Hunter Derby (Show Circuit Series -- Book 3)


Kim Ablon Whitney - 2016
    Once one of the top junior riders in the country, now she has no horses to show, debts to pay off, and a court-ordered community service at a therapeutic riding center, Narrow Lane. Thank goodness, Hannah helped her get another job riding for Linda Maro or she wouldn’t have any connection to the show circuit that has been her home since she showed ponies.When Zoe starts working at Narrow Lane, she’s certain she will hate every minute of her time there. But she begins to see how horses can be important beyond the show ring.She also finds a derby horse in an unlikely place—the barn of a local trainer, John Bradstreet. Gidget has all the talent to win on the ‘A’ Circuit and Zoe wants to take the mare all the way to Derby Finals. If she can put herself back in the winner’s circle there, she’s sure top barns will be clamoring to hire her. But when she finds herself falling in love with John, she has to ask what’s more important—reestablishing herself as a top rider, or finally being with a good man.

Three Strides Before the Wire: The Dark and Beautiful World of Horse Racing


Elizabeth Mitchell - 2002
    Focusing on the 1999 Derby winner Charismatic, Mitchell traces this horse's amazing and ultimately tragic story, from the birth of a foal through its surprising rise to fame. Mitchell also follows the major players in Charismatic's life, including the family who bred him, the trainer, the owners, and the famed jockey Chris Antley, whose own story is more tragic than that of his horse. Through these interlocking stories a sense of familiarity with the key players in the industry evolves, as well as a greater understanding of the heart and soul of a sport that has fascinated human beings for centuries.

From My Hands to Yours: Lessons from a Lifetime of Training Championship Horses


Monty Roberts - 2002
    Book by Roberts, Monty, Abernethy, Jean

True Horsemanship Through Feel


Leslie Desmond - 1999
    Learning that language can expand any horseman's knowledge and abilities—whether he or she is learning to ride, train, or compete. In a writing style that is generously detailed and packed with meaning, Dorrance directs the reader’s attention to the many subtle things about how horses and humans act and interact. In these pages, he urges us to reach toward a deeper level of insight into horses and their riders, as he shares a wealth of helpful information. With hundreds of illustrations, True Horsemanship Through Feel takes the reader step by step through the basic challenges that have characterized horse-human relations for centuries. Drawing on his years of experience, Bill Dorrance has crafted a book that imparts knowledge previously available only by word of mouth.

Ruffian: A Race Track Romance


William Nack - 2007
    Since winning her first race a little more than a year earlier, the unbeaten, unflappable Ruffian had literally raced her way into the hearts of a nation. One of those hearts belonged to Newsday turf reporter William Nack.As a boy in Illinois, Nack had carried in his pocket a trading card of his hero, Swaps, the winner of the 1955 Kentucky Derby. As a young soldier in Vietnam, Nack tuned out the midnight bomb blasts by listening to racetrack broadcasts from Santa Anita. Now, fresh off the publication of his astonishing biography of Secretariat -- described by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand as "the gold standard of horse books" -- he found himself smitten once again.But tragedy struck that summer's day at Belmont Park. After charging from the gate, Ruffian stumbled and shattered her right foreleg. She had to be put down. Nack's heartbreaking run with thoroughbred racing's most famous filly will soon be immortalized in a made-for-TV movie to be broadcast on ESPN and ABC. In this moving, lyrical memoir, he relives the afternoon that forever changed his love affair with the track.

Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook


James M. Giffin - 1989
    Doctors James Giffin and Tom Gore address such basic health-care and management issues as the latest medicines and immunizations, wounds, illnesses, parasites, nutrition and supplements, and reproduction. Just inside the covers, the horse owner can easily access the index of Signs and Symptoms, since responding quickly to an emergency can literally mean the life or death of a horse. Anyone who looks after a horse whether owner, trainer or groom can rely on this authoritative book to get them through emergencies and well as routine events. James M. Giffin, M.D., lives in Ridgway, Colorado, and Tom Gore, D.V.M., lives in Osmond, Nebraska. They co-authored Howell s Dog Owner s Home

The Girl on the Dancing Horse: Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro


Charlotte Dujardin - 2018
    The world was captivated by the young woman with the dazzling smile and her dancing horse. The YouTube clip of their Freestyle performance has since had over 1.7 million views, and Dujardin is considered the dominant dressage rider of her era. When Valegro (affectionately called "Blueberry") retired from competition at the end of 2016, his farewell performance at the Olympia Grand Hall sold out and the dark bay gelding received a standing ovation.Dujardin began riding horses at the age of two, but dressage was the domain of the rich–not the life a girl from a middleclass family was born into. Her parents sacrificed to give her as many opportunities as they could, and she left school at 16 to focus on equestrian competition. It was at 22, when she was invited to be a groom for British Olympian Carl Hester, that she met the equine partner that would change her fortune.This is the story of an outsider, an unconventional horse, and the incredible bond that took them to the top.

Relaxed & Forward: Relationship Advice from Your Horse


Anna Blake - 2016
    They evoke a full range of emotions like hope and courage and valor. They can gallop straight to you with neck arched and tail flagged, and then instantly melt to a stop—just to share your breath.” We’ve been besotted with horses since they had three toes. From the popular Relaxed and Forward blog comes training advice combining the everyday fundamentals of dressage with mutual listening skills. Blake writes with a profound respect for horses and an articulate voice for humans, blending equal parts inspiration and un-common sense. It’s serious training communicated with humor and lightness, because horses like us when we laugh. Most riders want to build a better relationship with their horse. These short essays are geared as much toward attitude as technique, and include topics ranging from reading calming signals from your horse to using breath as your best communication tool. Blake’s writing uses clear descriptions, storytelling, and humor to inspire meaningful, positive communication. Less correction and more direction. Horses are honest; they answer us in kind. If we want a better response, a more fluid conversation and relationship with a horse, we have to be the ones to change first. The other word for that is leadership. By the author of Stable Relation, A Memoir of One Woman’s Spirited Journey Home, by Way of the Barn. “Excitement and delight surge through me every time I see Anna Blake's name as an author. Her writing is filled with deep understanding and heart connection, seasoned with a lively dash of humor. Reading her work is like giving myself a gift...one I can open again and again.” --Kim Walnes, winning USET Three Day Eventer, Riding Instructor/Trainer, and Life Coach.

Lyons on Horses: John Lyons' Proven Conditioned-Response Training Program


John Lyons - 1991
    B & W photographs and illustrations throughout.

Clinton Anderson's Downunder Horsemanship: Establishing Respect and Control for English and Western Riders


Clinton Anderson - 2004
    Now his methods are available for the first time in a reader-friendly, highly illustrated book, and you, too, can learn the program that teaches "everyday people"—regardless of riding style, age, or ability—how to better communicate with their mounts.

Way of the Horse: Equine Archetypes for Self-Discovery - A Book of Exploration and 40 Cards


Linda Kohanov - 2007
    Useful as both a divination deck and as a book for straight reading, "Way of the Horse" offers profound insight into the powerful relationship between horses and humans. The book consists of 40 chapters,... Full description

Be a Player: A Breakthrough Approach to Playing Better ON the Golf Course


Pia Nilsson - 2017
    Most golfers who want to improve their skills go to the range and work painstakingly on their swings, not realizing it’s often their performance state on the course that needs work, not their technique. Simple things such as awareness of your balance, tension, and tempo, as well as the ability to control mental, emotional, and social variables you encounter while playing can quickly take your game to a new performance level. Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott, founders of VISION54’s groundbreaking and innovative golf program are here to help. Aimed at both the weekend golfer and the advanced player, each chapter presents a series of “human skills”—including assignments, explorations, and mini-lessons—that strip away the complexity surrounding swing technique and playing consistency—the conditional variations that plague golfers. Be A Player is the must-have book for any golfer who wants to unite technical skills and on-course performance seamlessly and effectively. With this cutting-edge text by your side, you will become a true student of VISION54 and a better player better on the course…where it matters most!

Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life


Michael Korda - 2003
    It is filled with intimate portraits of the kind of people, rich or poor, Eastern or Western, famous or humble, whose lives continue to revolve around the horse.Korda is a terrific storyteller, and his book is intensely personal and seductive, a joy for everyone who loves horses. Even those who have never ridden will be happy to saddle up and follow him through the world of horses, horse people, and the riding life.

Backstretch Girls


Dawn LeFevre - 2019
    A jockey tested by tragedy. A rejected racehorse. A three million dollar race. Teagan Sullivan is a golden disappointment in the show ring. To make matters worse, her family are big deal Olympic equestrians, so she skulks off to pony Thoroughbreds at a rundown racetrack. But while she excels at equine relations, she sucks at human ones—just ask her sexy blacksmith/sleepover buddy Screaming Wolf. And if she hadn't gone and rescued that stupid jockey wannabe Anne Simmons, she wouldn't be saddled with a new roommate, a broken down racehorse and a chance to prove herself to her family at last. Born two months premature to an anorexic mother, Anne was a longshot just to survive. Now eighteen, she arrives on the backstretch with nothing but a duffel bag and Derby dreams. But the horsemen don't trust the naïve newcomer, so she's stuck ponying horses instead of riding races. She is still chasing their respect when a near-fatal accident shatters her body—and her spirit. As Anne struggles to find the courage to ride again, Teagan wrestles with her feelings for Screaming Wolf. Horse racing's richest race, the Breeder's Cup Classic, offers them both a chance at redemption. Will Teagan and Anne conquer their fears in time to claim the things that they love most?

The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman, the Horse That Inspired a Nation


Elizabeth Letts - 2011
    Into the rarefied atmosphere of wealth and tradition comes the most unlikely of horses—a drab white former plow horse named Snowman—and his rider, Harry de Leyer. They were the longest of all longshots—and their win was the stuff of legend. Harry de Leyer first saw the horse he would name Snowman on a bleak winter afternoon between the slats of a rickety truck bound for the slaughterhouse. He recognized the spark in the eye of the beaten-up horse and bought him for eighty dollars. On Harry’s modest farm on Long Island, the horse thrived. But the recent Dutch immigrant and his growing family needed money, and Harry was always on the lookout for the perfect thoroughbred to train for the show-jumping circuit—so he reluctantly sold Snowman to a farm a few miles down the road. But Snowman had other ideas about what Harry needed. When he turned up back at Harry’s barn, dragging an old tire and a broken fence board, Harry knew that he had misjudged the horse. And so he set about teaching this shaggy, easygoing horse how to fly. One show at a time, against extraordinary odds and some of the most expensive thoroughbreds alive, the pair climbed to the very top of the sport of show jumping. Here is the dramatic and inspiring rise to stardom of an unlikely duo, based on the insight and recollections of “the Flying Dutchman” himself. Their story captured the heart of Cold War–era America—a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all. Elizabeth Letts’s message is simple: Never give up, even when the obstacles seem sky-high. There is something extraordinary in all of us.