The Earth Walkers is a story of the relationship of horses, humans, and planet earth. It is a simple story that over time we, as humans, have complicated. Once, all three lived in harmony, but humans viewed this as primitive, savage, or wild. And so we began to make our existence together more civilized. In our interference, we began to lose respect for our planet and all that lived upon it, including ourselves. One of the three, though, remained steadfast throughout the story. Horses, except in their physical appearance, have neither changed nor tried to change anything, just being themselves, constantly at our sides. Tracing the story of the relationship from the beginning of time, the unique bond between humans and horses is explored through different civilizations and cultures up to present day. It tracks the journey of the two species and the effect they had on earth as they walked around it. It also tells the story of how—when in times of disruption, chaos, and imbalance—earth has spoken to us, giving us signs; and horses have always been there, guiding us to a path back home. It is a path to a home on earth where all can live in harmony and at peace—a path that we will hopefully choose to walk together once again.

“I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog, and suspect I had aged in dog years. By the time I was ten I had discovered the pain of unbearable loss. I had felt joy and jealousy. Most important of all, I knew how to love and how to let myself be loved. All these things I learned through animals. Horses and dogs were my family and my friends. This is their story as much as it is mine.” Clare Balding grew up in an unusual household. Her father a champion horse trainer, they shared their lives with more than one hundred thoroughbred racehorses, mares, foals, and ponies, as well as an ever-present pack of dogs, on a sprawling estate in the Hampshire Downs. As a child, Clare happily rode the legendary racehorse Mill Reef and received her first pony, Valkyrie, as a gift from Her Majesty the Queen of England. But Clare ranked low in the family pecking order—as a girl, she was decidedly below her younger brother, and both of them were certainly below the horses. Left to her own devices, she had to learn life’s toughest lessons through the animals, and through her adventures in the stables and the surrounding idyllic English countryside. From her struggles at boarding school to her triumphs as an amateur jockey and event rider, Clare weaves her own coming-of-age story through portraits of the beloved horses and dogs, from the protective Candy to the unruly Frank, who were her earliest friends. The running family joke was that “women ain’t people.” Clare has to prove them wrong, to make her voice heard—but first she had to make sure she had something to say. My Animals and Other Family is a witty, brave, and moving account of stumbling—often literally—into one’s true self.

A new, fully authorised biography of the most successful trainer in British horse racing history. In the stratified and often secretive world of racehorse training, Mark Johnston has always been different: forthright, combative, provocative, and candid – a man who delights in questioning convention. Over more than three decades, he has gone from being a vet from a thoroughly working-class Scottish background to, mathematically, the most successful trainer in the history of British horse racing. In this new, fully authorised biography, acclaimed author Nick Townsend provides a unique insight into the world of Mark Johnston and his phenomenally successful operation. With unparalleled access to Mark and those closest to him, Mark Johnston: Phenomenon will dig into his storied career, his strong and passionate views on the sport of horse racing, and how he's planning for the future in unprecedented times, offering a fascinating portrait of one of horse racing's most singular figures.

The Encyclopedia of British Horse Racing offers an innovative approach to one of Britain's oldest sports. While it considers the traditional themes of gambling and breeding, and contains biographies of human personalities and equine stars, it also devotes significant space to neglected areas. Entries include: social, economic and political forces that have influenced racing controversial historical and current issues legal and illegal gambling, and racing finance the British impact on world horseracing history and heritage of horseracing links between horse racing and the arts, media and technology human and equine biographies venues associated with racing horseracing websites The Encyclopedia of British Horse Racing provides a unique source of information and will be of great interest to sports historians as well as all those whose work or leisure brings them into the world of racing.