TROT ON

The Jill books, by Ruby Ferguson, were first published in the 1950s. Featuring Jill Crewe and her ponies Black Boy and Rapide, the series comprises:

Jill's Gymkhana
A Stable for Jill
Jill Has Two Ponies
Jill Enjoys Her Ponies
Jill's Riding Club
Pony Jobs for Jill
Jill and the Perfect Pony
Rosettes for Jill
Jill's Pony Trek

For those unacquainted with the joys of a vicarious First in the Showing, here are 10 signs that you have stumbled into a Jill book:

1) There will be girls wearing ties, with well-pressed shirts that are worn but clean. And jodhs.
2) Mealtimes will be signalled by bell or gong.
3) Jill will burst into a genteel social gathering in an unkempt state, very possibly with bits of straw in her hair.
4) Cousin Cecilia will prove herself an utter blot.
5) An initially forbidding upper-class person, perhaps with a military title, and almost certainly with a double-barreled name, will recognise Jill as the right sort.
6) The day of the gymkhana will dawn misty or dull, then brighten up.
7) Someone will canter a perfect figure of eight, with a change of legs in the middle.
8) Ices will be consumed, though these may be the watery sort that taste of synthetic egg.
9) A spoilt child on an expensive pony will get its come-uppance in the jumping.
10) The qualities of pluck, hard work and general all-round decency will correlate highly with the winning of rosettes.

Source: thanks to NJB for Jill Knowledge - Red Rosette!