What is it that drives riders to wake up early, pull on uncomfortable clothes, and deal with rambunctious animals? Celebrating the thrill of competition that drives all participants, RIDING FOR THE BLUE is not another 'how-to' book offering tips competing at horse shows. It is a compilation of the often poignant, frequently humorous moments that riders experience while competing for the prize of all prizes - the blue ribbon. This book is for anyone and everyone who has been a part of the horse show world.
Born Free! Among a patterned herd of wild Appaloosa mustangs running free in the Idaho wilderness lives Blue, a spirited filly the color of rain. Surrounded by her family, including her gentle sister Doe, and protected by her father, the band stallion, Blue lives a life both harsh and beautiful in the rugged terrain of an undiscovered habitat. That all changes, though, when Blue and Doe are captured by rogue cowboys, setting in motion a chain of events that threatens the very survival of their hidden, secret herd.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The triumphant true story of a woman who rode her horse across America in the 1950s, fulfilling her dying wish to see the Pacific Ocean, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Horse and The Eighty-Dollar Champion “The gift Elizabeth Letts has is that she makes you feel you are the one taking this trip. This is a book we can enjoy always but especially need now.”—Elizabeth Berg, author of The Story of Arthur Truluv In 1954, sixty-three-year-old Maine farmer Annie Wilkins embarked on an impossible journey. She had no money and no family, she had just lost her farm, and her doctor had given her only two years to live. But Annie wanted to see the Pacific Ocean before she died. She ignored her doctor’s advice to move into the county charity home. Instead, she bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men’s dungarees, and headed south in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. Annie had little idea what to expect beyond her rural crossroads; she didn’t even have a map. But she did have her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness. Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, rode straight into a world transformed by the rapid construction of modern highways. Between 1954 and 1956, the three travelers pushed through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by them at terrifying speeds. Annie rode more than four thousand miles, through America’s big cities and small towns. Along the way, she met ordinary people and celebrities—from Andrew Wyeth (who sketched Tarzan) to Art Linkletter and Groucho Marx. She received many offers—a permanent home at a riding stable in New Jersey, a job at a gas station in rural Kentucky, even a marriage proposal from a Wyoming rancher. In a decade when car ownership nearly tripled, when television’s influence was expanding fast, when homeowners began locking their doors, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world.
True Blue is a beauty, a dappled gray, and when Abby gets to take him to her family's ranch, she can hardly believe her luck. The horse needs a home: his owner—a woman brand new to the riding stable--was tragically killed in a car crash and no one has claimed him. Daddy is wary, as always. But Abby is smitten. True Blue is a sweetheart, and whenever Abby calls out, "Blue, Blue, how are you?" he whinnies back. But sometimes True Blue seems...spooked. He paces, and always seems to be looking for something. Or someone. Abby starts to wonder about True Blue's owner. What was she like? What did she look like? One moonlit night, Abby could swear she hears a whisper in her ear: "He's still my horse." Filled with riding scenes and horse details, this newest middle-grade novel from a Pulitzer Prize-winner offers a mysterious and suspenseful almost-ghost story.
The first book in a new horse trilogy from Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley starring a feisty young rider. Eleven-year-old Ellen is a spunky—and occasionally misbehaving—young riding student. Her teacher Abby Lovitt (who readers might recognize from The Georges and the Jewels) is a high school student who introduces her to jumping, dressage techniques, and most importantly, Ned. Ned is a colt who used to be a racehorse, until he hurt his leg and moved to Abby’s ranch. Ellen and Ned seem to understand each other, and their companionship is immediate. But Ellen is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves at school. And with all that’s going on, from learning that she’s adopted to finding out her parents are adopting a new baby, it’s harder than ever for Ellen to pay attention and behave in class and at home. Will Ellen be able to spend more time on the ranch with Ned? And will her parents ever let her have a horse of her own?
THE UNDISPUTED CLASSIC OF EQUINE ADVENTURE In the early 1920s, a peaceful Swiss schoolteacher accomplished one of the most extraordinary equestrian journeys in history: Aimé Tschiffely and his two trusty steeds, Mancha and Gato, traveled the incredible distance of ten thousand miles between Buenos Aires and New York. Tschiffely’s Ride recounts the dramatic story of that daring journey. Along the trackless Pampas of Argentina, over Peru’s towering Andes Mountains, through the malaria infested jungles of Central America, across the deserts of Mexico, and on to a rapturous welcome in faraway New York, Tschiffely carries the reader along on an unforgettable quest. Although many taunted him as a fool for daring to make a ride that had never been attempted, the author was greeted as a hero by the president of the United States and given a ticker tape parade by the mayor of New York City. Nearly a century later, the modest Tschiffely is revered as the most influential Long Rider in history. Tschiffely’s journey has inspired five generations to swing into the saddle and seek their own equestrian adventure; his beloved book remains the most famous and enduring equestrian travel tale ever written. “It is a fascinating personal narrative....Tschiffely has told a romantic and adventurous tale.”—Kirkus Reviews “A ride that beats all the great rides of fact and fiction clean out of the field.”—The Times
When venture capitalist Luc Deschaines' daughter Stephanie is accepted by his Ivy League alma mater, the proud father arranges for her to spend her summer before college on the Round Top Ranch, one of his Texas investments. Where better for her to enjoy a few months of riding, swimming in the creek, and improving her Spanish language skills? Luc has no qualms about leaving her in the care of the ranch's manager and his large, close-knit family. Stephanie spends long days in the saddle on Elena Sauseda's breathtaking blue roan mare. But then, as the days grow shorter and it's time to leave for school, it all comes crashing down. Does Stephanie's dream become her father's nightmare? And what becomes of Silver Dollar, the beautiful pale horse? If she can't be sold, can she be given away? If she can't leave the ranch, does her new owner become a resident of the RTR? Stephanie Deschaines' summer on the Round Top Ranch crashes when her dream becomes her father's nightmare. What becomes of Silver Dollar, the breathtaking blue roan mare?
A practical guide to using reward-based training techniques to create a true partnership with your horse. This leads to lifelong connection, effective problem-solving and joyful performance.
Containing more than a hundred poems by seventy-four poets of twenty-two nationalities, Say This of Horses represents the abundance of poems about horses that have been written throughout the ages and around the world. Whether probing the ages-old connection between horses and humans, the immediate physical presence of horses, or the metaphysical elements of these magnificent animals, this collection celebrates the horse as what Maxine Kumin calls “our enduring myth, the repository for our love and terror.” Divided into six sections, Say This of Horses considers horses in a multitude of times and places. “Antiquity” explores the forging of the earliest mythical ties between horses and humans. “Here, Now” places horses in the present, where their physical presence is most acutely felt. “Esssence” explores the metaphysical qualities of horses. “Harnessed” contains a selection of poems about horses in war, at work, and in sport and recreation. “Mirrors” shows them as imaginative symbols. Finally, “Lenses” moves into the realm of abstraction and fantasy. The selections within this far-reaching collection are joyous, moving, erudite, and at times profoundly sad. Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, W. S. Merwin, Tess Gallagher, Yusef Komunyakaa, Pablo Neruda, Anne Sexton, Wallace Stevens, May Sarton, Jane Kenyon, and James Dickey, among many others, are sure to delight and surprise readers familiar with or just exploring the rich literature on horses. Contributors include: Guillaume Apollinaire, Gwendolyn Brooks, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, C.E. Greer, Donald Hall, Joy Harjo, Imru’ al-Qays, Ted Kooser, Philip Larkin, Ann McCarthy de Zavala, Rainer Maria Rilke, Patiann Rogers, William Carlos Williams
