Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives

by Verna Dreisbach (Editor), Jane Smiley (Foreword by)

Overview

Women and their horses—a symbiotic relationship based on trust, camaraderie, friendship, and love. In Why We Ride, Verna Dreisbach collects the stories of women who ride, sharing their personal emotions and accounts of the most important animals in their lives.

This collection of stories includes the heartfelt thoughts of a range of women—those who rode as children, those who spent their girlhood years dreaming of owning a pony, and those who have made a lifelong hobby or career out of riding. Each story reveals how horses have made an impact in the lives of these women. 

With a foreword by bestselling novelist Jane Smiley, Why We Ride offers a reflective view on the relationships between women and horses.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580052665
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	04/27/2010
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	7.58(w) x 5.64(h) x 0.92(d)

About the Author

Verna Dreisbach is an author, educator, and literary agent. Her stories have been published in EQUUS Magazine and Bernie Siegel’s faith, hope and healing; Inspiring Lessons Learned from People Living with Cancer. Her essay “The Racehorse” won first place in the 2007 Dominic J. Bazzanella Literary Awards. She is the founder and president of Capitol City Young Writers, a national non-profit organization dedicated to the education and inspiration of young writers. She holds a bachelors degree in English with honors from Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society. Verna is currently pursuing a master’s degree in English with a focus on creative writing at California State University, Sacramento. She lives in California with her husband, three kids and a myriad of animals. Her website is www.vernadreisbach.com.

Editorial Reviews

Dreisbach writes that we choose a horse for many reasons, such as beauty, ability, what we see of ourselves reflected in the horse (or what we wish we were like). All 20-plus contributors to this collection—for example, Jane Ayres, Kara Gall, Michele Scott, and Jacqueline Winspear—believe that their horses taught them something about themselves and made them stronger, better people. If you're looking for a rational, objective reason as to why women ride, it will not be found in this book—all the contributors write of a passionate love and connection with the horse (sometimes in spite of being physically injured while riding), and most are impressed at being in control and/or partnering with such a beautiful, graceful, and powerful animal. VERDICT Animal lovers and readers of horse memoirs such as Susan Richards's Chosen by a Horse and Jane Smiley's A Year at the Races (Smiley here contributes a foreword) will enjoy this compilation.—Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL

Library Journal