Printing History
see Steinbeck Center Foundation for single-story histories.
First published by Viking Penguin Inc 1945
First published in Penguin Books 1976
Reissued in Penguin Books 1986
Copyright John Steinbeck, 1933, 1937, 1938
Copyright renewed John Steinbeck, 1961, 1965

Main Characters
I.Billy Buck Tiflin's cow-hand
Ruth Tiflin Jody's mother
Carl Tiflin Jody's father
Jody 10-year-old boy
II.Gitano an old man who has come home to die
Jeff Taylor neighboring rancher
III.Grandfather Ruth Tiflin's father
Named Animals
I.Doubletree Mutt thick tailed, yellow-eyed dog
Smasher shepherd dog with one ear
Gabilan the red pony
II.Easter Carl Tiflin's first horse, now 30 years old
III.Nellie bay mare
Sundog black stallion
Pete iron-gray gelding
IV.Riley boar

John & his sister, Mary, on their pony, Jill
Jill was the inspiration for The Red Pony
from Byron Preiss Multimedia Company's Red Pony page
Red Pony links
Amazon Books: The Red Pony
Steinbeck Center's The Red Pony
Byron Preiss' The Red Pony
Penguin's Pearl/Red Pony CD-Rom
The Red Pony (movie)
Aaron Copeland's music for The Red Pony
The Red Pony (tv movie)
SJSU Center for Steinbeck Studies - Photographs of the Red Pony Ranch
Book Blurb — Penguin 1986
Two classic stories [The Pearl and The Red Pony], in one volume, celebrating the spirit and courage of ordinary families.
On a ranch in the California mountains, a young boy finds both joy and sorrow in taking responsibility for his horse. The memorable characters include the boy's impatient father; his grandfather, once "the leader of the people "; and the hired hand whom the boy believes to be invincible.
Chapter Summary
brackets enclose page numbers for the Penguin 1986 edition
I. The Gift
Billy and Carl take six cows to the butcher in Salinas. {99} Jody names Gabilan, shows him off to six boys, forgets his chores. {105} Jody trains Gabilan to the halter. {109} Next the saddle. {112} Gabilan spends the day in the rain. {116} Gabilan is very sick. {121} Billy cuts a breathing hole in Gailan's neck. During the night the pony runs away. Jody kills the buzzard who eats Gabilan's eye.
II. The Great Mountains
Jody muses about those who lived in the Santa Lucia and Gabilan Mountains. {134} Gitano "comes home" to die and Jody asks him about the mountains. {140} He meets Easter, has dinner and hears Carl's disdain. {144} Jody sees Gitano's rapier. {146} Jeff Taylor reports seeing Gitano riding Easter.
III. The Promise
Jody picks up critters coming home from school. {151} Jody takes Nellie to Jeff Taylor's to be bred by Sundog. {156} Jody worries about the birth. {160} At the mossy tub Jody fantasizes about the future "Black Demon". {162} Nellie approaches her time. {168} Billy delivers the colt after killing Nellie.
IV. The Leader of the People
Carl arrives with a day-late letter saying Ruth's father is coming. {178} Grandfather arrives. {181} Grandfather tells Indian stories. {185} Carl apologizes to Grandfather. {191} Grandfather tells Jody about being the head of a "westering people." {192}"Then we came down to the sea, and it was done."
Sites mentioned in The Red Pony.
The location is based on the following description given to me by Larry Hosford plus an emailed note from Steinbeck Center Consultant Carol Robles. It is just north of Salinas where John spent considerable time with Max Wagner, a childhood pal of his who was living there for a few years with his Aunt Cheri Hebert and her husband, near the T-junction of San Juan Grade Road and Hebert Road. There is an unpaved farm road, something of an extension to the north of Hebert Road, directly across the San Juan Grade Road where they meet. The ranch is up the farm road some 1/4-1/3 of a mile. The little red Lagunitas schoolhouse is up the San Juan Grade about 2 miles to the east. reminder: the area described is only conjectured to be the setting; also it is private property.
Stephan Steinbeck