Team Trouble at Dark Creek

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Christmas is coming, but several things are clouding Jessa’s favorite
holiday. First, she has a major history project due and she has not even
started it. Second, she has just had a fight with her best friend,
Cheryl, so her only companion is her small Welsh pony, Rebel. Third, her
father, who abandoned them long ago, is coming for a visit. Fourth, her
beloved Rebel has just been evicted from his nice cozy stall because the
stable owner, Mrs. Baily, has just inherited two huge Belgian
workhorses. Fifth, because the Belgians are eating her out of house and
home, Mrs. Baily says that if she cannot find a good home for them, she
may have to sell them to a slaughterhouse. As much as Jessa resents the
two greedy giants who have taken over Rebel’s stall, she is horrified
at the thought of the Belgians’ being turned into puppy chow.

This second instalment in the StableMates series is definitely a horse
enthusiast’s book. Every page resounds to the thud of hooves and the
scrape of a manure fork. Tate writes with authority. She knows horses,
and the hearts of the young girls who love them. Nothing more needs to
be said. Recommended.