Recently I had the opportunity to read another new horse book for review. Finding Gideon by Sarah Hickner is due to be released April 28th. This novel has a mixture of my favourite things – horses (with a focus on Thoroughbreds), a young woman chasing her dream as well as the Christian faith.

Finding Gideon follows the story of young adult, Sarah as she pursues a long time dream of riding racehorses. Since she was a child, the dream had been evident. This is beautifully portrayed in the epigraph of the story, where it is quoted

In the early 80s, God created a girl. He knit her together, and in her DNA he included a little horse hair.”

I can so very much relate to this statement! My fascination with horses has always been there.

I don’t have parents, siblings or even extended family who are, or were horsey. And yet, my fascination with this amazing animal has always been. To me, it is a God-given passion. Much like stated in this book.

Finding Gideon by Sarah Hickner

The reader is taken on an incredible journey as they travel alongside Sarah. Her excitement, passion, determination and ups and downs are outlined for the reader. The thrill of riding a racehorse on the track; that first chance to jump out of the starting gates and first breezing a racehorse are all detailed.

Alongside Sarah in this story, is a devoted dog Sandi, a beautiful flashy chestnut named Gideon and also a young man who unexpectedly shows up and becomes a main character. Whilst Sarah pursues racing thoroughbreds, she revels in the time she is able to spend in the saddle astride Gideon, a Quarter Horse cross barrel horse.

One morning exercise ride suddenly turns Sarah’s world upside down. As she questions whether she will be able to pursue the dream she’s so sure God has placed on her heart, other parts of Sarah’s life start to crumble around her. Surely God gave her the dream, so what is going on?

Finding Gideon is a wonderful story of determination and faith. Horses feature heavily and the characters you read about are interesting and real. Sarah’s own struggles with insecurity, fear and even jealously are well explained as she battles to pursue a dream she can’t give up on.

This memoir was a really, really interesting read and it also had a great focus on the thoroughbred racing industry. Highly recommended. As it’s newly released, why not secure yourself a copy?

Author: Sarah Hickner
Non-fiction – memoir
In My Library? As an eBook it is

I recently borrowed the first book in the series Bonnie & Sam from our local library. In this book titled The Shadow Brumby, the reader learns all about Bonnie and Sam’s obsession with horses.

The two girls know all the horses in their town – their history, their likes and their colour and conformation. Although each horse is different, they have something in common – the love of these two girls. It appears that Bonnie and Sam spend all of their free time with the various horses in their town.

Whether a pony, a top dressage horse or a laid back giant named Whale, they ride them all and offer treats and scratches on many occasions.

The one horse that they can’t convince to like them however, is Drover. She is a grey mare that Sam’s dad rides for work. Sam’s father is a policeman. He was given Drover as a gift as the previous owner couldn’t deal with her fear of trains – it didn’t allow him to do his job effectively.

The Shadow Brumby (Bonnie & Sam)

Sam was disappointed to find that the mare didn’t warm to herself or Bonnie. This was an ongoing issue until one morning where the girls are surprised to find that they are greeted warmly by the grey mare.

In time they come to a surprising conclusion. With the help of Aunty Birdy, the girls invest a lot of time and effort into training this new horse. The result is a brumby that is started under saddle and able to be ridden. But the question remains: will she be suitable for a police officer to ride through town on his usual business?

This was an interesting read with a nice focus on different types of horses and even the process of getting a horse used to a rider. The only thing I was really surprised to read, was of two young girls having the knowledge and skills to trim the hooves of a wild brumby – that appeared a bit of a stretch! But, the girls’ ages weren’t identified although it was obvious they did as much with horses as they possibly could, so perhaps it isn’t impossible.

The Shadow Brumby was an interesting read with a delightful ending.

Author: Alison Lester
Fiction – children’s
In My Library? No, this one was borrowed from my local library.

A Goose Girl was a very interesting book to read. I hadn’t previously heard of the fairy tale The Goose Girl but loved the cover of this book, so was intrigued. So it was a whole new story to me without having any awareness of the similarly named fairy tale. Now that I’ve researched the fairy tale, it seems that A Goose Girl had a lot of the main concepts of the key story.

I really enjoyed reading about Falada, the talking horse. And the idea of the Princess and her hand maid, changing positions, for whatever reason was also interesting to read about. I loved Rynn’s story and how that was quite different to the fairy tale.

I really empathised with the position that she was put in and couldn’t talk herself out of. It was interesting to read how Rynn and Princess Davina’s relationship changed over the course of the novel. I also loved the relationship between Rynn, Geraint and Conrad and how that developed over time. And of course, how the story revolved around a goose girl within that particular town of Astoria.

This fairy tale was a delight to read. I thoroughly enjoyed K M Shae’s version or spin on the tale, and the main horse character who also happened to have a voice and could talk with the people around him.

It was a lovely read, interesting mixture of fantasy and magic and a delightful romance. I loved the ending and the way things worked out. A very amusing tale that was well worth the read.

Author: K. M. Shea
Fiction – fantasy/fairy tale
In My Library? It is as an ebook.

Gift Horse is an entertaining Christmas novella by Tudor Robins. This horse focused book was a quick, easy read and really enjoyable. Although it is a little after Christmas – and I am used to a very hot Christmas! – it was nice to read about the snowy weather in this novella.

Kiki rides with her closest friend Georgie and a couple of other girls in lessons each week. She longs for a horse of her own, particularly a beautiful grey named Pitch Perfect.

Unfortunately, Pitch is owned by one of her lesson mates. Still, a girl can dream!

In an unusual turn of events, Kiki wonders if she could own the beautiful grey horse, after all. He is well behaved and talented – how far could she go with a horse like that? And yet, even with a horse that does all the right things, she comes to learn that it is still up to the rider to lead the horse in the way they wish it to go.

Gift Horse does a wonderful job of exploring the dynamics of relationships between some teenage girls who may only have horses in common. When the very different personalities need to work together to gain the best Christmas gift of all, it makes for an interesting and entertaining read.

Gift Horse has a good focus on horse care and stable work, working together in a team, in spite of differing opinions and a possible budding relationship. Recommended reading.

Author: Tudor Robins
Fiction – young adult
In My Library? It is as an ebook.