Catherine Hapka

Prolific American author who has written many adult and children's books, in particular early readers and teen romances, and also worked as ghost writer on several series. She is a life-long lover of horses, she rides regularly and has written several horse stories in the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow series (as one of the ghost-writers).

She has written a young reader's pony series and has recently written two books in a new horsy series for slightly older readers, the Horse Diaries series, which is a set of stories about different ponies all set from their own viewpoint. (The other books in the series are written by different authors.) I had to laugh at a recent review which called a book written from a horse's point of view as 'unique and different' - when it is actually the oldest form of pony book! Think Black Beauty, Moorland Mousie, etc, etc….

In addition Catherine has written a teen series based on the horsy TV show Wildfire and also novelisation/book spin offs from films such as Flicka (the new version) and Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron.

Wildfire Series:
Teen series adapted from the US TV series of same name set in the world of horse racing. Kris has recently spent time in a juvenile detention centre but is trying to turn over a new leaf as a stablehand and jockey at the stables where she now works. She has fallen in love with a horse called Wildfire whom she saved from slaughter and now thinks can make it on the track.

For more info on the TV show click here

1) SHOW-OFF
(RANDOM HOUSE/DISNEY [USA] 2006)

2) TRACK RECORD
(RANDOM HOUSE/DISNEY [USA] 2007)

3) RACING AWAY
(RANDOM HOUSE/DISNEY [USA] 2007)

4) RIDING LESSONS
(RANDOM HOUSE/DISNEY [USA] 2007)

Collector's Info:
The first two seem fairly easy to find in both the USA and UK, the other two books are for some reason elusive. The TV show itself is available on DVD.

Pony Scouts Series:
Pony series for younger children who are just learning to read

1) PONY CRAZY
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2009)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY
SUMMARY: Meg is definitely pony mad: she has pony books, pony toys, and pony clothes. And on her first day at a new school, Meg meets two girls who are as pony crazy as she is!

2) REALLY RIDING
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2009)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY
SUMMARY: Today is a special day for the Pony Scouts. It's time for Meg and Annie's first-ever riding lesson on Jill's farm, followed by a Pony Scouts sleepover! With so many fun things planned, the girls couldn't ask for any more excitement!

3) BACK IN THE SADDLE
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2011)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY
SUMMARY: Annie loses her nerve after a fall. Will she ever get 'back in the saddle' again?

4) AT THE SHOW
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2011)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY
SUMMARY: Jill is taking Apple to their first horse show: how will they do?

5) RUNAWAY PONIES
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2012)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY
SUMMARY: The Pony Scouts are having a sleepover at Jill's house, but when one of the girls forgets to latch a stall its runaway pony time!

6) THE TRAIL RIDE
(HARPER COLLINS PB [USA] 2012)
ILLUSTRATED BY ANNE KENNEDY

Collector's Info:
In print and easy to find in both the USA and the UK. Also easy to find used copies.

The A Circuit Series:
(With Georgina Bloomberg)
Teen pony series which focuses on four rich kids who ride the USA circuit. These books are what I dub 'OK Magazine pony books' which combine horses with the lifestyles of the rich and celebrity (of which the co-author is both incidentally).

1) THE A CIRCUIT
(BLOOMSBURY [USA] 2011)
SUMMARY: The A Circuit is the top of the top when it comes to horse shows. It's a world with its own rules and super-privileged lifestyles. Teens travel the circuit all year, showing horses that cost as much as some homes. Tommi, Kate, and Zara are all riders on the circuit, but they come from totally different backgrounds. Tommi is a billionaire heiress trying to prove she has real talent. Kate puts the working in working student:every win has been paid for with hours of cleaning stalls. And then there's Zara. She's the wild child of a famous rockstar, but she's ready to take riding seriously. Can a party girl really change her ways?

2) MY FAVOURITE MISTAKE
(BLOOMSBURY [USA] 2012)
SUMMARY: Tommi, the billionaire heiress, is training a young horse to prove she can make horses a real career. But when her new beau, Alex, convinces her to skip a horse show to party in the Hamptons, the results could be disastrous. Zara, the celebutante wild child, is finally taking her riding seriously. Until the new "nanny" her dad hires threatens to upstage Zara's party girl status. Then there's Kate. She doesn't have money to burn like the others, but she does have Fitz, the barn's resident hot guy. But when the pressure of being a working student builds, Kate's perfectionist tendencies threaten to get in the way of her relationship and her riding.

Coming Soon:

3) OFF COURSE
(Due to be published November 2012)

Collector's Info:
In print and easy to find in both the USA and the UK.

Pony Books in the Horse Diaries Series:
Stories all set from the pony's point of view. Each book is written by a different author and features a different pony. All the stories are also historical, set in different eras. Two of the books in the series have been written by Catherine Hapka.

For details of the full series click here

HORSE DIAIRIES: ELSKA
(RANDOM HOUSE PB [USA] 2009)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH SANDERSON
SUMMARY: Icelandic filly Elska has an idyllic life spending long summers in the fields and winters in the farmyard being cared for by the human girl Amma, whom she loves. But then a powerful neighbour notices Elska and her life will never be the same again.

HORSE DIAIRIES: YATIMAH
(RANDOM HOUSE PB [USA] 2011)
ILLUSTRATED BY RUTH SANDERSON
SUMMARY: Yatimah is a black Arab filly living in the Arabian desert of the 9th century. Her idyllic life at the oasis is changed when her foster brother is stolen in a raid.

Collector's Info:
In print and easy to find in both the USA and the UK.