Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Life

Korda has spent most of his life around horses, and it shows. He has a broad understanding of horses, their disciplines (from foxhunting to rodeos), and most of all, their people. Horse people are easy to spot - and they come from all walks of life. Michael Korda has met many of them, admittedly more from the upper crust of horse society than the dregs, and here he shares many of his experiences. It's more of a memoir than a collection of stories (the title is misleading), but Korda had a wide enough exposure to many areas of the horse world for it to remain insightful and interesting for the horse lover. Sit back, relax, and be entertained by debacles on the foxhunting course, fierce competition in the show ring, easy-going rides through Central Park and across country fields, horses with big personalities, and riders, trainers, and grooms with their own unique perspectives on how horses "should be done." Some heavy horse history is dropped in periodically, which definitely slows down the pace and sometimes sounds a bit preachy. Name dropping is unavoidable but it was interesting to learn about various well-known personalities who entered the horse world, or were a part of it. There was a section about President Ronald Reagan's love of horses that I found fascinating, and I thrilled to read about horses and riders of legendary status. Overall this is a solid offering for the horse lover, though a bit heavier than the collection of stories that I was expecting.

Here is the best book I've read on what it means to own or ride a horse. The author, Michael Korda has tried not to anthropomorphize horses, and as a result he sounds a bit detached from these noble creatures (I do attribute human characteristics to horses, but then I'm not a journalist). I'm left with the opinion that he could live without horses, but there are some people who couldn't, including his second wife, Margaret. "Horse People" is almost her biography. It is also an equestrian autobiography of Korda, himself. Here are the sometimes raffish, always respectful portraits of his mounts, including a "a dapper and rather flashy little Arab-Welsh pony cross that was just a little too small for me...and had, in fact, as it turned out, rather more character than was desirable." Mephisto was the pony's name and one of my favorite stories involves Mephisto's decision to back into the Serpentine, an artificial lake in London's Hyde Park. Korda has to be rescued by the regimental sergeant major of the Life Guards, aboard the regimental drum horse, Clarence "with hooves the size of dinner plates and thick, feathered fetlocks, a towering eighteen hands or more high and probably weighing over a ton..." Even though many of this book's stories are funny, and most are touching, this is not a collection for horse-loving children. It's a true-life amalgam of "American Beauty" and "National Velvet," with some of the sadness of Steinbeck's "The Red Pony" added to the mix. Horses go lame, suffer from narcolepsy, and have to be euthanized. Many of the chapters contain deft portraits of (mostly) East Coast equestrians--from Olympic medal winners to those folks, who are happiest at a slow ramble along Central Park's horse trails. President Reagan is featured (Korda wrote his biography in a separate book), as is Bill Steinkraus, who rode in five Olympic Games for the USA, and won the Individual Gold Medal aboard Snowbound at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games--he was the first American ever to win an individual equestrian gold medal. My favorite stories involve the not-so-famous eccentrics who dwell in the equestrian realm: the riding instructors, stable hands, and of course, the regimental sergeant major in "a khaki uniform with razor-sharp creases, and buttons, badges, leather, and cap peak so shiny that it hurt my eyes to look in his direction." If you are thinking of buying an old farm and keeping horses, then at the very least you should read the chapter, "The Grass Isn't Always Greener on the Other Side of the Fence." Korda takes a look at some of the myriad problems that beset horse owners, accompanied by "the steady, dismal noise of money going out" to farriers, vets, and electricians. Then there are the boarders "tramping through the living room of [the] great ramshackle house in muddy riding boots and spurs looking for a drink or a convenient sofa on which to nap." Included in the usual run of leaky roofs and sagging fences are automat

After having read a few of the reviews of "Horse People" posted here, I am compelled to comment. I am a horseperson of over 40 years of experience. I tend to be HIGHLY critical when I read a book on horses. THIS book is exceptional. It is well-written (hey, if you are the editor-in-chief of a major book publishing company, you'd BETTER be able to write on a high level). It is accurate. There were several facts that seemed to bear checking...every single one of them came up true. Some fellow fox-hunters have quibbled that this tome was anti-hunting. Grow up, folks! I hunted for almost a decade, and I can accept that Korda preferred not to hunt for personal reasons. True fox-hunters hunt for the joy of following hound work, being out on a horse they love, enjoying nature, and taking part in a wonderful tradition. Yes, I said enjoying nature. Maybe Sedgefield Hunt was sub-standard, maybe our foxes were super-sly, maybe we were all just idiots out galloping around for the fun of it, but we lost more HOUNDS to accidents than we ever killed foxes. (Find a copy of "The Belstone Fox" and watch it sometime. You can fast forward through the party scenes.) Why should the author's decision not to hunt bother anyone? It was his right to do as he wished. Korda's inclusion of drawings and photographs are added perks to a very readable volume. This book is a FIRM "Five Star" item. If your public library doesn't have a copy, it should. Buy it!! By the way, I am going to my local library tomorrow to check out some more of Mr. Korda's books.

Michael Korda captures the mystique and grace of horses and their relationship with humans like none other. As a lifelong rider, I found that Mr. Korda somehow put into words the difficult-to-describe emotions that horses evoke in people. This book had the rare ability to make me laugh and cry in the same chapter. I highly recommend this book, and it is not just for horse people!

Don't miss this book! It's a warm and wonderful adventure into the world of horses and horse people. Korda is a terrific companion through these pages, witty, hilarious, self-deprecating, but always a superb storyteller. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a ripping good tale, smart and compassionate writing and larger than life characters (equine and human) who leap off the pages. A fast read, a great read, an instant classic!