Betty Cavanna (1909-2001)

Full name Elizabeth Allen Cavanna. American author born in New Jersey in 1909. As a child she suffered from polio and her nurse introduced to her a love of books which was to become a life-long passion.

She became a very prolific author, penning over 70 books. Mainly wrote young adult/teen coming of age/romance stories, some with a horsy backdrop. As with many American pony books, the romance element is much more pronounced than in its British counterparts of the same time. Despite one or two schmaltzy titles, the books were not trashy romances but competent explorations of many of the diverse problems of growing up, and were well-loved by more than one generation of American teenagers. As Ms. Cavanna grew older she began to feel she was getting a little out of touch with teenage problems and so turned to writing mysteries.

Also wrote as Betsy Allen and Elizabeth Headley.

Horse & Pony Books:
All young adult books with an element of romance.

SPURS FOR SUZANNA
(WESTMINSTER [USA]1947)
ILLUSTRATED BY VIRGINIA MANN
(1st UK edition LUTTERWORTH 1952)
ILLUSTRATED BY STANLEY LLOYD
Also reprinted in hardback and paperback in the USA
Published in the UK by Lutterworth with new illustrations by Stanley Lloyd.
The UK edition also had a second impression.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, paperback edition, UK 1st edition.
SUMMARY: Sue is unable to pursue her dream of riding as her father is ill and her mother has to work, but then she is invited to stay on a farm and things start to look up.

SPRING COMES RIDING
(WESTMINSTER [USA] 1950)
(1st UK edition LUTTERWORTH 1952)
ILLUSTRATED BY BETH KRUSH
EDITIONS PICTURED: USA edition, UK edition.
SUMMARY: Older children's coming of age novel. Meg is tired of horses until she falls in love with Alan, a young rider at a local show. She sees the chance to get in with him by looking after his horse. But, not surprisingly, the course of true love does not run smoothly!
Read a review  (off web-site)

LASSO YOUR HEART
(WESTMINSTER [USA] 1952)
There was also a Book Club edition.
EDITION PICTURED: 1st edition
SUMMARY: Romance/coming of age story set against a ranch/horse backdrop. Two very different cousins become friends when they are staying together at a ranch, and they also both fall in love. Better than the awful title suggests!

WANTED: A GIRL FOR THE HORSES
(WILLIAM MORROW [USA] 1984)
EDITION PICTURED: 1st edition
SUMMARY: When fifteen-year-old Charlotte accepts the position of groom for the horses of impoverished gentry, she discovers there are many ways in which she must prove herself.

BANNER YEAR
(WILLIAM MORROW  [USA] 1987)
Reprinted in hardback.
Reprinted in paperback by Troll in 1988
EDITION PICTURED: 1st edition, paperback edition.
SUMMARY: A horse mad girl falls in love for the first time. But when her horse Banner is injured she turns her back on her new boyfriend to devote all her time to the horse.

Collectors Info:
Only the first two of these were published in the UK. Not surprisingly these are the easiest of the titles  to find here. However they are all fairly easy to track down in the USA and for the most part low cost.