Between the Covers

Favorite Reads for Horse Lovers

Mary S. Potter

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love to read or when I wasn’t horse crazy. Recollection of the first horse book I read may be lost in the mists of time, but I do recall the birthday when my parents gave me Walter Farley’s The Black Stallion. Like many Arabian aficionados, I’m sure the Farley books were the impetus for my love of the desert horses.

As a city kid from a family of modest means, the closest I could come to owning a horse was through the pages of horse books. After my weekly swimming lesson at the YWCA in downtown Portland, my mother and I walked to the main branch Multnomah County Library, where I crossed the imposing foyer to the children’s section where the horse books resided. I devoured the stories about horses. Owning a horse was a dream for the future, but in the pages of those books I rode the fastest, smartest and most loyal horses imagined.

I’m sure most readers of Flying Changes are familiar with the horse-world classics: Marguerite Henry (Misty of Chincoteague and its sequels, King of the Wind, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, etc.), Mary O’Hara (My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead, etc.), Anna Sewell (Black Beauty), Will James (Smoky the Cow Horse), Enid Bagnold (National Velvet), and so forth.

After years of storage in the basement of my childhood home, I recently discovered a box of my most beloved horse books. Many were birthday and Christmas gifts; others were purchased at second hand stores. Regrettably, most of these books are out-of-print and hard to find, or incredibly expensive if located online. But they fed my love of horses and prepared me for ownership when a certain little red mare entered my life.

One of my all time favorite books is The Blue Mare in the Olympic Trials, by Alice L. O’Connell and illustrated by Paul Brown. The book was written before women were allowed to compete in Olympic equestrian events. Young Pamela trains her horse for the U. S. Olympic Team, knowing she will have to turn over the mare to another rider should they qualify. The story teaches faith in one’s mount, perseverance, generosity, and even includes a little romance. Another favorite is Don Sanford’s The Horsemasters, which is set in England and follows a group of young riders as they undergo a rigorous course for certification. Fellow Baby Boomers may recall the Disney movie based on the book, starring Annette Funicello. Both of these stories address the trust between horse and rider required to become a winning three-day event team.

A Horse for Peter, by Eleanor F. Brown, is a story about the restorative powers of horses, both physical and emotional. Peter is badly injured when he saves a child from being struck by a car and is hit instead. Stuck in a wheelchair during his recuperation, he is depressed and unwilling to perform physical therapy. When he is matched up with a “thrown away” Tennessee Walker, the pair heal each other.

War Horse, by Fairfax Downey, is a tale about a cowboy who breaks and trains a cow pony. Both man and horse are sent to Europe during World War I with the U. S. cavalry. The story illustrates how deeply horses can touch our hearts. When man and animal are separated on the battlefield the former cowboy never gives up searching for his equine partner.

Set in Australia, Tam the Untamed, by Mary Elwyn Patchett, is about a girl who falls in love with a brumby (an Aussie mustang) and relates her travails in taming and riding the horse. Once again, perseverance, trust, and faith are the main elements of the story.

Flambards, by K. M. Peyton, is set in England during the years before and after World War I. The heroine is sent to live with an uncle and two cousins, where she is introduced to fox hunting as well as daredevil airplane pilots. An English-made mini series of the book was shown on Oregon Public Broadcasting and is available as a DVD set.

As for more current and available titles, like many other horse lovers I’m an avid fan of Dick Francis and pleased that he resumed writing his mystery novels.

Rita Mae Brown is Master of the Oak Ridge Foxhunt Club in Virginia. Horses generally play only a peripheral role in her Mrs. Murphy mystery series about Mary Minor, “Harry” Haristeen and the residents of Crozet, Virginia. However, dogs and cats (Tee Tucker, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter) play significant parts in the mysteries. Anyone who has spent any time at a stable or horse show knows cats and dogs are an integral part of the scene. Ms. Brown’s “Sister” Jane Foxhunting mystery series relies more on the author’s love of horses and experience in the saddle.

I recently finished reading Horseplay, by Judy Reene Singer. The writing isn’t great literature and the story is a bit of a ramble about a dressage training stable, but horse folks will recognize themselves and friends between the covers of this book. I laughed out loud at the “parade of injuries” scene where the barn bunch proudly shared their riding “war wounds” (mine include two root canals).

I can’t think about my favorite childhood horse books without also considering the wonderful artists who illustrated them. Wesley Dennis is synonymous with Marguerite Henry’s wonderful books. C. W. Anderson’s beautiful pencil sketches adorned his own fiction and nonfiction books as well as those of others. Pers Crowell was another illustrator who produced a few books of his own. One of my favorite horse illustrators is Paul Brown, whose representations of English riders and horses activated my interest in hunter-jumpers. Sam Savitt’s work is still around, most notably in breed and conformation posters. He has a great book on how to draw horses.

Whether the books are a substitute for the real thing or keep horses near when we’re absent from the barn, our favorite horse books occupy a soft spot in our hearts beside the horses that reside there.

About the Author:

Mary Potter was born and raised in Portland where she satisfied her love of horses by reading every horse book available at the main branch Multnomah County Library. Mary enjoyed occasional horseback rides during her summer visits with her grandparents, and she went on a trail ride or two at the original Columbia Stables on Hayden Island. Mary was excited to finally take real hunt seat lessons one summer and fall at NK Stables on Northeast 33rd. Mary bought her 3/4 Arabian mare Kiyara in 1979, choosing to be owned by a horse rather than a fixer-upper house. On a single salary it took awhile before Mary could afford lessons, but when the opportunity arose the pair learned to jump. Mary and Kiyara competed in Portland area hunter schooling shows and an occasional rated show. Kiyara had a second career as a school master and Pony Club mount until the ripe old age of 28. Phantom, a purebred Arabian gelding, entered Mary’s life in 1998 and they are focusing on dressage. Mary is retired and writing young adult fantasy novels in which horses are an important element.