Abby’s Pony Love (Dream Pony Riders #1) By Susan Count - Contemporary Fiction/Middle Grade - When a girl falls in pony-love, she wants it to be forever.
This is my post during the blog tour for Abby’s Pony Love by Susan Count. Abby’s Pony Love is a wholesome and fun Middle Grade book about horses.
This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and runs from 10 till 23 October. You can see the tour schedule here.
By Susan Count
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Age category: Middle Grade
Release Date: 19 September 2022
When a girl falls in pony-love, she wants it to be forever.
Desperate to be near horses, a hopeful girl with no horse experience begs for a job at a stable. Then she falls in love with a beautiful but mischievous pony, only to have it bought by another family. Abby’s heart aches when her barn job becomes helping the new owner learn to ride the best pony ever. Can her faithful heart let go of what never belonged to her?
Excerpt
Abby gasped in awe when she spotted the palomino mare, then
squealed like she was nine. “She’s fairy-tale perfection. Just takes your
breath away.”
Miss Elena smiled. “I agree with
you. The pony of my dulces sueños when I was a niñita.” She slipped in and
out of her native Spanish as she tied Rebel and went to greet the owner.
In a daze, Abby slid from Freckles’s
back. “Wow,” she breathed. Her fingers outstretched, daring to touch the mare.
“Are you real? You’re so beautiful.”
Her coat felt luxurious like it had been infused with magic. Hand over hand,
Abby stroked the pony’s neck. The mane rippled under her fingers like delicate,
baby-bird feathers. I’m totally, completely in love.
Are you an alicorn? Abby peeked under the mare’s forelock. No horn hidden there.
She pressed her fingers into the crease behind her shoulder muscles. No wings
either. Wings would explain the spell the pony cast over her.
Without interrupting Abby’s blissful
dreaming, Miss Elena pulled the saddle and bridle from Freckles and settled it
on the new pony. Then the trainer held the pony by the bridle. “Up you go.”
Still in a trance, Abby eased into
the saddle. The golden mare stepped gracefully alongside Rebel and Freckles.
Abby and the pony moved as if they’d always been a team. “This is amazing times
ten. She is so light and responsive. She reads my mind. Just the slightest
pressure on the bit, and she softens. I’m riding a magic cloud.”
“I was wondering if she might act
barn sour and not want to ride away from her home, but she seems to like having
a horse companion.”
“She’s not tried to turn back even
once,” Abby said.
After they turned into the woods,
Miss Elena extended Rebel’s walk stride. When the lead rope grew taut, Freckles
grunted his objection to trotting to keep up. “Let me know if the pace is too
fast for you, Abby. We need to get there, but we don’t have to race.”
Abby tightened her calf muscles, and
the mare sprang into a steady posting trot. The mare floated like a dream
right out of a fairy tale. “We’re good. She is so smooth, I could ride this for
three days. Maybe forever.”
Way too soon the barn came into
view, and her heart plummeted into her boots. Her ride was over. Whoever
gets this pony is the luckiest kid in the whole wide world. Of course, the
family will love the mare the minute they see her. She couldn’t hold
the leaking dribble of tears. But she brushed them away so the trainer wouldn’t
be sorry she’d let Abby ride the mare home. Instead, she displayed the best
smile she could manage. “Who wouldn’t want her? She’s amazing.”
“She is special, and our job today
is to get her a good home. Take her into the arena. I’ll check on the family.
They should be a good match, so do your best to show her off.” Miss Elena
disappeared into the barn.
Abby stared at her hands on the reins. “If this family
doesn’t take you, I’ll find a way. Try not to be too dazzling, okay? Maybe
throw a buck or two,” she whispered as she walked the golden treasure around
the arena. “If you’ll be naughty today, then we can be together. It’ll be our
little secret.”
About the Author:
Susan Count writes for the joy and entertainment of young readers. She is a best-selling, award-winning author of the Dream Horse Adventures Series, Dream Pony Riders Series, and Texas Boys Adventures.She prefers to create stories in a quiet zone. Out her window, her mind wanders through the forest and keeps her in a grateful, contented state of being. She writes at a fabulous antique desk that has secret compartments filled with memories, mysteries, and story ideas. As a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and American Christian Fiction Writers, Susan takes studying the craft of writing seriously.
Susan confesses to being overly fond of brownies and horseback riding on forest trails. She is a lifelong equestrian and is owned by a Rocky Mountain Horse.
You are invited to saddle up and ride along. www.susancount.com
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Abby’s Pony Love. One winner wins a $25 Amazon gift card.
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