Thelwell's Pony Cavalcade: Angels on Horseback, a Leg in Each Corner, Riding Academy

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They were owned by two little girls about three feet high who could have done with losing a few pounds themselves,” he recalled. “They would arrive to collect their mounts in yellow pullovers, tiny jodhpurs and velvet safety helmets. I could hear the air whisper as they tested their whips – so could Thunder and Lightning, who pointedly ignored them and went on grazing. Norman Thelwell's illustrations and timeless wit are bound to get another generation of young riders 'hooked' on the 'Thelwell pony.' It should be required reading for all children (and their parents) attending summer riding camps. — Mid-South Horse Review, May 2017 I knew Thelwell strayed from the ponies just far enough to capture the humor that fishing, farming and golfing offered up. But what I didn’t know was that at 18, he joined the army and served in the East Yorkshire Regiment, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, whatever all that means. He spent part of the war in India, where he was the art editor of an army magazine in New Delhi, which does not fit well with my imagination at all. After the war, where undoubtedly he firmed up his belief that drawing was the way forward, he went to art school and a few years later taught design and illustration at another art school. Born in Birkenhead, Thelwell spent the Second World War in the East Yorkshire Regiment, [2] having signed up at the age of 18 in 1941, [3] and was art editor of an army magazine in New Delhi, India. [2]

Merrylegs and the other ponies will be brought to life all thanks VFX and Peter Field ( Bond franchise, Wonder Woman 1984, Fast & Furious 9) and expert horseman Vic Armstrong (The Amazing Spider-Man, Bond franchise, Thor). Punch Afloat (1974) – contains two sections written by Thelwell, pp. 36 and 80, as well as additional illustrations In 1962 the world was introduced to Penelope and her pony Kipper who were modeled after his daughter Penelope and her pony Kipper. Originally a comic strip, the series morphed into several books and in 2021, into a TV series and a movie: Merrylegs the Movie is due out in 2023. Thelwell Country: 70 years of Norman Thelwell ISBN 0-901723-33-9 (2003–4) [exhibition catalogue, Southampton City Art Gallery] The film is set to be the first instalment in a planned franchise that will establish the characters and Willowbrook Riding Stables, set in the beautiful remote mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. The film follows Penny and Merrylegs, a timid pony who must overcome his greatest fears to find his own place in the world.

Blenheim Films has today announced they will releasing an adaption feature Merrylegs the Movie based on the cherished Thelwell Ponies. This live-action version will be directed by acclaimed director Candida Brady (T rashed, Urban and The Shed Crew, Muse). In 1944, he took evening classes in art at Nottingham Art School. [3] A fellow art student, Rhona, became his wife in 1949. [3] They had one son and one daughter. [2] [3] The film is intended for a 2023 release to mark and celebrate Norman Thelwell’s centenary, one of the 20th century’s most beloved and well-known British children’s authors, his collection of 34 books continue to sell millions of copies worldwide, translated into a variety of languages and remains one of the only British heritage family franchises fully unexploited for film. Today [3 May 2023] marks the 100 th anniversary of Norman’s birth and, throughout the year, his children, David and Penny, are celebrating the occasion – as well as the Thelwell Pony turning 70 – with exhibitions and republications of his books! I had always assumed, because it’s rather easier than research, that Norman Thelwell’s entire career centered around ponies. Specifically around those fat disgruntled wayward ponies with knobbly knees and disheveled manes and the chubby undeterred little children that rode them, who, if under instruction were taught by a plump, heavily bosomed instructor in a tweed coat.

This classic will have you roaring with laughter…Without question horse lovers of every age will thoroughly enjoy this book. It'll brighten you up on even the gloomiest day! A big fat YAY on this read. —CatskillHorse.org, May 2017 Norman Thelwell (3 May 1923 - 7 February 2004) was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, on 3 May 1923. His earliest surviving drawing is a pencil self-portrait done at the age of 10, on which his teacher has written in red ink: 'V. good indeed'. He remembers always wanting to draw as a child and recalls finding drawing and painting much easier than other subjects - 'with drawing, the answer was always there in front of you - you only had to look'. His love of the countryside was fostered by childhood visits to a North Wales farm and was strengthened throughout his life. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so pleased with myself for finally finishing this short, and hopefully entertaining post. Norman Thelwell’s daughter Penny Jones said: “ I very much look forward to seeing Dad’s ponies coming to life on screen so that a new generation can discover the iconic Thelwell pony – and their parents can rediscover characters they knew from his books when they were children.”Thelwell was no slouch. As a freelancer his work was found in such publications as Picture Post, Farming Express and Farmer’s Weekly, to name but a few. He drew the images on many of the James Herriot book covers, worked for TV and illustrated advertising for little-known companies such as Guinness and W.H. Smith. Never mind the 34 books he had published. Long live the Thelwell pony for forcing us to question our intelligence while the devilish creature outwits us all.

And that’s exactly how the Thelwell Pony was born. Norman’s inspiration for his pony illustrations came from his home in Staffordshire where he lived next to a field containing two small, fat and hairy ponies that were, as he recalled, “owned by two little girls about three feet high”. After Nottingham, he took a degree at Liverpool College of Art, [3] then in 1950, he took up a post teaching design and illustration at Wolverhampton College of Art, [2] but gave this up to work freelance in 1956. [2] [3] In the 1970s, Thelwell also illustrated the front covers of the first six James Herriot books in the series. Norman Thelwell was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, on 3 May 1923. His earliest surviving drawing is a pencil self-portrait done at the age of 10, on which his teacher has written in red ink: ‘V. good indeed’. He remembers always wanting to draw as a child and recalls finding drawing and painting much easier than other subjects –‘with drawing, the answer was always there in front of you – you only had to look’. His love of the countryside was fostered by childhood visits to a North Wales farm and was strengthened throughout his life.

No cast has been officially announced yet, but certainly under way. Especially for the role of Penny a character inspired by Thelwell’s daughter. That task will go to Michelle Smith ( The Runaways, Aladdin, Once Upon a Time in London) . It warms my heart to know that the iconic illustrations of my childhood and no doubt the childhood of many have not been forgotten. They are the memories of when life was simple and carefree, where my only concern was should I ride in the English saddle today or the western? But it wasn’t his ponies that were found in the magazine in the first year. It was his idea of British country life, focusing on the ineptness of humans and the cunning of animals praying on us weak-minded folk.

Norman Thelwell was probably best known for his ponies. He was the illustrator of many pony-mad children’s childhoods: not the lovely dream of a matchless grey swishing round the show ring, festooned with rosettes, but the foul tempered pony determined not to be caught and entirely deaf to any suggestion that it be schooled. Much though I would have loved the matchless grey, what I got was a succession of riding school ponies, each more inured to the charms of a child than the last. Like Thelwell’s girls though, hope sprang eternal. Penelope et al were always convinced that their day as Pony Club champion would come. So was I. Despite years of solid evidence to the contrary, so was I.