Follyfoot

- Season 1

(1971)

Dora, a sad and lonely girl, suffers a terrifying experience during her first evening in the countryside. It opens her eyes to something new and leads her to start life afresh - at Follyfoot.

Steve has been unfairly sacked from the Squire's stables, and Dora feels certain he didn't do when he's accused of. She leads him to Follyfoot, along with the first horse in what the Colonel comes to "the Dora collection", but he discovers that even Follyfoot is not as safe as he thought.

Two superstitious farmers who beat a gypsy's horse, and the gypsy seeks to get revenge. Dora's tries to help but ends up making the situation worse, so Steve has to disguise himself before he can add to the Dora collection.

Dora is the only one who can get an expensive and valuable steeplechaser, Shadow, refuses to jump. This leads Ron Stryker to succeed in persuading his shady friend Lewis to take part in a plan to make money, but he has to persuade Shadow to help for his plan to work.

Slugger calls Charley the oldest horse in the world, and Charley the pit pony is definitely on his last legs. His elderly owner sets out to find him but doesn't realize that it's a race against time, nor do Steve and Dora who have problems of their own.

The elder brother of a young boy named Gip has taken over their deceased father's timber business and wants to expand. He decides the horses are too old and wants to send them Follyfoot to retire, but Gip says no. A local newspaper runs a story on about Gip and his horse Willie, trying to do him a favour - but events take an unexpected turn, especially when Ron Stryker has anything to do with it.

Marty is in danger of death, and young Gip believes he knows all about the care of horses. Can Steve persuade Gip that he is wrong?

After a visit to the circus with her mother, Follyfoot helper Callie decides one of the circus horses is badly treated and steals it. She persuades Steve to help hide the horse in the shed by the lake, but Steve is worried about the consequences of being found out.

Ron's attempt to rescue the horse of a rag'n'bone man who is taken ill causes confusion all round, particularly when Gip sees Ron take the horse. Meanwhile Dora and Steve are concerned about a horse that refuses to eat.

At Follyfoot a stray man just sits in the field with the horse, and Dora can't understand why the Colonel isn't concerned about it. Meanwhile tensions flare between Steve and Ron, but will it come to blows?

When Dora sees a local girl, Ginny, dismount from her perfectly stationary horse into a wheelchair, she decides to trains a horse to stand still, Slugger thinks it's for a circus act - but the purpose is much more serious than that.

Dora tried to keep her birthday a secret, but Steve and Ron both want to surprise her once they find out. Will it lead to another fight, of will the wind be taken out of their sails?

Steve notices an article in a newspaper which he thinks may be about his mother, and he is given the weekend off to see his Grandmother - what she tells him means an unexpected turn of events for Dora, who is already upset about a horse that is dying.