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Post by Claire on Jul 9, 2009 18:26:04 GMT 1
Talking about my irritation with the character of Guy in Lorna Hill's books got me thinking: what pony book characters really irritate you and which ones do you love to hate?
Apart from Guy, there was another male chauvinistic type (and possible some more spanking sessions) in Catherine Carey's Grey Arrow. I think he was called Philip. He really annoyed me too.
One of the most awful characters in all the books was the father in Pony From Fire by Sheila Chapman. And when I was a kid I used to really hate Mrs Grunter in Jump to the top. Oh and also that sadisitic teacher in For Love of A Horse!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2009 8:18:41 GMT 1
One character that springs to mind is that awful spoilt brat Chrissy in Cobblers dream. When she has a bad round in a showjumping class due to her bad riding she later on beats the pony about the head and blinds him in one eye On a slightly more cheerful note, I could throttle Jills cousin Cecilia!
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Post by snowfilly on Jul 10, 2009 11:14:45 GMT 1
Oh, on the throttling list, could we have Ann's mother?
But for sheer annoyance, it has to be Veronica in the Saddleclub books, who manages to kill Cobalt through not listening and is horribly spoilt.
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Post by garej on Jul 10, 2009 19:54:16 GMT 1
I don't like Mrs Rooke in the Woodbury Pony Club series (JPT).
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Post by Claire on Jul 10, 2009 20:19:31 GMT 1
I forgot Petra in the Jinny books she is so smug you could definitely throttle her quite cheerfully
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Post by kunuma on Jul 10, 2009 21:07:15 GMT 1
Oh I hated Claire most because of the Osprey eggs! Also the farmer, Mr Mackenzie, met one too many like him in my time! Another candidate would be Augusta's cousins' mother (I wanted a Pony).
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Post by Claire on Jul 10, 2009 21:27:30 GMT 1
ooh yeah and the cousins themselves...and Charles cousins in Show Jumping Secret and the bratty kid in Prince Among Pony (forgot her name). The PTs could certainly write annoying characters.
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Post by darkhorse on Jul 11, 2009 14:42:22 GMT 1
Most annoying/irritating character has to be Christopher in One Day Event/Pony Club Camp. I agree with Mrs Grunter and not forgetting her duaghter Celia Grunter. What about Pearl in Fly-by-Night who kept riding her pony when she was lame? I also agree with Kunuma about Clare Burnley too: she was horrible.
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Post by sarah on Jul 11, 2009 18:18:15 GMT 1
Oh yes - Christopher - yuk. I've just read THe Mandrake and didn't like the main character in that at all.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2009 16:54:56 GMT 1
I've just started reading this and I bet it's Jane you can't stand!
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Post by fizz on Jul 12, 2009 18:08:05 GMT 1
I don't like Patrick & Sara's mother either (in prince among ponies). I think that Sarah & Mrs Rooke in the Woodbury series take a bit of beating in the obnoxious stakes.
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Post by twelfthnight on Oct 13, 2009 19:45:33 GMT 1
I found Jill herself, from the books by Ruby Ferguson, really irritating! I hated the way she was so lacking in tolerance towards anyone who didn't think horses were as great as she thought, such as her cousins (was it Rosettes for Jill??) They kept dogs, and Jill was horrible to them just because of that! Then her patronising manner towards any 'beginner' made me want to slap her!
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Post by haffyfan on Oct 13, 2009 20:00:02 GMT 1
Hooray I don't like Jill much either...or Jinny
Celia and Mrs Grunter/Mrs Rooke/Sarah were pretty much one and the same and equally dispicable but I actually quite liked the chaarcter of christopher in the West Barsetshire books. I found him far more likeable than John, Richard and to be honest Henry too as he was so stuck up in Team I never warmed to him afterwards. Noel was irratating too....always dithering but always far better than anyone else at everything once she stopped dithering. I found it hard to believe that a nervous ditherer (is that a word/how it would be spelt?) would be so good at SJ/XC etc.
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Post by Claire on Oct 13, 2009 20:24:16 GMT 1
Couldnt agree more re. Jill. I liked her in the first couple of books but by the later books she was getting so self satisfied and intolerant. She soon seemed to forget that she was a hopeless poverty stricken beginner once. In the one where Dinah latches on to her, she is quite nasty to the poor girl, but she was in a similar position herself not long before (and with less gumption). I still enjoyed the books tho.
I did like Noel. I sympathised with her inability to tell right from left. My own school movements were similarly hampered! I think the reason she was so nervous was cos she was a perfectionist and cared a lot about doing things right.
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Post by kunuma on Oct 13, 2009 21:22:24 GMT 1
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Post by twelfthnight on Oct 13, 2009 21:29:15 GMT 1
Funny that I hated Jill and liked Jinny a lot! I agree that Jill was fine in the early books but gradually got more and more annoying! You'd think that it would have been the other way around, that the character would have 'matured' a little bit over time. Also, for all her claims that it was being the best that mattered she seemed far too keen on winning rosettes!
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Post by Claire on Oct 13, 2009 21:40:09 GMT 1
No kunuma, dressage wasnt my strong point either. Altho I cant say I was that brilliant at showjumping either. Prob the only thing I was really good at was sticking on mad horses! Just had a giggle as I remembered something from a pony book about a inexperienced rider who is told to change the rein and is looking about for a new pair of reins! Cant remember where it was from tho - can anyone else?
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Post by zoe on Oct 13, 2009 21:46:12 GMT 1
Ohh that rings a bell Claire but I cant remember which book its from either!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2009 7:44:08 GMT 1
I really like Jill and can't see why people don't like her. But then I can't stand Jinny and don't see what it is about her that people do like. Just as well we don't all like the same pony book characters otherwise it would be very boring and there would be no face offs! ;D
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Post by haffyfan on Oct 14, 2009 13:08:45 GMT 1
Just thought of another one Margaret Radcliff was a precocious (sp) little so and so!
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Post by spockswife on Sept 21, 2013 13:41:24 GMT 1
No kunuma, dressage wasnt my strong point either. Altho I cant say I was that brilliant at showjumping either. Prob the only thing I was really good at was sticking on mad horses! Just had a giggle as I remembered something from a pony book about a inexperienced rider who is told to change the rein and is looking about for a new pair of reins! Cant remember where it was from tho - can anyone else? Very late response - I think the changing rein bit was from The Trick Jumpers - they are trying to learn for a musical ride or a parade of some sort?
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Post by Claire on Sept 21, 2013 19:43:04 GMT 1
Thanks Spockswife, yes I think you could be right. Hello and welcome to the forum by the way!
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Post by darenc1 on Sept 22, 2013 20:53:59 GMT 1
Etta in JUMP! (Jilly Cooper)
Dear God, woman, stop bloody "squeaking" the whole time!!
Mind you, I didn't really like any of the characters in it. Needed a LOT more Rupert Campbell-Black!
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Post by Charlotte on Dec 4, 2013 21:48:31 GMT 1
The only possible one I can think of is Monica Edwards's Dion. Think he was somewhat dour, arguably a bit selfishly focussed on the interests of his farm against saving animals etc.
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Post by Claire on Dec 4, 2013 22:05:10 GMT 1
The only possible one I can think of is Monica Edwards's Dion. Think he was somewhat dour, arguably a bit selfishly focussed on the interests of his farm against saving animals etc. He wasn't terrible but he did really annoy me when reading the books. I wouldn't say arguably selfish he WAS selfish! The rest of the family always had to fall in to help whether or not they liked it. Still he was a good character in a way as there was always a battle between him and his ways and Lindsey and hers, which provided some great tension and storylines in the books. In fact I suspect Monica Edwards used the character for just that purpose. Not sure if he was based on a real person like most of the characters - will have to check.
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Post by susanb on Dec 5, 2013 3:11:41 GMT 1
The Esmond family from Plenty of Ponies...all of them so completely useless! I know they're meant to be, but it doesn't make them any more likeable!
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Post by kunuma on Dec 5, 2013 18:57:25 GMT 1
The Esmond family from Plenty of Ponies...all of them so completely useless! I know they're meant to be, but it doesn't make them any more likeable! Totally agree, I'd forgotten them - it's one of my read at Christmas time books though so I'll be meeting them again soon! Also agree about Dion - I would not have got on with him!!
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Post by Claire on Dec 5, 2013 20:01:51 GMT 1
Oh I don't mind the Plenty of Ponies family. The characters that really get up my nose are the paragons of virtue types who are perfect riders and have a 'special way' with horses - probably cos I was the complete opposite lol. I have more sympathy for the useless characters hehe.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 6, 2013 7:12:10 GMT 1
Me neither.
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Post by trixiepony on Dec 8, 2013 2:36:22 GMT 1
How about the steep dad from Blind Beauty?
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