Lady Kitty Ritson (1887-1969)

Full name Lady Kitty Edith Blanche Oglivy. Daughter of the Countess of Airlie, who was a close friend of Queen Mary and also an author.

Wrote under her second married name of Ritson and also under her first married name of Kitty Vincent. The pony books all seem to be under the Ritson name, as she wrote them after her second marriage.

She was extremely interested in dogs and was a leading name in the dog breeding world and the development of the Guide Dogs for the Blind. She also wrote a number of books about them, both fiction and non-fiction. In fact she was much more famous as a leading light in the world of dogs (especially for her part in the development of the Finnish Spitz) than in her other career as a children's author.

Tragically both her own children died young.

(Sources: The Peerage.com)

Tessa Series:

TESSA AND SOME PONIES
(NELSON 1953)
ILLUSTRATED BY LESLIE ATKINSON
Reprinted in paperback by Nelson in the 1950s
SUMMARY: Tessa longs to have a beautiful show pony. But her father is bringing her up on his own after her mother has died and money is tight. She has to make do with Dusty, her humble nag. But she is so determined to train him well that she manages to win prizes against better bred opposition. Although she loves her pony she hankers after a lovely Arab she has fallen in love with. Her father and friends are impressed by her fortitude and determination. Will she be rewarded?
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

TESSA IN SOUTH AFRICA
(NELSON 1955)
ILLUSTRATED BY LESLIE ATKINSON
Reprinted in hardback by Nelson.
SUMMARY: Tessa has a horsy adventure in South Africa

TESSA TO THE RESCUE
(NELSON 1957)
ILLUSTRATED BY SHEILA ROSE
Rare

TESSA AND THE RANNOCH DUDE RANCH
(NELSON 1961)
ILLUSTRATED BY SHEILA ROSE
Quite Rare
SUMMARY: One of Tessa's friends inherits an estate in Scotland!

Collectors Info:
Not common books, but not impossible to find. Tessa and Some Ponies is the easiest to find of them all. It was reprinted in paperback. I don't think any of the others were and thus are fairly hard to find.

Other Pony Books:

MOLLY THE NEW FOREST PONY
(NELSON 1940
ILLUSTRATED BY W. NEAVE PARKER
Reprinted in hardback by Nelson in the 1950s.
SUMMARY: A young boy rescues a New Forest Pony

MONTANA ADVENTURE
(FABER AND FABER 1946)
ILLUSTRATED BY MARJORIE OWENS
SUMMARY: Ranch story.

JOHN AND JENNIFER'S PONY CLUB
(NELSON 1955)
ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOS BY GEE DENES
Rare.

Collectors Info:
No paperback editions. Again, quite hard to find. John and Jennifer's Pony Club seems to be the rarest.