Aimed at the first-time pony owner, this book provides sound and practical advice on all aspects of finding, buying and caring for a pony. Beautifully illustrated throughout, Pony Care: A Complete Guide to Buying and Caring for Your First Pony is an essential step-by-step guide for the non-horsey parent. Topics include: Points to consider before buying, how to find and try the right pony and when to buy Where to keep the pony, transport Daily routine, feeding, health and exercise Shoeing, tack and equipment, clipping and turnout Selling the pony. Written in an accessible and light-hearted style, readers will benefit from Alison's wealth of experience and gain a true insight into what is involved in owning a pony.

After his remarkable eight-second ride at the 1996 Indian National Finals Rodeo, an elated American Indian world champion bullrider from Pine Ridge, South Dakota, threw his cowboy hat in the air. Everyone in the almost exclusively Indian audience erupted in applause. Over the course of the twentieth century, rodeos have joined tribal fairs and powwows as events where American Indians gather to celebrate community and equestrian competition. In Riding Buffaloes and Broncos, Allison Fuss Mellis reveals how northern Plains Indians have used rodeo to strengthen tribal and intertribal ties and Native solidarity.In the late nineteenth century, Indian agents outlawed most traditional Native gatherings but allowed rodeo, which they viewed as a means to assimilate Indians into white culture. Mistakenly, they treated rodeo as nothing more than a demonstration of ranching skills. Yet through selective adaptation, northern Plains horsemen and audiences used rodeo to sidestep federally sanctioned acculturation. Rodeo now enabled Indians to reinforce their commitment to the very Native values--a reverence for horses, family, community, generosity, and competition--that federal agencies sought to destroy. Mellis has mined archival sources and interviewed American Indian rodeo participants and spectators throughout the northern Great Plains, Southwest, and Canada, including Crow, Northern Cheyenne, and Lakota reservations. The book features numerous photographs of Indian rodeos from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and maps illustrating the all-Indian rodeo circuit in the United States and Canada.

The son of a poor butcher, John Gully rose to the height of Victorian respectability, whose death in ripe old age was mourned by all classes from paupers to princes. It's the story of an extraordinarily varied life - a bare knuckle fighter and champion of England, a publican, a hugely successful gambler, bookmaker, racehorse and colliery owner, and finally a Member of Parliament. Set at a time when fortunes were won and lost on the turn of a dice, Gully saw the greed and corruption, the rogues and rascals. Remarkable sporting characters of the age feature, such as William Crockford, the Betting Shark; the chivalrous prize fighter Henry Pearce; the mighty Tom Cribb, bare knuckle champion of the world; and Colonel Mellish, prolific gambler and finest of the Corinthians. Enemies saw Gully as a cunning man, a schemer who corrupted the betting world. To others he was a man with impeccable judgement and integrity, to whom royalty would trust their fortunes. The Stakes Were High is the fascinating story of his life.

Internationally acclaimed horse trainer Mark Rashid shares and analyzes the remarkable events, quiet moments, and humbling stumbling blocks that—looking back—he can identify as significant in his personal journey to finding “softness” with both horses and people. “Softness,” via what many in the horse world today might refer to as “feel,” begins, Rashid says, with one simple truth: “It’s not about what we do that starts us on the path to softness, but rather, it’s what we don’t do.” Softness is having the sensitivity we need in order to feel when and if the horse tries to “give.”It is about develping the kind of awareness and feel it takes to know when we are working against our horses, rather than with them. In these forthright stories, readers get a glimpse of a life that has produced a man known for his ability to solve difficult problems with communication rather than force, as well as methods and techniques gleaned from decades of work with horses, horse people, and the “way of harmony” through the martial arts.

Carl Hester is one of the greatest ever equestrians, leading Great Britain to Gold Medal victory at the London 2012 Olympics. In these vibrant memoirs, he tells the incredible story of the passion for horse-riding which revolutionised his life and made him the champion he is today. Carl grew up on the remote Channel Island of Sark, moving to the UK mainland at the age of 16 to work with horses, mainly as a way to leave home. He could never have predicted what a great affinity he would have for dressage. Carl's career enjoyed a stratospheric rise as he progressed from working as a groom/rider to riding international dressage horses full time for renowned owners Dr and Mrs Bechtolsheimer, to training his own horses, and other top riders, to international success. Carl's early career revealed someone capable of monumental achievements. He provides a rare insight into both the people and the horses that drove him to victory, initially the skewbald mare Jolly Dolly on which he won the 1985 Young Riders Dressage Championship. During the early 1990s he rode in the World Championships, the European Championships and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, becoming Great Britain's youngest ever rider to compete in the Games. His riding skills have increased with age, culminating in the hugely successful years as part of the Gold Medal teams that won the 2011 European Dressage Championships and, of course, that made history at London 2012. He achieved both feats on the same extraordinary horse, Uthopia, while as a trainer he produced the even more remarkable combination of Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. A first-class sportsman and a witty and engaging writer, Carl now offers his admirers the opportunity to read an intelligent, humorous and, above all, inspiring account of his life - from the ups and downs of his career to the motivations and techniques which have helped him to win 66 national titles, represent Team GB at four Olympic Games, two World Championships and seven European Championships, and become one of the best riders - and horsemen - in the world.

In Praise of Famous Horses is an A-Z companion to perhaps the most loved of all domesticated animals. From D.H. Lawrence's horse Aaron, whose hide was posthumously made into a duffel-bag, to Zippy Chippy, fabled American loser, all the horses featured in this book have their very own claim to fame. Some - among them Bucephalas, Red Rum, Champion the Wonder Horse and Rocinante - are permanent residents in the equine pantheon. Others - such as Rossa Prince, who managed to lose a walkover - attract more qualified appreciation. Literature, history and art, battlefield, movie and television, myth, racecourse and religion are all enriched by these magnificent creatures. From A to Z, here is the wonderful world of famous horses.

A new, fully authorised biography of the most successful trainer in British horse racing history. In the stratified and often secretive world of racehorse training, Mark Johnston has always been different: forthright, combative, provocative, and candid - a man who delights in questioning convention. Over more than three decades, he has gone from being a vet from a thoroughly working-class Scottish background to, mathematically, the most successful trainer in the history of British horse racing. In this new, fully authorised biography, acclaimed author Nick Townsend provides a unique insight into the world of Mark Johnston and his phenomenally successful operation. With unparalleled access to Mark and those closest to him, Mark Johnston: Phenomenon will dig into his storied career, his strong and passionate views on the sport of horse racing, and how he's planning for the future in unprecedented times, offering a fascinating portrait of one of horse racing's most singular figures.

The book is an account of one very ordinary person's quest to become a racehorse owner and his growing obsession with and love for the sport. This is not a book about famous jockeys, trainers and horses. It is a story of the challenges and low points facing an owner on a budget but it also describes the elation and joy when things do, eventually, go right. There is also a useful section of tips and do's and don'ts for those who want to have a go at ownership for themselves.

An expert shares his insights and applies them to the handling of young horses and their early training--from first bridling to turning on the rearhand--an essential reference for every Western-style rider.