Timeless, inspiring, and full of valuable advice. A book every rider should read.

    The rubber snake might as well be a real snake—the nightmare reality—when they elicit the same response. Blind fear will make both horse and rider try to outrun lions, even when those lions are made of paper. Blind fear can send you straight over a cliff, and even if you manage to pull up before the edge, that is no way to live life. It is only through training, training, and more training, and then testing that training, that you learn to turn and face fear, find courage, and welcome the ride, wild though it promises to be. These are the rings of fire, the trials that lie ahead for all of us, whether they be taking command of a spooky horse or navigating more human problems. Once trained, with worthy companions marching with you, shoulder-to-shoulder, you are ready for the ride. Welcome to The Dressage Chronicles IV: Rings of Fire.

    A job in a private yard or livery stable seems a logical step but numerous unsuccessful interviews leave her feeling desperate. As a stopgap she accepts a position with the impecunious and eccentric Fane sisters, caring for their stable of pathetic, unsound, aged and often downright dangerous horses at their once grand but now ruinously dilapidated manor house in High Suffolk. But when the perfect job opportunity presents itself can she actually free herself from the Fane sisters? And can she bear to leave the stable of hopelessly endearing equines to their fate? Is this job really the first step towards achieving her ambition? Or is it the end, the absolute finish, of an eventer's dream?

    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.

    Now she must live in England with family who are more like strangers.Life on her uncle's farm seems so lonely - until Ellie meets Spirit. She's never seen the grey horse before, but she has the strangest feeling they've always known each other.Like Ellie, Spirit is alone in the world, and they form an intense bond. And as the weeks go by, Spirit helps Ellie to discover an incredible talent that changes both their lives forever.

    “When there are gaps in understanding, confusion, and thus frustration, worry, and even anger are sure to follow.”Horses often grow up with these “gaps” in their training and education. When this happens, it can be difficult for the horse to be a willing partner to a human, and he may need to be “restarted”—that is, given a second chance to learn what is expected of him and how he can find a place where he is confident and comfortable both beside a handler and beneath a rider.In order to restart a horse successfully, we need to know how to retrace the steps the horse’s education has taken and find the path missed the first time around. In this book, the first of the expansive library of books penned by Rashid to include full-color photographs, readers are guided through practical steps for restarting horses, using Rashid’s simple yet impactful concepts derived from years of study of martial arts. We walk along with him as he proceeds with the quiet sorting of experience that provides the insight we need to give any horse the new beginning he deserves.

    Drawn from the original text and intended for even the youngest of horse lovers, Black Beauty's Early Days in the Meadow depicts the first few months of the horse's life as a foal frolicking in the meadow. Artist Jane Monroe Donovan renders the classic story in lush oil paintings that convey a pastoral world of green fields and shady trees, while tenderly capturing the special love between mare and foal. The perfect harmony of words and pictures proves once again that the simplest messages are often the strongest. Readers will relish the sweetness of life in the meadow and the companionship of family and friends.

    'It's a big fancy ball, heaps of fun.' Boy, could this girl use some fun. And some rump steak.Holly shook her head.Kaydon gave up. Trying to make her smile was like doing a rain dance. There were clouds and rumblings, and a sprinkle here and there. But no amount of fancy footwork was going to make it happen for real.Holly Harvey doesn't want to move to Gunnedah, far from her friends and her home near the beach. And she's a vegetarian, so living on a beef property, with cattle yards, polo ponies and pig-shooting, makes it even worse. She and Kaydon are worlds apart - until a fight breaks out at the fundraising ball.Another addictive romance from the author of Jumping Fences.

    Now, in Silver's first colt, a palomino, Connie sees her dream of starting a famous stud farm, bearing results. A mystery runs through the story - the mystery of the ancestry of a sad bit of horse flesh that Connie bought out of pity (and with a faint hope that the mare had... More seen better days). What with this constant building to a climax - and sound riding and training and showing material - and Wesley Dennis line drawings, Golden Sovereign will be a winner. - Editorial Review - Kirkus Reviews

    But she fell in love with the young horse, who had literally been born into her arms. The breeder finally said she could keep the colt, whom she nicknamed "Baby" – but only if she raced him.It was difficult to take Baby away from the safety of his pasture. But Normile had made a promise. Besides, horseracing had always come across as a glamorous blend of mint juleps and celebrity, of equine grace and speed. It was a vision she found appealing.And she fell hard for it, this "Sport of Kings." She experienced a thrill every time Baby sprinted around the track, edging out other horses. But the magic that enchants is a veneer. For every Seabiscuit, there are tens of thousands of racehorses whose lives end in pain and despair, with indifference and corruption that runs rampant through the world of horse racing.Normile knew none of this. Not until an accident on a poorly maintained track. That's when everything changed. That's when Normile founded the most successful horse rescue in the country, an organization that would go on to save more horses than anyone else ever had. That's when she knew she had no other choice.Saving Baby is Jo Anne Normile's story of perseverance and passion. A heartbreaking and ultimately life-affirming book, it testifies to the transcending power of hope, and the unshakeable bond of love.

     It’s into this white-gloved arena that Clarissa Stamos, a reclusive, midlife romance writer is thrust when she decides to write a country-western romance. The only problem is—she’s never been on a horse. Clarissa signs up for riding lessons and finds relief from her troubled marriage and her darkest secrets in the company of horses who offer an intoxicating sense of freedom and daring. Before long, she impulsively buys an ex-rodeo horse who spurs her to take charge of her own destiny—or wind up in the dust. Complicating matters is an intriguing, Argentinian dressage trainer with secrets of his own. One part romance novel, one part literary fiction, one part love-affair-with-horses, Ephemeral is told from the viewpoint of a quirky, old cow horse who not only invites you into his world, but also shares his sensible and soulful outlook on human hearts and the meaning of true horsemanship.

    Spirit is the leader of a herd of wild mustangs. Rustlers, soldiers, and railroad builders capture and attempt to tame the stallion just as they are taming the land, but the mustang has a determination and a need for freedom that cannot be contained. Through bravery, cunning, and an unexpected friendship with a Native American boy, Spirit finds his way home again.

    But Paintbox was taken from her by his spiteful former owners and there was nothing Lucy could do. Despite having Hope, Lucy never got over losing Paintbox. The worst part was, she had no idea what became of him until, one day, a mysterious letter arrives…. www.whitecloudstation.com A White Cloud Station short story.

    Her sense of belonging is threatened when the stableowner is hurt by a mysterious attacker and in the aftermath decides to sells his horses if the criminal isn't found. Shay and her two best friends determine to find the criminal - at the cost of their own safety.

    Overnight, Georgie becomes the face of horse racing, and Sweet Bells becomes its queen.Although they’re the morning line favorites, Georgie can barely keep her head above water. Her parents’ farm is a crumbling has-been, her jockey career consumes her time, and Harris Armstrong, the grandson of Sweet Bells’ owner, won’t forgive her for telling a lie that kept her family together as the truth ripped his apart.Harris doesn’t trust Georgie, but he needs her talent to get his new colt to the Kentucky Derby. Together they form a tenuous partnership, uncovering new truths and old family secrets, as well as a simmering attraction that could rewrite everything they know about each other, their families, and the future.