Rodman Philbrick

Popular and award winning modern American author. Born in Boston in 1951. Before getting his first book published he wrote a string of rejected manuscripts whilst earning his keep as a carpenter and boat-builder. Has written books for both adults and teenagers. Probably most famous for his book 'Freak the Mighty' which was made into a film. As far as I know penned just the one horse-related story.

He also writes under a number of aliases including William R. Dantz, Chris Jordan and W. R. Philbrick and co-authors books with his wife Lynn Harnett.

He has his own website where you can find out more about his other non-horse books.

Horse & Pony Books:

THE FIRE PONY
(SCHOLASTIC/BLUE SKY USA] 1996)
(1st UK edition USBORNE PB 2005)
Reprinted in the USA in paperback by Scholastic.
Published in the UK in paperback by Osborne in 2005, reprinted in 2008.
In print in both the USA and UK as of 2014.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, Scholastic paperback, Osborne 2005 paperback, Osborne 2008 paperback.
SUMMARY: Unusual pony story. Roy and his grown-up brother Joe are on the run from their past. They fetch up at a ranch where Joe's horse handling skills earn him a job. Roy too is a good horseman and he is offered the chance to keep the wild filly Lady Luck if he can break her in ! Life seems great for the brothers, but Joe has a dark secret and at the back of Roy's mind is the worry that it will once again threaten their peace and destroy their happy lives.
PONYMAD RATING: 3 HORSESHOES

Collector's Info:
Easy to find in paperback in both the UK and USA. At the moment the book is in print in both places. Harder to find elsewhere. First edition is a little rarer.