Two good horse books by authors mainly known for SF.
“To Ride Hell’s Chasm” by Jany Wurts (but not if you are squeamish, the death of a horse is described)
“The Lady” by Ann McCaffrey (takes place in Ireland.
1 Like
The Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West
Piper at the Gate.
Carolyn Banks series of murder mysteries
Death by Dressage is the first one
Trophies boink buster but has show jumping in it.
Jodi Jaffe three mysteries about a journalist who also does hunters. Very good. Highly recommend
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey.
Working Trot don’t remember the author
Cobblers Dream by Monica Dickens
A Sporting Proposition
The Horsemasters
Dinny and Dreamdust teen oldie. Might be hard to find.
One Golden Summer. Another teen oldie.
Vicki and the Black Horse
Vicki and the Brown Mare.
The Flaxy Mare by Glenn Balch. He wrote many books but this one was the only one my library had. Western riding but very good.
I rode a winner don’t remember the author.
I read this as a teenager and absolutely loved it.
I’ll add Horse by Geraldine Brooks.
I thought I was the only person who had read and remembered these! My copies were lost a long time ago, but I LOVED them.
I loved Jean Slaughter Doty’s books - she was a horse person, clearly knew her stuff, and had realistic issues for her protagonists to deal with. Summer Pony/Winter Pony, Can I Get There by Candlelight?, The Crumb . . . I know she had more, but those are the ones I recall the most.
There was another I absolutely loved, a YA book written in the 1950s called “The Grand Rogue.” Can’t recall the author. About a girl who actually knew how to ride and train who rescues a stallion at auction and works to get him to a huge show (mostly so she can show up her ex-boyfriend!). There’s a small romance, and the horse stuff is quite good.
Agree that both Pony Confidential and Horse are fabulous. I’d also suggest Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley, which is charming.
On the non-fiction front, I thought Wild Horse Country did a decent job summarizing the very controversial management challenges of the mustang.
Oh, I definitely second Dick Francis! My favorite of his is Decider. But I also really enjoy all of the Sid Haley series: Odds Against, Whip Hand, Come to Grief, etc.
One of my most favourite books growing up was The Five Circles. It was written in the horses point of view, from a foal right up to the Olympics (Eventing)- depicting the horses life and all of the grooms, riders and horses he encountered though his lifetime. Based on a true story and I loved the cover as it shows the Canadian team and Cilroy (who narrates the whole book) on the back.
Love it even more now as I have met some of the gentlemen on the back (friend bought a horse off of Jim Elder - who is on the Team and is mentioned in the book) as well as the Cup classes at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Plus a few hunt clubs in the GTA.
A fun and easy read and I think all horse lovers will enjoy this one! Especially if you are in the Toronto area since so many places and farms are mentioned.
https://www.gusbooks.com/product/35687/The-Five-Circles
1 Like
Does anyone know how to find a copy of the Show Gypsies?
I use bookfinder dot com and it is listed at triple digit prices.
That’s the price point I’ve seen, @hoopoe. I’ve been looking to read it for 10+ years, but not gonna spend that much.
This is where it turns into a bookstore quest. Check in with Powells Books in Portland. They may not use this search network. You can flag a book, if it shows up in their store, they will contact
1 Like
She recently released a new book!
1 Like
The name of Jody Jaffe’s new book is Commander Speaks! Highly recommend! Here’s the first paragraph of the Amazon description:
“Jody Jaffe, author of the Nattie Gold horse-show mystery series featured in People Magazine, is back with another funny and biting commentary about the rarified world of show horses. While “Commander Speaks” celebrates the deep bond between horse and human, it also exposes the sometimes dark underbelly of the Hunter/Jumper show world.”
I was a beta reader for Commander Speaks and really enjoyed it! Here’s a review I posted on my blog.
If you haven’t already read Horse by Geraldine Brooks, that’s a great read.
1 Like
I enjoyed In The Pink by Molly Watson. It is classified as a biography but its definitely a casual/comedic read with a stylized first person narrative that doesn’t take itself seriously.
I just finished “The Horsewomen” by James Patterson/Mike Lupica.
It was a fun, light read with unnecessary drama and good horse writing.
WEF based, Paris Olympics era. I’d recommend to anyone looking for a fun, easy read.
I really enjoyed it after two very heavy reads.
LOVE this book!
2 Likes
Agree. I read it in February. Very engrossing.
“Girls and Their Horses” by Eliza Jane Brazier. A murder mystery set in the high dollar Southern California H/J scene. Not my favorite book, but I found it enjoyable. Not quite a thriller but more intense than a cozy mystery.
1 Like
I rode a winner is by Christine pullein-Thompson, one of the best (fiction) British YA horse books I’ve ever read.
When I was about 10, on a family vacation to Bermuda, I begged my parents to stop in a local bookstore (because even back then I was a total horse crazy bookworm), and I got a couple British author YA horse books. I still have them (45+ years later), The others were:
“Talking of horses” by Monica dickens, “grey Arrow” by Catherine Carey and “only one pony” by Elinor Havors. I may have the authors flip flopped on the last 2 but the titles are correct.
To this day, they are still wonderful, wonderful books that I highly recommend 
