I never had that stage where I was obsessed with horses, unicorns, and all manner of mythological creatures sure but, horses, no. My experiences with horses are rather limited. My asthma and allergies get all uppity any time I approach a barn so that has a lot to do with it. While camping in Wisconsin once, my best friend talked me into one of those guided horseback tours. I figured it couldn't be too bad as there would be other people around. While everyone was trotting ahead on their well-behaved horses, I was last, at a practical standstill on a horse who had no desire to move. The group leader came to see why I was so far behind and said: "Oh, you've got Fat Albert. You are going to need a stick." She then proceeded to smack Fat Albert's hindquarters thus spurring him into a well, a very slow gait, where he proceeded to walk me under every low branch we came across, in hopes of knocking me off his back. I find I get along with fictional horses a lot better than the real ones.
"The incredible 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. In 1954, Annie Wilkins, a sixty-three-year-old farmer from Maine, embarked on an impossible journey. She had no relatives left, she'd lost her family farm to back taxes, and her doctor had just given her two years to live--but only if she "lived restfully." He offered her a spot in the county's charity home. Instead, she decided she wanted to see the Pacific Ocean just once before she died. She bought a cast-off brown gelding named Tarzan, donned men's dungarees, loaded up her horse, and headed out from Maine in mid-November, hoping to beat the snow. She had no map, no GPS, no phone. But she had her ex-racehorse, her faithful mutt, and her own unfailing belief that Americans would treat a stranger with kindness. Between 1954 and 1956, Annie, Tarzan, and her dog, Depeche Toi, journeyed more than 4,000 miles, through America's big cities and small towns, meeting 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 who loved animals as much as she did. As Annie trudged through blizzards, forded rivers, climbed mountains, and clung to the narrow shoulder as cars whipped by her at terrifying speeds, she captured the imagination of an apprehensive Cold War America. At a time when small towns were being bypassed by Eisenhower's brand-new interstate highway system, and the reach and impact of television was just beginning to be understood, Annie and her four-footed companions inspired an outpouring of neighborliness in a rapidly changing world"--. Provided by publisher.
"From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres and the New York Times best-selling Last Hundred Years Trilogy, a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals--and a young boy--whose lives intersect in Paris Paras is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. At dusk, one afternoon she pushes open the door of her stall--she's a curious filly--and, after traveling through the night, arrives by chance in the City of Light. She's dazzled, and often mystified, by the sights, sounds and smells around her, but she isn't afraid. Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthair pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians. Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city's lush green spaces, nourished by Frida's strategic trips to the bakery and the butchershop. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks, and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the secluded, ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great grandmother live, quietly and unto themselves. As the cold weather and Christmas near, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom among humans and animals alike. But how long can a runaway horse live undiscovered in Paris? And how long can a boy keep her hidden, and all his own? Jane Smiley's beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity and ingenuity, and expresses the desire of all creatures for true friendship, love, and freedom"-- Provided by publisher.
Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport that Changed Their Lives Forever by Rosser, Kareem
Born and raised in West Philadelphia, Kareem thought he and his siblings would always be stuck in "The Bottom", a community and neighborhood devastated by poverty and violence. Riding their bicycles through Philly's Fairmount Park, Kareem's brothers discover a barn full of horses. Noticing the brothers' fascination with her misfit animals, Lezlie Hiner, founder of The Work to Ride stables, offers them their escape: an after school job in exchange for riding lessons. What starts as an accidental discovery turns into a love for horseback riding that leads the Rossers to discovering their passion for polo. Pursuing the sport with determination and discipline, Kareem earns his place among the typically exclusive players in college, becoming part of the first all-Black national interscholastic polo championship team-all while struggling to keep his family together. Crossing the Line: A Fearless Team of Brothers and the Sport That Changed Their Lives Forever is the story of bonds of brotherhood, family loyalty, the transformative connection between man and horse, and forging a better future that comes from overcoming impossible odds"-- Provided by publisher.
World War I has started and the military needs horses to move equipment, charge the enemy, and carry wounded soldiers off the battlefield. Joey, a farm horse is sold to the Army. Joey misses the farmer's son, Albert, and spends the war years wondering if the war will ever end and if he will ever see Albert again.
When an Earl passionate about horses becomes the target of her husband hunt, Amanda Locke knows it's time to overcome her fear of riding. With her sister-in-law Ophelia hastening the romance along by arranging riding lessons, Amanda is soon taking instruction from infuriating Devin Baldwin. Astonishingly, in her daily encounters with Devin--who treats her as an ordinary young woman, not a prize to be won at the marriage mart--Amanda experiences passion for the first time. Now, her search for a match takes her in an unexpected direction as she finds herself falling in love with Cupid himself.
When Sarah's grandfather gives her a beautiful horse named Boo--hoping that one day she&#x;ll follow in his footsteps to join an elite French riding school, away from their gritty London neighborhood--she quietly trains in city&#x;s parks and alleys. But then her grandfather falls ill, and Sarah must juggle horsemanship with school and hospital visits. Natasha, a young lawyer, is reeling after her failed marriage: her professional judgment is being questioned, her new boyfriend is a let-down, and she&#x;s forced to share her house with her charismatic ex-husband. Yet when the willful fourteen-year-old Sarah lands in her path, Natasha decides to take the girl under her wing.
Turner McNeally's daughter has gone off to college, and her horse is demonstrating signs of loneliness. Rebecca Wilkinson's son hasn't spoken a word since his father's death, and the family counselor suggests a pet. This Christmas, the chance to hear her son's voice again would be the best gift Rebecca could receive. Beloved author Lauraine Snelling weaves a story of holiday romance in which a simple advertisement for a horse's companion creates a family bond and sparks unexpected love.
- A beautifully jacketed Everyman's Library Pocket Classics hardcover anthology of two centuries of short fiction about our most majestic companion animal. Annie Proulx and Bret Harte transport us to the ranches of the Old West and Rudyard Kipling to the polo fields of India. Arthur Conan Doyle makes a famous Thoroughbred disappear, and Raymond Carver gives us a vision of runaway horses in the mist. Jane Smiley, Margaret Atwood, Isaac Babel, and Ted Hughes explore the human passions horses can unleash. From the rollicking racetrack humor of Damon Runyon to the poignant lyricism of John Steinbeck's "The Red Pony" to the wild recklessness of adolescence in William Saroyan's "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse" and Lydia Peelle's "Sweethearts of the Rodeo," these stories testify to our varied and timeless fascination with the noble animal.
When twelve-year-old Lidie leaves Brazil to join her father and brother on a horse ranch in New York, she has a hard time adjusting to her changed circumstances, as does a new horse that has come to the ranch.
Twelve-year-old Claire struggles to cope while her eighteen-year-old brother, Andy, is treated for drug addiction and her family prepares to sell her beloved horses, but finally accepts that change can be good.
"Turn back the clock with History Comics, First Second's new nonfiction graphic novel series! In this volume, learn how wild mustangs were first introduced to America and how they still roam free today. On the North American plains, wild mustangs have roamed for generations ... shaping human history and struggling to survive it. For the Spanish, they were a tool of conquest. For Native Americans, they brought on a new way of life where horsemanship and horse-trading were central. And for the entire world, wild mustangs became a renowned wonder of the American West. There are still thousands of mustangs in the wild today, but they struggle to survive in an ever-changing landscape and their future is by no means guaranteed."--Publisher description.
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