Beyond the Homestretch: What I've Learned from Saving Racehorses


Lynn Reardon - 2009
    In 2002, she quit her Washington DC–area office job and moved to rural Texas to open the racehorse adoption ranch LOPE (LoneStar Outreach to Place Ex-Racers). Since then, LOPE has helped transition more than 725 thoroughbreds into new homes. Though now the director of this high-profile organization, Reardon didn’t learn to ride until she was an adult. Here she presents a vivid inside look into the world of horse racing, complete with colorful horses, jockeys, trainers, and gallop girls, depicting the insights horses can offer when we reevaluate our relationship with them.In this riveting account, Reardon encounters dozens of unruly racehorses, all with special needs, unusual histories, and distinct personalities. As she fumbles to help them find new careers, they return the favor by becoming her most memorable mentors in horsemanship and life philosophy.Horses such as Tawakoni, the son of a Kentucky Derby winner, and Endofthestorm, the speedy bay who required an emergency tracheotomy, give Reardon an apprenticeship in facing fear and finding a new life. Reardon may have saved these horses’ lives, but she points out that they saved hers as well.

101 Jumping Exercises for Horse Rider


Linda L. Allen - 2002
    With straightforward instructions and clear arena maps, this guide can be hung on a pole and easily referenced from the saddle. In addition to clearly articulated goals and progressively difficult variations, each exercise also includes encouraging advice on what the rider should keep in mind while jumping. Saddle up and get ready to fly through the air with grace and confidence.

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.

Joey: How a Blind Rescue Horse Helped Others Learn to See


Jennifer Marshall Bleakley - 2018
    But when an injury cost Joey his show career, he moved from one owner to the next, ultimately experiencing severe abuse and neglect. A rescue group found Joey nearly dead from starvation--and blind.Then he came to Hope Reins--a ranch dedicated to helping hurting kids who had been abused, emotionally wounded, or unwanted. By teaching these children to care for rescued animals, the Hope Reins staff were convinced they could reach kids with love and hope and show them that we are never forgotten by God.But could the financially struggling ranch afford to take care of a blind horse that no one else wanted? Could Joey somehow learn to trust people even though the world had hurt him so badly? And what would happen--to Joey, the kids, and Hope Reins--if they failed?A true story of friendship destined to become a classic, Joey will touch your heart and reveal the power of finding light in the darkness.

Law's Strangest Cases: Extraordinary But True Tales from over Five Centuries of Legal History


Peter J. Seddon - 2013
    Youll be gripped by tales of murder, intrigue, crime, punishment and the pursuit of justice. Despite how unbelievable the stories banged up inside these pages may seem, Law's Strangest Cases promises to tell the truth, the whole truthand nothing but the truth about the most ludicrous criminal cases in legal history. Full of riotous and entertaining stories, this book is perfect for anyone who is doing time on a long stretch. Just dont try to steal it, or you may end up inside! Inside youll encounter: The only dead parrot ever to give evidence in a court of lawOne of the most indigestible dilemmas if youd been shipwrecked 2,000 miles from home, would you have eaten Parker the cabin boy?The doctor with the worst bedside manner of all timeThe murderess who collected money from her mummified victim for 21 years Word count: 45,000

Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas


Randy Miller - 2010
    To millions of football fans across America, he was the “Voice of the NFL.” And as open and giving as Harry Kalas was throughout his professional and personal life, there are countless layers of the man that have remained unknown . . . until now. Author Randy Miller interviewed more than 160 people—including all of Harry’s surviving family, many of his close friends from childhood to present, numerous colleagues from baseball and the NFL, and even Harry’s longtime personal psychologist—to craft a loving and shockingly honest portrayal of one of the most celebrated broadcasters in the history of sports. With incredible details from all phases of his life—from his upbringing in the Chicago suburbs, to his Hall of Fame broadcasting career in baseball, to his ubiquitous voiceover work with the NFL, to his personal vices for drinking and women, to his legendary friendship with Richie “Whitey” Ashburn, to his ongoing feud with on-air partner Chris Wheeler— Harry the K: The Remarkable Life of Harry Kalas will surprise, delight, and enlighten all fans of the man they called “Harry the K.”

Chosen by a Horse


Susan Richards - 2006
    Instead Lay Me Down, a former racehorse, walked right up that ramp and into Susan’s life. This gentle creature??—??malnourished, plagued by pneumonia and an eye infection??—??had endured a rough road, but somehow her heart was still open and generous. It seemed fated that she would come into Susan’s paddock and teach her how to embrace the joys of life despite the dangers of living.An elegant and often heartbreaking tale filled with animal characters as complicated and lively as their human counterparts, this is an inspiring story of courage and hope and the ways in which all love??—??even an animal’s??—??has the power to heal.

She Flies Without Wings: How Horses Touch a Woman's Soul


Mary D. Midkiff - 2001
    Drawing from myth and literature, the author’s own experiences, and interviews with countless women, we learn, through women’s deeply personal stories, how horses enrich our lives and connect us to nature–making us readers of rhythm and invisible signs, helping us harness our youthful sexuality, sharing the “horsepower” we need to reach our dreams. And here we see how, for thousands of years, the deep kinship between women and horses has connected us to our most intimate feelings of delight, helped us learn to solve problems, and set our creativity free. From the poetry of Geoffrey Chaucer to the fiction of Jane Austen to folktales from around the world, She Flies Without Wings uses great literature and myth to encompass a wide spectrum of beliefs and perspectives–and creates a true celebration of speed, air, and the spectacular animal that connects us with both.Filled with the moving lessons–-about sensuality, commitment, power, nurturance, and spirituality–women riders have known for centuries, written with a loving hand by an expert equestrian, She Flies Without Wings is an eloquent paean to a pairing that enlivened history, inspired literature, and continues to enchant us all.

Battlecry Forever!


Joanna Campbell - 1992
    But the only horse Leslie wants is Battlecry, a racer everyone else has given up on as wild and untrainable. Leslie knows Battlecry is something more. Beneath his unpredictable behavior is a spirited horse who would give his all to win races again—for her. Finally Leslie's parents give Battlecry a chance to prove his worth. Leslie doesn't know that by entering Battlecry in a race, she'll risk losing him forever...

Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions


Leland Gregory - 2009
    Satirist Leland Gregory teaches us a lesson in historical hilarity with Stupid American History.From Columbus to George W. Bush (that's a lot of material, people), Leland leads us through American history's mythconceptions, exposing idiocy and inanity along the time line. He reeducates by informing us about myths. For example, Samuel Prescott actually was the guy to alert us that the British were coming and not that Paul Revere dude. Move over Colbert and Stewart; satire has finally found its rightful place in American history.Excerpt from the book:"John Tyler was on his knees playing marbles when he was informed that Benjamin Harrison had died and he was now president of the United States. At that time marbles was a very popular game for both children and grown-ups."For reasons still unknown, Texas congressman Thomas Lindsay Blanton, a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher and prohibitionist, inserted dirty words into the Congressional Record in 1921. His colleagues overwhelmingly censured him on October 24, 1921, by a vote of 293-0."

The Book of Baseball Literacy


David H. Martinez - 1996
    Easy-to-find answers to the most common (and obscure but fascinating) baseball questions." - USA Today"A great starting point for newbies of the game." - Ron Kaplan, "501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read Before They Die""Surprisingly, there is no other book so comprehensive, concise or readable." - St. Paul Pioneer-Press"Instructive and fun." - Chicago Sun-Times**Selected for the Baseball Hall of Fame Bookstore in Cooperstown**Lose yourself in all the marvelous memories and hallowed history of America’s national pastime with "The Book of Baseball Literacy: 3rd Edition." From the gloveless pioneers of the 1840s to the strife-ridden headlines of the 2000s, this comprehensive reference offers nearly 700 important baseball yarns, stats, and stories—cross-referenced and hyperlinked—in a style as lively as the game itself. Incredibly thorough, never dull, the book answers these and countless other questions:- Who was Ray Chapman, and why is he important?- Did Abner Doubleday really invent baseball?- What is sabermetrics?- Who set off the Pine Tar Incident?- Where was the first organized baseball game?- Were the Cubs cursed by a billy goat?- What are waivers and options?Written by SABR member and former college baseball broadcaster David H. Martinez and even selected as required reading for a college course on baseball history, "The Book of Baseball Literacy: 3rd Edition" puts over a century and a half of legends and lore, right in your mitt. It will settle arguments and provoke them, answer questions and ask them. It’s a must for veteran baseball fans—and a perfect way to get up to speed on baseball history for newcomers.

The Cheater's Guide to Baseball


Derek Zumsteg - 2007
    But it happens every game. Baseball’s rules, it seems, were made to be broken. And they are, by the players, the front office, and even sometimes the fans. Like it or not, cheating has been an integral part of America’s favorite pastime since its inception. The Cheater’s Guide to Baseball will show you how cheating is really done. In this lively tour through baseball’s underhanded history, readers will learn how to cork a bat, steal signs, hurl a spitball, throw a World Series, and win at any cost!They’ll also see the dirty little secrets of the game’s greatest manipulators: John McGraw and Ty Cobb; Billy Martin and Gaylord Perry; Graig Nettles and Sammy Sosa; and, yes, even Barry Bonds. They’ll find out how the Cleveland Indians doctored their basepaths to give new meaning to the term home field advantage. They’ll delight in a hilarious examination of the Black Sox scandal, baseball’s original sin. And, in the end, they’ll come to understand that cheating is as much a part of baseball as pine tar and pinch hitters. And it’s here to stay.

Warrior: The Amazing Story of a Real War Horse


Jack Seely - 2011
    My Horse Warrior, first published in 1934 is equally wondrous fact. It is told by Winston Churchill's great heroic friend, Jack Seely, about the thoroughbred horse he took to France in 1914 surviving five years of bombs and bullets to lead a cavalry charge in 1918 before returning home where they rode on together until 1938, their combined ages (70+30) totalling 100. The book tells the whole history of Warrior from his birth in an Isle of Wight field, to his amazing life as a famous war horse and how a combination of both the horse's extraordinary character and some unbelievable twists of fate, helped him survive a war which claimed the lives of 8 million horses. This new edition, "My Horse Warrior: The Original War Horse" is introduced by Jack Seely's grandson Brough Scott, a well-known broadcaster and journalist. It includes the original illustrations which equine and war artist Sir Alfred Munnings drew especially for Jack Seely both during the war and at home afterwards.

Wait Till Next Year


Doris Kearns Goodwin - 1997
     We meet the people who most influenced Goodwin’s early life: her mother, who taught her the joy of books but whose debilitating illness left her housebound: and her father, who taught her the joy of baseball and to root for the Dodgers of Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, and Gil Hodges. Most important, Goodwin describes with eloquence how the Dodgers’ leaving Brooklyn in 1957, and the death of her mother soon after, marked both the end of an era and, for her, the end of childhood.

Reluctant Pioneer: How I Survived Five Years in the Canadian Bush


Thomas Osborne - 1995
    The view 16-year-old Thomas Osborne first had of Muskoka was at night, trudging alone with his even younger brother along unmarked primitive roads to find their luckless father who, in 1875, had decided to make a new start for his beleaguered family on some "free land" in the bush east of the pioneer village of Huntsville, Ontario. The miracle is that Thomas lived to tell the tale.For the next five years Thomas endured starvation, falling through the ice and freezing, accidents with axes and boats, and narrow escapes from wolves and bears. Many years later, after returning to the United States, Osborne wrote down all his adventures in a graphic memoir that has become, in the words of author and journalist Roy MacGregor, "an undiscovered Canadian classic."Reluctant Pioneer provides a brooding sense of adventure and un- sentimental realism to deliver a powerful account of pioneer life where tragedies arrive as naturally as rain and where humour resides in irony.