Nina Lloyd Banning

British author. Although born in England, she lived in a variety of countries including Australia, Africa, Hawaii and the USA, where she stayed until she died. Most of her life she lived in the countryside and developed a deep respect for nature and animals. Her first love was art, but she turned to writing during an illness. Because of her love for animals she decided to write children's books about them in the hope she could inspire a compassion for them in her young readers. She has also written poetry.

Her one pony story was about a boy and a pit pony, and was set in Wales. This was based on her experiences of the pit ponies which she found out about when living for a time in a mining district. The pony in the book was also based on a real pit pony called Rocket. Despite being set in Wales, the book was first published in the USA.

Many thanks to Nadia Banning for providing most of the above information.

Horse & Pony Books:

PIT PONY
(1st edition KNOPF [USA] 1947)
(1st UK edition ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL? 1949)
ILLUSTRATED BY FARRELL R. COLLETT
Reprinted by original publishers a number of times
Published in the UK also.
SUMMARY: Set in Wales. A boy is devastated when the pony he has grown up with is sold to become a pit pony. He determines to earn the money to free the pony by working at the mine himself.

Collector's info:
Reasonably easy to find in the USA, though harder with jacket. Quite rare in the UK.