Horse Memoir

Ride along with “the Cowboy Preacher,” Scott Mathis, as he shares his life story through the different horses and humans that have impacted his life. You’ll laugh, cry, and be strengthened in your life journey as you start with his first pony at age five, Sparky, which he rode to school.

Isaac Murphy, born enslaved in 1861, still reigns as one of the greatest jockeys in American history. Black jockeys like Murphy were at the top of the most popular sport in America at the end of the nineteenth century. They were internationally famous, the first African American superstar athletes—and with wins in three Kentucky Derbies and countless other prestigious races, Murphy was the greatest of them all.

One extraordinary night, Esta dreamed of a mysterious gray mare named Lava Lady, who spoke to her so rapidly that she was difficult to understand. When Esta woke, she was unable to shake the name Lava Lady, and wondered whether there were horses in “real life” by that name.

The Horse Adjutant is the Nazi wartime story of a 12-year-old Jewish boy named Leon Schagrin from a world steeped in Jewish mysticism, to a slave worker in a Nazi workcamp. His story, spoken in the first person, will place you in his shoes, so you will never forget the Nazi Holocaust.

After nearly 130 years of trying, only 11 colts have swept the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes to earn the Triple Crown - the grand slam of Thoroughbred racing. These 11 were more than just magnificent Thoroughbreds - they were stars, and their stories are full of the drama, passion, and courage associated with stardom. These champions’ stories are found in The Most Glorious Crown, the most entertaining and comprehensive work on the Triple Crown winners ever assembled.

In the 1970s, more than a million young people moved to farms and communes all over the US. There was a war on, and they wanted no part of it. This is a book about those days and one of those communes, told by Peter Gould, one of Vermont's master storytellers, known for decades to fans of Burnt Toast, Gould & Stearns, A Peasant of El Salvador, and Write Naked.

As the woman who trained the great Best Mate to win three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cups, no one could be better qualified than Henrietta Knight to discover what makes today's top jumps trainers succeed. From eccentric, outspoken Yorkshireman Mick Easterby to elegant, aristocratic Venetia Williams; from Irish wizard Willie Mullins to perfectionist champion trainer Paul Nicholls and young pretender Dan Skelton, here is a dazzling cast of extraordinary characters, all with their quirks and foibles but with one single-minded ambition - finding first-class horses and training them.

The forthright, fascinating memoir of Peter Moody, trainer of Black Caviar and one of Australia's most high-profile and best-liked racing identities. The classic story of a boy from the bush who worked his way from outback Queensland all the way to Royal Ascot. As a kid growing up in tiny Wyandra, Peter Moody learned to ride almost before he could walk. Horses were part of life, and as a teenager working for local trainers he learned many lessons - some of them painful - as he built his understanding of them. A mate's introduction got him a stablehand's job for the legendary trainer Tommy Smith in Sydney, and his life changed forever.

Tony (A. P.) McCoy has collected a record 20 consecutive jump jockey titles to date, and since 1992 he has ridden over 4,300 winners. This powerfully honest memoir looks at life at the very top in National Hunt racing - and beyond, discussing fatherhood, writing novels and his decision to retire while he's still a long way ahead. It is a definitive autobiography that is themed around A. P.'s 10 most important races: his first ride, first race, first fall, first win, greatest disappointment - and greatest triumph.

This is a story about leaving home to chase a dream that was so deep in my bones I couldn’t quit, even when it nearly killed me. It’s about the horse who held my heart suddenly disappearing. It’s about love finding me when I least expected it. And it’s about learning to trust a God who gives and takes away.

David's north star for navigating life's challenges has always been his positive outlook and his resilience. 'This time next year, we'll be millionaires' was what Derek Trotter once said. This certainly wasn't always the case for David, growing up in a working class family in London in the rubble of the Blitz. Before he was making us laugh on TV he was a jobbing electrician. But with every challenge he has faced in life, he's always looked forward, and has never give in.

Landing on the Anzio beachhead in February 1944, Phil is put in charge of an Ammunition Pioneer Platoon in the 3rd Infantry Division. Their job: deliver ammunition to the frontline foxholes—a dangerous assignment involving regular forays into No Man’s Land. As Phil fights his way up the Italian boot, into Southern France and across the Rhine River into Germany, he is caught up in some of the most intense combat ever. But it’s what happens in the final stages of the war and his homecoming that makes Phil’s story incredibly special and heartwarming.

Turn Left at the Trojan Horse has been described as On the Road meets Eat, Pray, Love because it goes well beyond a road trip. More than just a funny and profound narrative of Brad Herzog's cross-country trek toward a college reunion in Ithaca (New York) and more than another reimagining of Odysseus's ancient journey (he visits places like Troy, OR... Iliad, MT... Apollo, PA...), it is a memoir exploring the parameters of a heroic existence - by chronicling the lives of people in America's oft-ignored spaces, by examining the universal truths embedded in ancient myths, and by undertaking a fair bit of self-evaluation.

The story of one of racing's earliest dynasties, the historic Belair Stud, began with William Woodward's childhood memories of grand days at the racetrack, inspiring dreams of breeding a champion or two of his own. Woodward turned those dreams into reality, building Belair Stud on his family's Maryland estate, launching what would become the preeminent thoroughbred breeding and racing empire in America and chasing racing's biggest prizes in both the United States and England.

Laugh out loud as you hear about the author’s remarkable family and the legends of the rodeo world who illustrate life lessons.

Kieren Fallon was one of the world's greatest jockeys, but his career was littered with controversial incidents. Now, in his powerful and honest autobiography, he tells all. Unabridged audio read by Frank Grimes. British Champion Jockey six times - without terrifying injury and mental trauma it could have been many more - he won more than 2,250 races, including the Derby three times, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe twice, and more 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas (nine) than anyone else in the history of the sport.

Vets and Pets tells fifteen emotional and entertaining stories of the incredible bonds between wounded warriors, veterans, and other service members and their service and companion animals. Whether these special relationships are with dogs, cats, horses, pigs, or even birds of prey, readers will discover how these remarkable animals help veterans return to civilian life and live independently while simultaneously bringing joy and confidence into their lives.

Being a stable lass is probably one of the hardest jobs in the country, and yet for Gemma Hogg it is the most rewarding. She works in the beautiful Yorkshire market town of Middleham, and if her colleagues are occasionally challenging, then the horses are downright astonishing. Now, in Stable Lass, she takes us into the closed world of a top racing yard, from the elation of having several winners in one day to the almost indescribable grief of losing a horse.

The horse Jim was known as Beautiful Jim Key from the moment he stepped into the American spotlight in 1897 at age eight until his death in 1912. This horse was beloved for his remarkable intelligence, cultivated by human kindness and patience. No less extraordinary was the man who trained Jim, Dr. William Key of Shelbyville, Tennessee, a former slave who in his life had seen horrific cruelty toward humans and animals. Bill Key was a self-schooled veterinarian and Black entrepreneur who refused to use force in any guise while breaking and training horses.

At his three-year debut in June 1960, no one could know that Mrs. Allaire DuPont’s small, deerlike gelding named Kelso would come to dominate American racing like no other horse before or since. In Kelso: The Horse of Gold, Linda Kennedy tells the remarkable story of one of the greatest athletes of the ages, recreating the excitement of "Kelly's" unique and brilliant career while placing his unparalleled achievements in the context of racing history.