Joseph E. Chipperfield (1912-1976)

Full name Joseph Eugene Chipperfield. Born in St Austell, Cornwall in 1912. Died in 1976. Also wrote under the name John Eland Craig. As well as a writer he worked as an editor and scriptwriter of documentaries.

He was brought up on a farm where he developed his love of countryside and animals, both of which feature in all his books. He travelled around Europe making notes on wildlife and researched many of the locations of his books first hand. His novel Storm of Dancerwood is based on his experiences travelling the west country with his Alsation Max.

As well as his horse stories he wrote many books about dogs which are probably considered his best works, also other animals, usually in the wild, such as eagles, foxes and stags. His pony books were all about wild horses set in America.

Horse and Pony Books:

SILVER STAR STALLION OF THE ECHOING MOUNTAIN
(HUTCHINSON 1953)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Also a French edition
Rare.
EDITION PICTURED: 1st edition, French edition
SUMMARY: Fairly standard wild horse story about the usual magnificent stallion running wild which many want to capture.

DARK FURY STALLION OF LOST RIVER VALLEY
aka DARK HORSE (Armada paperback edition)
(HUTCHINSON 1956)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Reprinted in paperback as DARK FURY by Armada.
Reprinted in paperback under full title by Beaver.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, Armada paperback, Beaver paperback
SUMMARY: The stallion Dark Fury escapes his humiliating life as a circus performer and sets off across the desert to his wild homeland.

GHOST HORSE STALLION OF THE OREGON TRAIL
aka GHOST HORSE (Paperback edition)
(HUTCHINSON 1959)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Reprinted in paperback as GHOST HORSE by Armada and Beaver.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, Armada paperback, Beaver paperback
SUMMARY: The story of Pahute, descendant of Dark Fury, who becomes a legendary stallion in his own right. Many men have tried to capture him, but none have managed it. Can Jim Blaine succeed where others have failed?

CHECOBA STALLION OF THE COMMANCHE
(HUTCHINSON 1964)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Rare.
EDITION PICTURED: 1st edition
SUMMARY:  More of a war/adventure tale with wild horse theme. Kiowa legend tells of Checoba, black devil stallion, racing wild-eyed through the Roughs of the Rio Grande toward the red wash of Coyanosa Draw. Mad Tuscola, youngest son of Comanche Chief White Eagle, is astride. Their message: the rallying sign for the Comanche nation. The rising September moon is the Red Moon of the Comanche. Border raids for the Spanish horse herds are about to begin...

BANNER THE PACING WHITE STALLION
(HUTCHINSON 1972)
ILLUSTRATED BY ROBERT HALES
Reprinted in hardback.
Rare.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, unknown hardback edition
SUMMARY: A Navajo Indian, in a moment of vision, gave the Pacing White Stallion the name of 'Banner'. The horse had come up over the Colorado Rockies into the Bad Lands of Dakota, then being ravaged by the new railroad thrusting westward into Wyoming'

Collectors Info:
Ghost Horse and Dark Fury were the only two to be reprinted as paperbacks, both by Armada and later Beaver. These are consequently a lot easier to find than the others, which are fairly rare. Silver Star in particular is very hard to find. However if you can read French there is a much easier to find French version.
It's possible to find the odd copy of these books in the USA, however the author's dog stories seem to be easier to find there than his equine tales.