The Saddle Club

The Saddle Club
Genre	Children's television series Adventure Comedy drama Family
Created by	Bonnie Bryant
Developed by	Sarah Dodd
Starring	Keenan MacWilliam Sophie Bennett Lara Jean Marshall Heli Simpson Kia Luby (Seasons 1–2) Victoria Campbell Lauren Dixon Ariel Kaplan Marny Kennedy Aisha Dee (Season 3)
Opening theme	"Hello World" (Instrumental) by Belle Perez (Seasons 1–2) "Hello World" (Season 3)
Ending theme	"Hello World" (Seasons 1–3) Various songs (Seasons 2–3)
Composers	Dale Cornelius (Season 1) Stephen Skratt Jack Lenz (Seasons 2–3)
Country of origin	Australia Canada
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	78 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Lynn Bayonas
Running time	24 minutes
Production companies	Crawford Productions Protocol Entertainment
Original release
Network	YTV (Canada) ABC TV (Australia) Nine Network (Australia) TVNZ 2 (New Zealand) PBS (US)
Release	April 30, 2001 (2001-04-30) – April 10, 2009 (2009-04-10)

The Saddle Club is an Australian-Canadian children's television series developed by Sarah Dodd, based on the books written by Bonnie Bryant. Like the book series, the scripted live action series follows the lives of three best friends in training to compete in equestrian competitions at the fictional Pine Hollow Stables, while dealing with problems in their personal lives. This series debuted in 2001 and ended in 2009.

Premise

The series follows the experiences of three girls, who establish a club called "The Saddle Club" after recognizing their mutual passion for horseback riding. Their rival is another young rider at the stables named Veronica DiAngelo.

Throughout the series, The Saddle Club navigates their rivalry with Veronica, training for competitions, horse shows, and the quotidian dramas that arise between friends and staff in the fictional Pine Hollow Stables. In each show, The Saddle Club prevails over its adversities, usually sending a message emphasizing the importance of friendship and teamwork.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Saddle Club episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	26		30 April 2001 (2001-04-30)	4 June 2001 (2001-06-04)
2	26		28 April 2003 (2003-04-28)	2 June 2003 (2003-06-02)
3	26		7 September 2008 (2008-09-07)	10 April 2009 (2009-04-10)

Cast

Main article: List of The Saddle Club characters

Characters	Season 1	Season 2	Season 3
Carole Hanson	Keenan MacWilliam		Victoria Campbell
Stephanie "Stevie" Lake	Sophie Bennett		Lauren Dixon
Elizabeth "Lisa" Atwood	Lara Jean Marshall		Ariel Kaplan
Veronica DiAngelo	Heli Simpson		Marny Kennedy
Kristina "Kristi" Cavanaugh	Kia Luby
Desiree "Desi" Biggins			Aisha Dee
Melanie Atwood	Marisa Siketa	Jessica Jacobs	Ella-Rose Shenman
Ashley Taylor	Janelle Corlass-Brown
Jessica "Jess" Cooper			Kaiya Jones
Elizabeth "Mrs. Reg" Regnery	Catherine Wilkin		Briony Behets
Maximillion "Max" Regnery	Brett Tucker		Richard Davies
Dorothee Doutey		Matylda Buczko
Jackson "Jack" O'Neil			Troy Lovett
Phillip "Phil" Marsten	Glenn Meldrum		Cosmo Feltham
Murray Richards		Troy Lovett	Rory Donegan
Deborah Hale Regnery	Cathy Godbold
Andrew "Drew" Regnery		Nikolai Nikolaeff
Redford "Red" O'Malley	Nathan Phillips	James O'Dea
Brian "Scooter" Mucahy		Alex Marriott
Megan	Sophie Hensser
Samuel "Sam"	Anthony Hammer
Simon Atherton			Connor Jessup
Dr. Judith "Judy" Barker	Maggie King		Leverne McDonnell
Ashley "Chewie" Becker			Jackson Gallagher
Eleanor Atwood	Marie-Louise Walker
Colonel Mitchell "Mitch" Hanson	Christopher Kirby
Helen DiAngelo	Melanie Ryder
Frances "Frank" DiAngelo	Anthony Hawkins
Orlando Cooper			Gerard Kennedy
John Brightstar	Nick Russell

Note: A grey cell indicates the character did not appear in that series.

Production

The original series was filmed in Yarra Valley, Victoria in Australia, but involved a cast of mixed nationalities.^[1]

In 2007, a news release announced a casting call and the production of a third series, which was filmed from late 2007 to early 2008. The third series was filmed in Daylesford, Victoria.^[1]

Broadcast

The show was broadcast from 2001 until 2009, with 78 episodes over three series. The third series broadcast from 7 September 2008 to 10 April 2009. Regionally, the cast of the television series released a series of music albums such as Friends Forever, On Top of the World, Secrets & Dreams and Hello World – The Best of the Saddle Club, and appeared in live performances such as the 2004 Sydney Royal Easter Show. A new Saddle Club CD, Best Friends, was sold in Australia in stores and on The Saddle Club's website and in the US and Canada as a digital download.

The popularity of the series soon after its premiere on YTV and the ABC promoted international syndication and it made its American debut in January 2002 on Discovery Kids.

In the United States, the series later aired on Horse Racing TV and was distributed independently by Connecticut Public Television and American Public Television through public television stations nationwide, most notably PBS. The series also briefly aired in reruns on The Hub.

In Canada, it aired on YTV, and in the United Kingdom on CITV, Horse & Country and Pop Girl. It was broadcast by the French children's specialty channel Gulli, dubbed into French.

Series 3 was broadcast on Discovery Kids in the United States starting on February 22, 2009, while sneak views has been shown on "Saddle Club Sundays" in December 2008. In Australia, the new series commenced on Channel Nine and WIN TV on March 7, 2009.

WIN Television airs a compilation movie of "Horse Shy", "Mystery Weekend" and "School Horse" (episode 6-8 of series 1) every Christmas Day since 2017.

Other media

Australian Videos

• The Saddle Club: Adventures At Pine Hollow (2001)
• The Saddle Club: Horse Crazy (2002)
• The Saddle Club: The Mane Event (2003)
• The Saddle Club: The First Adventure (2003)
• The Saddle Club: Friends Forever (2004)
• The Saddle Club: Storm (2004)
• The Saddle Club: Saving Pine Hollow (2005)

Australian DVDs

• The Saddle Club: Adventures At Pine Hollow (2002)
• The Saddle Club: Horse Crazy (2003)
• The Saddle Club: The Mane Event (2003)
• The Saddle Club: The First Adventure (2003)
• The Saddle Club: Friends Forever (2004)
• The Saddle Club: Storm (2004)
• The Saddle Club: Saving Pine Hollow (2005)
• The Saddle Club: Series 1 (2005)
• The Saddle Club: Series 2 (2006)
• The Saddle Club: The First Adventure (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: Adventures at Pine Hollow (2009 Re-release) - Released as "More Adventures at Pine Hollow"
• The Saddle Club: Horse Crazy (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: The Mane Event (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: Friends Forever (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: Storm (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: Saving Pine Hollow (2009 Re-release)
• The Saddle Club: Back in the Saddle (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Back in the Saddle (Handle Case) (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Horseback Riders (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Horseback Riders (Handle Case) (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Ride Free (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Staying the Distance (2010)
• The Saddle Club: Happy Trails (2010)

Computer game

• The Saddle Club: Willowbrook Stables (2002)
• The Saddle Club (2010)

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		AUS [2]
Fun for Everyone	Released: November 2002 Label: Shock (TSC02) Formats: CD	45
On Top of the World	Released: May 2003 Label: Shock (TSC03) Formats: CD	20	ARIA: Gold[3]
Friends Forever	Released: September 2003 Label: Shock (TSC06) Formats: CD	38
Secrets & Dreams	Released: April 2004 Label: Shock (TSC12) Formats: CD	49

Compilation albums

List of compilation albums, with selected details and chart positions

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		AUS [4]
Hello World – The Best of the Saddle Club	Released: November 2004 Label: Shock (TSC14) Formats: CD	59
Best Friends	Released: 2009 Label: Shock (TSC 301) Formats: CD	—

Extended plays

• Special Mane Event (2004)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Certifications
		AUS [2]
"We Are the Saddle Club"	2002	—
"Hello World"/"Hey Hey What You Say"		20	ARIA: Gold[5]
"Wonderland"	2003	17
"Boogie Oogie Oogie"/"Undercover Movers and Shakers"		29
"Everybody Come On"		—
"Undercover Movers and Shakers"	2004	42
"L.I.F.E."		34
"Welcome to the Saddle Club"		—
"Sleeping Under the Stars"		—
"These Girls"	2009	—

Read Along CD

• The Saddle Club: Horse Sense (2002) – ABC Audio 3-hour, 3-CD set read by Lucy Bell

Sophie & Kia

Albums

• Planet Tokyo (2005) – Australia
• He's Everything (2005) – Australia
• Raw Beauty (2005) – Australia
• Spin (2005) – Australia
• Raw Beauty Acoustic Sessions (2005) – Australia

Singles

• "Planet Tokyo" (2005) – No. 41 Australia^[6]
• "He's Everything" (2005) – No. 40 Australia^[6]

Heli Simpson

Albums

• Princess Veronica (2004)

Extended plays

• Princess Veronica Tour (2004)

Singles

• "Don't Ask Me" (2004) – No. 16 Australia^[2]

Ashley and Melanie

Singles

• "Trouble" (2003) – No. 30 Australia^[2]

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

Year	Nominated works	Award	Result
2003	On Top of the World	Best Children's Album	Nominated
		Best Original Cast/Show Recording	Nominated
2004	Friends Forever	Best Children's Album	Nominated
2009	Best Friends		Nominated

References

1. "Back in the saddle", The Age, 12 March 2009.
2. "Discography The Saddle Club". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
3. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
4. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 242.
5. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
6. "Discography Sophie & Kia". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

External links

• The Saddle Club at the Australian Television Information Archive
• The Saddle Club Archived 26 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• The Saddle Club at IMDb
• The Saddle Club at Horse Racing TV
• The Saddle Club at Australian Screen Online
• The Saddle Club at AustLit