Wanted! A Horse

John Phillips is the only kid in the district without a horse. Every Saturday, he sits on his front fence and watches the riders go past: Shetlands, Welsh Mountain ponies, expensive part-Arabs, all clip-clopping to the riding school or Pony Club without him. His parents won't budge, his small blue heeler Blue barely counts as company, and the weekend stretches ahead, empty and useless.

Then a wild chestnut gelding bolts from the local riding school, and one ordinary Saturday explodes into adventure. Before the day is out, John will be wading through lake shallows, outwitting a would-be horse thief, and discovering something he never expected: that the horse worth having might not be the horse you dreamed of.

Wanted! A Horse is the first book in the Jumping into Trouble series: a warm, funny, and honest story about a boy who wants a horse more than anything, and what happens when he finally gets one.