Corner, Riding Academy

By Norman Thelwell

Book Overview

Little girls. Fat hairy ponies. Hook-nosed riding teachers, riders on backward, and horses gone madly off course. The artist Norman Thelwell published his first pony cartoon in 1953, and quite by accident, his name became synonymous with these kinds of images. The response was instantaneous, he wrote in his autobiography. Suddenly I had fan mail...I dreamed up some more horsey ideas and people went into raptures. The Thelwell pony soon became the most-often referenced source of horse-humor the world over. In 1957, Thelwell's first collection of pony cartoons, Angels on Horseback, was published, followed by A Leg at Each Corner in '61, and Riding Academy in '63. In this Anniversary Special Collection, readers get all three classics, featuring page after page of Thelwell's hilarious cartoons along with his often blisteringly accurate advice for survival in and around the equine herd. Whether audiences open Pony Cavalcade out of nostalgia or curiosity, the delightful details of Thelwell's illustrations and timeless wit of his caricatures and asides are a surefire way to change a day for the better, and certain to send a new generation of fat-hairy-pony-lovers out to the barn to test the truths within.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570768285
• ISBN13: 9781570768286
• Release Date: April 2017
• Publisher: Trafalgar Square Books
• Length: 350 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Fun book for riders of all ages!

I grew up with Norman Thelwell's cartoons and books as a young rider. Loved them as a kid, and ordered this book to share with my students. It's such a great little tool for learning about both useful and fun facts about horses and ponies. Anyone who has ever owned or ridden a Shetland pony will appreciate Thelwell's illustrations, anecdotes, and poor determined little Penelope's plight.

cherished since childhood

I was so happy to find that this book (collection of three books actually) by Thelwell had been re-released. As another reviewer said the quality of the illustrations are not a good as the origional editions. But the spirit of his art and humour is still intact. This book is a collection of very funny sketches of horses and their owners going through everything that horses and their owners go through, then some. For example: bathing and grooming your horse. Plenty of opportunity for fun when your horse is reluctant or your skills are lacking. Another example: riding. "never try out novel ways of getting into a saddle....you'll enjoy quite enough variety-...getting out of it". The illustrations, of course, hilariously illustrate the point. So the book is a combination of clever comments and observations and illustrations that bring the humour to life. It is also VERY British. English riding exclusively in this book and the humour is very British as well(Thelwell approaches western riding in 'Pony Panorama').If you like 'Punch' you will appreciate Thelwell. Also check out Thelwells books on gardening, golf etc. He is a master of his art. (P.S. if you want inspiration for an easy to do mural for your horseloving childs wall this book is perfect - your only problem will be choosing which illustration to copy - they are all so funny and wonderful)

re-release

Thelwell's Pony Cavalcade is a re-release of his earlier books "Angels on Horseback," "A Leg at Each Corner," and "Riding Academy." The cartoons are delightful, and will be appreciated by all horsepeople.