A Babette Cole book world
Ponies, Unicorns & Magical Adventures
Gallop into a world of mischievous ponies, horse-mad heroines, magical riding schools, unicorns, ghosts and even a few extremely unwelcome pony vampires.
- Ponies
- Riding schools
- Magic
- Unicorns
- Vampires
- Boarding-school adventure
Four books · one clear sequence
Welcome to Fetlocks Hall
Penny Simms and her best friend Pip are pony mad, so an equestrian boarding school sounds perfect. Fetlocks Hall, however, teaches far more than riding, maths and English. Prophecies, ghosts, mythical horses, enchanted spells and pony vampires are all part of the timetable.
Read the four adventures in order and follow Penny as she discovers her powers, protects the school and enters an increasingly strange magical world.
The Unicorn Princess
Penny arrives at an equestrian boarding school where mysterious knowledge about horses sits alongside ordinary lessons. Could she be the Unicorn Princess foretold in the school’s prophecies?
The Ghostly Blinkers
Penny returns after Christmas to discover that Fetlocks Hall may have to close. With her magical powers, her friends, the ponies and the school ghosts, she sets out to save it.
The Curse of the Pony Vampires
Foul-smelling pony vampires descend upon the school just as it faces an official inspection. Penny and her friends must remove the unwelcome visitors before Fetlocks Hall is shut down.
The Enchanted Pony
Penny and Pip enter a magical world of mythical horses as they search for Pip’s missing parents. Can Penny release them from an enchanted spell and reunite the family?
Inside the school gates
Riding detail meets headlong fantasy
The Fetlocks Hall books mix practical horse knowledge with ghosts, mythical creatures, magical danger and fast-moving school adventures—a series made for readers who would happily spend every lesson in the stable.
Where the horse stories began
The Amazing Adventures of Promise
Promise was inspired by Babette’s own much-loved pony, whom she had known since childhood. At Jollynice Farm, Promise shares bright, inventive adventures with Babtail, Kipper, Plum Pudding the dog and Farmer Jellybones.
These early stories combine country life, comic problem-solving and richly decorated illustrations that feel like sunny pages from a storybook garden.
Promise and the Monster
When Fergus McHeap’s monster is stolen by a travelling circus, Promise devises a cunning rescue plan. A borrowed firework barge carries the friends off in pursuit of the kidnappers.
Promise Solves the Problem
Jollynice Farm is peaceful until the animals become fed up with their jobs and go on strike. Promise decides that everyone needs a change, a seaside escape and a well-earned rest.
A countryside full of character
In Babette’s world, horses never simply stand still.
They solve problems, outwit grown-ups, race, rebel, uncover mysteries and lead their friends towards the next ridiculous adventure.
Horse-mad heroines and standalone magic
Two more adventures from the stable
From a girl who takes her love of ponies to an extraordinary extreme to a magical unicorn tale, these books celebrate imagination, independence and Babette’s gleefully unpredictable humour.
Winni Allfours
Winni wants a pony more than anything. When she is told that eating enough carrots might turn her into a horse, she takes the suggestion very seriously—with wonderfully chaotic results.
Unicorn Drums
A vividly illustrated journey into Babette Cole’s magical horse world—filled with the colour, imagination and lively visual storytelling that run throughout this collection.
Behind the stories
Babette and her horses
Horses were part of Babette’s life as well as her work. Promise inspired her earliest pony adventures, and years later she continued riding, competing and filling her stories with the energy, humour and close observation of someone who truly knew horses.
Choose your next ride
Start at Jollynice Farm—or enrol at Fetlocks Hall.
Whichever path you take, expect determined heroines, unruly animals, sudden magic and Babette Cole’s unmistakable delight in turning a sensible story completely upside down.