Alan Delgado

Part of the "Introducing..." animals series for children published by Golden Pleasure Books, it's more than a little dated now, but offers a fascinating pictorial, historical peek at days gone by. Not quite a picture book, not quite a reference book, Delgado's text ranges from fairly lengthy, informative passages, to short, caption-like commentary. It's an excellent counterpoint to the black and white photographs of ponies, big and small and their owners of all sizes. The book covers mainly European ponies, and as Delgado points out on the opening page, "The stickler for correct horsemanship may well be shocked because, no doubt, in some instances all manner of things are wrong -- tails too long, coats not groomed, riders not properly dressed or not correctly mounted." But the smiling children and contented pony faces leave no doubt that all concerned were quite happy.… (meer)