The Horses Who Made Me: The Journey to a Horsemanship Philosophy

Former French international dressage competitor, Alizee Froment, profiles the equines that shaped her life—from her childhood Shetland pony to the horse that she calls her "heart," Mistral. The stallion not only helped her achieve success in the competitive world of dressage but also altered the course of her life. Though horsemanship was always a passion, Froment was not initially drawn to competition. 

Two horses from her childhood, Shapati and Kazan, taught her that a horse could fly. At 12, she is asked to join the French Equestrian Training Camp. Plagued with self-doubt, the author drops equestrian training for acting at 16. While she nearly gives up her dream, two remarkable events occur. Froment finds Mistral—a horse that she wholeheartedly believes in—and she finds a mentor who scouts her for dressage. 

With Mistral, Froment becomes proficient in dressage and competes at the highest levels. She represents France at the European championships, achieves worldwide success, and finds a way to combine horsemanship with showmanship, developing and performing equestrian shows throughout Europe that showcase dressage, liberty work, and elaborate costuming.

This title introduces readers to the competitive and risky field of equestrianism. In addition to being a great memoir for animal lovers, it will inspire anyone who faces seemingly insurmountable career obstacles.

Out Stealing Horses

Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson.

Out Stealing Horses is a novel that immediately grabs hold of readers's attention. I was hooked from the moment Petterson describes Trond's friend, Jon:

Jon came often to our door, at all hours, wanting me to go out with him: shooting hares, walking through the forest in the pale moonlight...balancing on yellow logs...it was risky... He never knocked, just came quietly up the path from the river...Even in the morning early when I was still asleep, I might feel a restlessness far into my dream...He smiled his little smiled and squinted...'Are you coming?' he said. 'We're going out stealing horses.'

The phrase "out stealing horses," has a double meaning, one for the son and quite a different one for the father. Stealth is an important element in the novel, though there's no actual stealing: the boys never intend to take Barkald's horses.

The point-of-view, expertly executed by Petterson, moves back and forth in time. Readers see Trond as a fifteen-year-old, enjoying his last summer of  innocence, and Trond as a sixty-seven year-old man vexed with a neighbor that could be his doppelganger.

Though Trond would rather not revisit his past, the summer he played "out stealing horses" comes back to him in his older years and in his dreams. As a teenager, Trond is blissfully unaware of  anything beyond the beauty of the woods and the game he plays with his friend, Jon. Two unrelated accidents, a shooting and a fall, soon set a whole different series of events in motion that are as irreversible as the stacked timber that  falls in the Glomma river.

Trond's father is not the man Trond thinks him to be--not the man he trusts and admires. The pair, Trond and his father, have been staying in a rented cabin in the furthermost reaches of Norway. Though their time cutting trees bonds father and son together; sadly, it is also a precursor to betrayal. Petterson won one of the highest literary awards, the Dublin IMPAC award, for this evocative novel.



Review by Chantal Walvoord

Bruce Machart's Wake of Forgiveness

Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart.

Race horses play an instrumental role in this carefully crafted debut novel. By cultivating winning race horses, Vaclav Skala acquires most of the land in LaVaca county. His love for winning horse races, however, comes at the expense of his family.

After his beloved Clara dies, Vaclav is an embittered man who uses his sons as "work horses" to plow the fields. He exempts his own horses from working since he uses them to race. What proves to be Vaclav’s undoing, however, is his blind hubris.

Vaclav has so much confidence in Karel's riding abilities that he offers up his three other sons as bridegrooms to the daughters of the second largest landowner. This proves to be a tragic mistake. Vaclav may know horses and farming but he knows little about filial bonds or the disarming power of love.

Karel is a good rider but he's distracted by his opponent, Villasenor's daughter, Gabriella. Though only fifteen, he's enchanted by her beauty and the possibilities she offers. Although he is only a boy he must deal with conflicting feelings for her and loyalty towards his family--a situation that continues throughout most of his young life until a pair of delinquents force him to re-prioritize his life.

This novel is a powerful family drama and an intriguing look at life in Texas at the turn-of-the-century. Few authors write so powerfully and evocatively; this novel will resonate for a long time to come.

Review by Chantal Walvoord