Psuedonym of Jo Ann Simon. American author born in Connecticut in 1946. Mainly famous for the extremely long and (in its day) hugely popular Thoroughbred series. She loved horses as a child, but did not have one until she was grown-up, when she rescued an ill-treated quarter horse called Moe. Although she sadly had to sell Moe when she was pregnant with her second child and couldn't look after him, she did later take up riding again.
Her writing career began with adult romances, and she was then asked to write some young adult horse books. Next the Thoroughbred series was commissioned: originally to be only 4 books long! It instead grew to over 70 with special editions and a spin off series too. Most of the books in the series were however not actually written by Joanna, with a team of ghostwriters continuing the series after book 14. The spin off series, the Ashleigh series, was again partly written by Joanna Campbell and partly by other authors.
As there are a huge number of books on this page I will not be providing a picture and summary of each of the books due to time and space constraints. However pics and summaries of many of them can be found by checking out the links section.
Joanne Campbell's website is no longer around, however there is a fan site/blog dedicated to her and the Thoroughbred series (see link). There are also links to the web pages of some of the other authors of the Thoroughbred series.
Thoroughbred Series: Immensely popular and very long (!) USA series. Set mainly in the world of racing, but also in the eventing world. The first few books in the series are arguably the best. Later ones were not actually written by J. Campbell but by a team of ghostwriters in her style. Some of these writers includes Alice Leonhardt (aka Alison Hart), Karle Dickerson, Karen Bentley, Allison Estes, Lois Szymanski and Jennifer Chu
To see pics of all the books in the series please click here
1. A HORSE CALLED WONDER
2. WONDER'S PROMISE
3. WONDER'S FIRST RACE
4. WONDER'S VICTORY
5. ASHLEIGH'S DREAM
6. WONDER'S YEARLING
7. SAMANTHA'S PRIDE
8. SIERRA'S STEEPLECHASE
9. PRIDE'S CHALLENGE
10. PRIDE'S LAST RACE
11. WONDER'S SISTER
12. SHINING'S ORPHAN
13. CINDY'S RUNAWAY COLT
14. CINDY'S GLORY
Written by other authors:
15. GLORY'S TRIUMPH by Karen Bentley
16. GLORY IN DANGER by Karen Bentley
17. ASHLEIGH'S FAREWELL by Karen Bentley
18. GLORY'S RIVAL by Karen Bentley
19. CINDY'S HEARTBREAK by Karen Bentley
20. CHAMPION'S SPIRIT by Karen Bentley
21. WONDER'S CHAMPION by Karen Bentley
22. ARABIAN CHALLENGE by Karen Bentley
23. CINDY'S HONOR by Karen Bentley
24. THE HORSE OF HER DREAMS by Allison Estes
25. MELANIE'S TREASURE by Allison Estes
26. STERLING'S SECOND CHANCE by Allison Estes
27. CHRISTINA'S COURAGE by Alice Leonhardt
28. CAMP SADDLEBROOK by Dale Blackwell Gasque
29. MELANIE'S LAST RIDE by Alice Leonhardt
30. DYLAN'S CHOICE by Dale Blackwell Gasque
31. A HOME FOR MELANIE by Alice Leonhardt
32. CASSIDY'S SECRET by Allison Estes
33. RACING PARKER by Dale Blackwell Gasque
34. ON THE TRACK by Lois Szymanski
35. DEAD HEAT by Alice Leonhardt
36. WITHOUT WONDER by Brook James
37. STAR IN DANGER by Alice Leonhardt
38. DOWN TO THE WIRE by Mary Newhall Anderson
39. LIVING LEGEND by Alice Leonhardt
40. ULTIMATE RISK by Mary Newhall Anderson
41. CLOSE CALL by Karle Dickerson
42. THE BAD LUCK FILLY by Alice Leonhardt
43. FALLEN STAR by Mary Newhall Anderson
44. PERFECT IMAGE by Alice Leonhardt
45. STAR'S CHANCE by Alice Leonhardt
46. RACING IMAGE by Alice Leonhardt
47. CINDY'S DESERT ADVENTURE by Mary Newhall Anderson
48. CINDY'S BOLD START by Mary Newhall Anderson
49. RISING STAR by Karle Dickerson
50. TEAM PLAYER by Alice Leonhardt
51. DISTANCE RUNNER by Jennifer Chu
52. PERFECT CHALLENGE by Alice Leonhardt
53. DERBY FEVER by Mary Newhall Anderson
54. CINDY'S LAST HOPE by Mary Newhall Anderson
55. GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Karle Dickerson
56. HOOFPRINTS IN THE SNOW by Karle Dickerson
57. FAITH IN A LONG SHOT by Alice Leonhardt
58. CHRISTINA'S SHINING STAR by Mary Newhall Anderson
59. STAR'S INSPIRATION by Mary Newhall Anderson
60. TAKING THE REINS by Jennifer Chu
61. PARKER'S PASSION by Karle Dickerson
62. UNBRIDLED FURY by Karle Dickerson
63. STARSTRUCK by Mary Newhall Anderson
64. THE PRICE OF FAME by Mary Newhall Anderson
65. BRIDAL DREAMS by Mary Newhall Anderson
66. SAMANTHA'S IRISH LUCK by Mary Newhall Anderson
67. BREAKING THE FALL by Jennifer Chu
68. KAITLIN'S WILD RIDE by Karle Dickerson
69. MELANIE'S DOUBLE JINX by Mary Newhall Anderson
70. ALLIE'S LEGACY by Mary Newhall Anderson
71. CALAMITY JINX by Mary Newhall Anderson
72. LEGACY'S GIFT by Mary Newhall Anderson
Special Editions:
AHLEIGH'S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
ASHLEIGH'S DIARY
ASHLIEGH'S HOPE by Karen Bentley
SAMANTHA'S JOURNEY by Karen Bentley
Collectors Info: All paperbacks. Most can be found on Amazon, although the odd title may prove elusive.
Ashleigh Series: Related to the Thoroughbred series. A prequel series which occurs before the events in the first Thoroughbred book when Ashleigh, heroine of the first books, was younger. Joanna Campbell wrote the first 3 books in the series, the others were again written by ghostwriters under her name, principally by Chris Platt.
To see pics of all the books in the series please click here
1) LIGHTNING'S LAST HOPE
2) A HORSE FOR CHRISTMAS
3) WAITING FOR STARDUST
4) GOODBYE MIDNIGHTG WANDERER by Olivia Coates
5) THE FORBIDDEN STALLION by Chris Platt
6) A DANGEROUS RIDE by Mary Newhall Anderson
7) DERBY DAY by Chris Platt
8) THE LOST FOAL by Chris Platt
9) HOLIDAY HOMECOMING by Chris Platt
10) DERBY DREAMS by Chris Platt
11) ASHLEIGH'S PROMISE by Chris Platt
12) WINTER RACE CAMP by Chris Platt
13) THE PRIZE by Chris Platt
14) ASHLEIGH'S WESTERN CHALLENGE by Chris Platt
15) STARDUST'S FOAL by Chris Platt
Collectors Info: All paperbacks. Most can be found on Amazon, although the odd title may prove elusive.
Ashleigh's Thoroughbred Collection: These stories were originally published as stand-alone stories and were later republished to tie in with the Thoroughbred series and renamed under the umbrella title of Ashleigh's Thoroughbred Collection. Obviously a marketing ploy to increase interest in these similar horsy stories. However only Battlecry Forever is linked to the original Thoroughbred series in terms of characters. These books were also reprinted as part of the British Rosettes series along with 3 other pony books by different authors. See the full Rosettes Series titles
STAR OF SADDLEBROOK FARM (HARPER COLLINS [USA] 1992) (1st UK edition KNIGHT PB 1994) Originally published in 1992 then reprinted as part of Ashleigh Collection in 1998. Reprinted in hardback by Stabenfeldt in 2008. Published in the UK as part of the Rosettes Series in 1994. SUMMARY: Can Susan regain her lost nerve with the help of the badly treated horse Evening Star?
BATTLECRY FOREVER (HARPER COLLINS [USA] 1992) (1st UK edition KNIGHT PB 1994) Originally published in 1992 then reprinted as part of Ashleigh Collection in 1998. Reprinted in hardback by Stabenfeldt in 2009. Published in the UK as part of the Rosettes Series in 1994. SUMMARY: An emotionally charged novel set in the world of horse racing. Leslie is sure that the cantankerous stallion Battlecry will be a champion - but at what cost? Hankies at the ready girls…
THE FORGOTTEN FILLY by Karle Dickerson (HARPER COLLINS (USA) 1992) (1st UK edition KNIGHT PB 1994) Originally published in 1992 then reprinted as part of Ashleigh Collection in 1998. SUMMARY: After a tragedy a girl doesn't think she can love horses any more. But what will happen to her lonely little filly?
Collectors Info: Easy to find in both the UK and USA. The Stabenfeldt editions may still be in print.
Other Pony Books :
THE THOROUGHBRED (BANTAM PB [USA] 1983) Reprinted in paperback in 1984 by Bantam. SUMMARY: (Not to be confused with the Thoroughbred series, this is a stand alone story. It was written in the teen romance days of the author's writing career and it is basically a young adult romance set against a horsy backdrop.) Things have always come easy for Maura who is clever, pretty and an excellent rider. Then she meets Kevin who is also a superb rider and very handsome, and things change. She falls for him but backs off when things get too serious. Feeling rejected, Kevin determines to humiliate Maura by winning the prize she has been working towards all summer. But Maura is still determined to win - even if it means losing the first boy she ever loved.
A HORSE OF HER OWN (BANTAM PB [USA] 1988) SUMMARY: Horse mad Penny longs for a pony of her own - to no avail! Then she is allowed to ride a neighbour's horse called Bones. The pair soon make a good team but Penny longs for Bones to be her very own horse.
THE WILD MUSTANG (BANTAM PB [USA] 1989) SUMMARY: A rather down-beat wild horse story. Whilst out hiking Tracey and her brother find an injured wild mustang. They determine to nurse him back to health but their farmer father does not like wild horses, so they must keep him hidden. When their father discovers the secret horse he threatens to have it killed so the children must set him free in order to save his life.
Collectors Info: All paperbacks. Easy to find in the USA. However, unlike the Thoroughbred series books, they are much harder to find in the UK.
