By Jen Allen
IV Leader Columnist, Oct. 25, 2007
Book Review
The “outsideworld” knows nothing about the “inside world” of the “horse world.” That fantasy of little children having a pony or a gallant steed does not come only from fairy tales and great old westerns, but hopes of loping through the plains, dreams of a free heart —and a deep, deep pocket book with ample funds.
Michael Korda’s book, “Horse People,” is perhaps the epitome of what the horse world is truly like. It sucks you in heart, mind, body and soul. It may start out as a “Daddy, I want a pony,” but it grows into “We don’t have enough money to renovate the kitchen and buy and new stove because the old one doesn’t work—we have to redo the corral and get Princess her special fly sheet and saddle pad.”
Korda’s horse life originally started with pony clubs in England that slowly died out. When his son became 6 years old, a father-son activity would take him in a whole new direction—a new wife, his own horses, even his own farm with ups and downs and that special water heater during the winter. A whim to drive in the wrong direction brought him to a farm where his eventual instructor would tell him the difference between the bows on the back of a hunt cap — a normal bow means this, an upside down one means that and some even have no bows which means something totally different.
One horse eventually led to two, and his new wife eventually started competing, which meant she needed various amounts of tack (horse supplies for you non-horsey people), all in varying colors that would change as many times as the seasons, and of course more horses to go with the more disciplines that the wife, Margaret, would compete in.
A mention of the fact that Korda took horse riding lessons takes him to the hills of Virginia on a whimsical chase over the country side and being called a “daredevil of a rider,” a reputation, of which, would get Korda into tremendous amounts of trouble while running at 40 plus miles an hour on a near-wild horse. A tranquil ride in Hyde Park (London, England) on a pony would lead to an encounter with the Drum Horse Captain (a man/Captain on a horse that carries large drums through parades in England) on one of the famous Drum Horses after the pony backs into a lake, resulting in the Captain to say to Korda, “Pardon me, sir,” then gently cupping the pony’s ear and screaming obscenities to it.
Korda’s book is a joy to read—mostly perhaps for the horse people in the world because everything about it is true. You really do get sucked into the horse world, especially when you least expect it. Not all people are right for horses, but Korda is right about horses—the magnificence of horses and the thrill of the sport are complex and amazing enough to make you want to come back for more.