Unbridled Passion by Jeff Papows, PhD. - mostly about big time grand prix riders and the horses that made them or they are most notable for. It was my intent to just have it as something to skim through, maybe read one day but after skimming the intro, I was intrigued...anyway, I'm only into the second rider bio and I had to share and recommend it to everyone.
Ok, it gets a little corny as so far both horses discussed had this "super intelligence" where they morphed from this super Grand Prix Jumper beast to this cuddly or concerned animal that had thoughts. I am a biology major and one thing we are always nagged about in organismal studies is to AVOID ANTHROPOMORPHISM, so with that in the back of my head, these excerpts lead me to be a little leery. Regardless, I know I do the same and we all do, but this skeptical view can't escape me...
One particular excerpt I have to share (and mostly the reason for this entry) is from Ian Millar: " Working with horses is like drilling for oil; if you don't try that extra exercise, or that different shoeing angle, or bit, you may never know you were inches from a gusher." Obviously, any words from Ian Millar are gold in themselves but this particularly struck me as genius. I'm not one to give up easy on a horse and on occasion I am hesitant to try something new, but I think it's important to keep this in mind. Really, you haven't hit a roadblock until you have exhausted all of your options, and even then, you probably still have not exhausted every option. And you never know, your "diamond in the rough" or that skinny little backyard pal you have could be the next big thing (ah-hem Tesla and Kristen!) you just gotta find something different or new to keep on drilling for the talent and allow it to come gushing out :)
Moral of the story: don't ever get discouraged, just get creative