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Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told: Thirty Unforgettable Horse Tales
Throughout recorded history, the horse has played many roles in human life. He has been man's partner in war, his servant in work, his teammate in sports, his inspiration in art. So it is only natural that literature includes many masterpieces about horses and horsemanship.
The Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told gathers together the best of the equestrian genre. It includes stories and articles by Pulitzer Prize-winners Red Smith, Maxine Kumin, and Jane Smiley, and tales by jockey-turned-mystery novelist Dick Francis and veterinarian-turned-writer James Herriot. Here also are reflections on fox hunting by Steven Budiansky and Anthony Trollope; a profile of Buck Brannaman, the inspiration for The Horse Whisperer; an inspirational piece from Ellie Phayer, and a story about the Spanish Riding School's dancing white horses by Felix Salten (author of Bambi), as well as writing from Tom McGuane, Bill Barich, humorist Cooky McClung, and classic western authors Will James and Zane Grey.
Heartwarming, adventurous, profound, and funny, this anthology is a treasure trove that includes favorite writers and little-known or long-forgotten gems, illuminating our fascination-and captivation-with horses.
The Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told gathers together the best of the equestrian genre. It includes stories and articles by Pulitzer Prize-winners Red Smith, Maxine Kumin, and Jane Smiley, and tales by jockey-turned-mystery novelist Dick Francis and veterinarian-turned-writer James Herriot. Here also are reflections on fox hunting by Steven Budiansky and Anthony Trollope; a profile of Buck Brannaman, the inspiration for The Horse Whisperer; an inspirational piece from Ellie Phayer, and a story about the Spanish Riding School's dancing white horses by Felix Salten (author of Bambi), as well as writing from Tom McGuane, Bill Barich, humorist Cooky McClung, and classic western authors Will James and Zane Grey.
Heartwarming, adventurous, profound, and funny, this anthology is a treasure trove that includes favorite writers and little-known or long-forgotten gems, illuminating our fascination-and captivation-with horses.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 10, 2020
This should really be titled One of the Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told and Twenty-Nine Others of Varying Quality, though even that would be a lie because half of these are not stories and a quarter are more specifically not horse stories.
Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy reading an essay from the man who once directed the world renowned Spanish Riding School, but it was not a story. Though at least it had details about specific horses, unlike A Royal Rip-Off at Kingdom Hill and All Horse Players Die Broke, which merely take place at a racetrack, but otherwise have very little to do with horses. Though at least those didn't express a contempt for horses, either!
And yes, I realize Tips on Horses was a facetious little column (again, not a story), but the opinion of the collector that no horse anthology is complete without such an opinion - that horses are terrible, basically - is baffling at best. Who is your audience, for a book advertising itself as "the greatest horse stories ever told," if not great horse lovers?
Speaking of which, even the stories that are, in fact, stories, and horse stories at that are hit or miss. Sleeping Sickness offers a genuinely good account of horse doctoring in the West at the time, but could definitely have been cut down for the purposes of the collection, since the majority of the tale is spent driving here and there. Was There a Horse with Wings? is also worthy of praise, but there was language in use that wasn't immediately obvious in meaning to the reader, even a reader fluent in horse jargon. All Horse Players Die Broke's constant use of the present tense - refusing even once to bother with past tense despite frequently discussing things that happened in the past - was distracting at best, though I understand this is often how jockeys speak.
And then there were the selections I was amazed made it in, at least in their current form. The Lady Who Rides to Hounds, for instance, is so utterly unkind to the female sex that it almost convinced me to stop reading altogether, and Mustard-Pot, Matchmaker quite unexpectedly throws in a horse with an insanely offensive name (though, I know, probably not broadly considered so at the time of its first writing). The two could have been left out of the anthology entirely and I probably would have given this three stars, if only for the single story I did find to be one of the greatest horse stories ever told.
Pure Heart is worthy of five stars, and not only because it is Secretariat's tale. I have never read such a moving account of the great horse, woven so perfectly through his stellar career to the end of his days. Even knowing the outcome of each Triple Crown race, and especially his astounding Belmont win, I was caught up in the excitement all over again, urging Secretariat on.
For that, and the handful of other stories that were not too bad (though never quite reaching the quality of Nack's), this anthology earns a second star.
Don't get me wrong - I did enjoy reading an essay from the man who once directed the world renowned Spanish Riding School, but it was not a story. Though at least it had details about specific horses, unlike A Royal Rip-Off at Kingdom Hill and All Horse Players Die Broke, which merely take place at a racetrack, but otherwise have very little to do with horses. Though at least those didn't express a contempt for horses, either!
And yes, I realize Tips on Horses was a facetious little column (again, not a story), but the opinion of the collector that no horse anthology is complete without such an opinion - that horses are terrible, basically - is baffling at best. Who is your audience, for a book advertising itself as "the greatest horse stories ever told," if not great horse lovers?
Speaking of which, even the stories that are, in fact, stories, and horse stories at that are hit or miss. Sleeping Sickness offers a genuinely good account of horse doctoring in the West at the time, but could definitely have been cut down for the purposes of the collection, since the majority of the tale is spent driving here and there. Was There a Horse with Wings? is also worthy of praise, but there was language in use that wasn't immediately obvious in meaning to the reader, even a reader fluent in horse jargon. All Horse Players Die Broke's constant use of the present tense - refusing even once to bother with past tense despite frequently discussing things that happened in the past - was distracting at best, though I understand this is often how jockeys speak.
And then there were the selections I was amazed made it in, at least in their current form. The Lady Who Rides to Hounds, for instance, is so utterly unkind to the female sex that it almost convinced me to stop reading altogether, and Mustard-Pot, Matchmaker quite unexpectedly throws in a horse with an insanely offensive name (though, I know, probably not broadly considered so at the time of its first writing). The two could have been left out of the anthology entirely and I probably would have given this three stars, if only for the single story I did find to be one of the greatest horse stories ever told.
Pure Heart is worthy of five stars, and not only because it is Secretariat's tale. I have never read such a moving account of the great horse, woven so perfectly through his stellar career to the end of his days. Even knowing the outcome of each Triple Crown race, and especially his astounding Belmont win, I was caught up in the excitement all over again, urging Secretariat on.
For that, and the handful of other stories that were not too bad (though never quite reaching the quality of Nack's), this anthology earns a second star.
July 30, 2016
At my age, I should've expected that any book entitled The Greatest Horse Stories Ever Told would be anything but. Why did I expect the content to equal the title?
Many of the selections are non-fiction pieces such as magazine articles and rambling essays. At least five of the selections detail dying horses. Two selections are about gamblers and not about horses at all. The editor states that the Damon Runyon selection caused him to laugh out loud often -- pretty disturbing admission since it's about a gambler's suicide.
The typos got really annoying. But what really burned my buns was that the back cover blurb promised stories by Zane Gray and Will James. Open up the book and lo and behold -- no stories by Zane Gray OR Will James.
How does this crap get published?
Many of the selections are non-fiction pieces such as magazine articles and rambling essays. At least five of the selections detail dying horses. Two selections are about gamblers and not about horses at all. The editor states that the Damon Runyon selection caused him to laugh out loud often -- pretty disturbing admission since it's about a gambler's suicide.
The typos got really annoying. But what really burned my buns was that the back cover blurb promised stories by Zane Gray and Will James. Open up the book and lo and behold -- no stories by Zane Gray OR Will James.
How does this crap get published?
October 25, 2011
I think this is the first book in a LONG time, that I have not finished. I love horses. I love horse stories almost as much. Short tales, essays, or novels; I thought I adored everything horse related. Turns out I was WRONG. I expected some sort of heart warming collection like a Chicken Soup For Horse Lovers when I picked this book up. Umm, no. It was a dry collection of various articles written about horses or some notable horse people. I was probably the most interested in Buck's story, as there has been a recent documentary on his life that was screened in our area (and I'm still sorry I missed it) so I perked up reading his chapter a bit more than I did with the others. Overall, I carried the book around for a few weeks, before I realized that it was more effort to finish it, than I was willing to put in. I am a little peeved about the title of the book, now becuase there were certainly NOT the greatest horse stories ever told, to me. Maybe to someone whose closest encounter to a horse is through the racing articles published in the paper... maybe this book would appeal to them, in it's journalistic style.
Read
October 26, 2012Mix of fiction and non-fiction, all about horses. I suspect that this collection is targeted at teenage girls. I wallowed adolescently in it. I may need to go watch The Black Stallion movie now.
May 31, 2019
All the stories were interesting. Some more about people than horses. My favorite was the story by Colonel Podhajsky because he spoke more about the horses and their personalities. James Herriot wrote a moving story. Every writer featured in this book gave insights into this marvelous animal and how they get to be part of us or members of the family. The excellent story by Dr. Green speaks to this relationship.
The stories are varied, from the Olympic riders to the pleasure rider, from school horses to the champions to the pasture ornaments.
Anyone liking horses will find lots to like in this book.
The stories are varied, from the Olympic riders to the pleasure rider, from school horses to the champions to the pasture ornaments.
Anyone liking horses will find lots to like in this book.
January 13, 2018
A really good read for equestrians and non-equestrians alike. Allows the reader a whole array of emotions from the deepest saddest to the greatest joy.
October 28, 2019
Loved these stories!
March 7, 2023
The stories in here were hit or miss for me—some I cringed at, some I skimmed through, and a few I really enjoyed (mostly the dressage based ones).
3.25/5 stars
3.25/5 stars
June 16, 2012
If you listen, when ponies talk, you will have earned having another - man's best friend.
In this anthology, of thirty tales, some stayed with me. I found the articles by Colonel Alois Podhajsky, William Nack, Paul Trachtman, Ben K. Green, Thomas McGuane, James Herriot, Gene Smith, Cooky McClung and Holly Menino, to be the one's where I regretted not knowing those horeses.
Damon Runyon, I had a problem with. I was never able to naildown the racetrack cadence when the characters were speaking. I know how it sounds, and its a joy to hear; however, for some reason, Runyon just didn't transcribe the melody to pulp. As a rule he was right-on. The story was enjoyable.
Overall, this collection offered much. Humor to heartbreak, joy and peace. Personally, I will never find another Stanley. Stanley understood me when I didn't understand stuff....
Still trying to listen.....
In this anthology, of thirty tales, some stayed with me. I found the articles by Colonel Alois Podhajsky, William Nack, Paul Trachtman, Ben K. Green, Thomas McGuane, James Herriot, Gene Smith, Cooky McClung and Holly Menino, to be the one's where I regretted not knowing those horeses.
Damon Runyon, I had a problem with. I was never able to naildown the racetrack cadence when the characters were speaking. I know how it sounds, and its a joy to hear; however, for some reason, Runyon just didn't transcribe the melody to pulp. As a rule he was right-on. The story was enjoyable.
Overall, this collection offered much. Humor to heartbreak, joy and peace. Personally, I will never find another Stanley. Stanley understood me when I didn't understand stuff....
Still trying to listen.....
November 8, 2013
This book, I am saddened to say was wasted on me. I think perhaps someone who actually owns horses would be a better reviewer for this book. I can only review as someone who loves animals, loves horses and loves reading stories about them.Some of these stories were older then 50 years old ( which is not a negative of course)some were fiction and some were not.As an anthology, it seemed odd to me that the voices of the different writers seemed to be similar.Shall I be honest? I found the pace slow, the stories lack luster which trust me, surprised me. As I mentioned before I love, love, love animal stories but these ones fell flat for me.
January 26, 2020
When I pick up a book I want to read stories or, if it's true events, narratives, NOT articles. And this book has several articles that made it feel more like reading a magazine. That aside, some were more what I consider narratives, and some of those were fantastic. Example; Tall- ho and Tribulation was one of my favorites, because while I haven't had the pleasure of experiencing fox hunting yet, it was otherwise very relatable. And I did love that it had truely unique material that I haven't seen before. It did clue me in that I shouldn't bother picking up any Dick Francis novels, and that I can only enjoy Damon Runyon on radio classics, not in print. Overall, definitely worth look.
November 17, 2011
I read Classic Horse Stories, and now I’m working on Greatest Horse Stories, both edited by Stephen Price. I’m still trying to read all of my unread books on my shelves before the end of the year (though I begin to admit the unlikelihood of that actually happening, this late in the game), and these two somehow conjured themselves up. The Classic stories were much better…Teddy Roosevelt, Churchill, Tolstoy…good stuff. I debate the adjective in Greatest stories. They’re exceedingly mediocre thus far. Soldiering on…
August 20, 2016
This reminded very much of Bloodlines that Maggie Estep and Jason Starr edited about ten years ago, except, you know, older. Same concept: have writers from different horsey disciplines write, although these are largely non-fiction.
A lot of the well-known equine writers are represented here: Jane Smiley, William Nack, Dick Francis. But there are also folks like Tom McGuane and Cooky McClung who have interesting voices and stories to tell as well.
If you like horse-based stories, then you'll like this book.
A lot of the well-known equine writers are represented here: Jane Smiley, William Nack, Dick Francis. But there are also folks like Tom McGuane and Cooky McClung who have interesting voices and stories to tell as well.
If you like horse-based stories, then you'll like this book.
March 3, 2008
1/3 great reading stories; 2/3s not so good.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews