I have always been a lover of horses—from birth I think. I always
wanted a pony for Christmas, but we didn’t live anywhere I could have an
equine friend. Finally, my parents bought a small farm and my first
Welsh pony First Fling, a black-and-white paint. Much later in life, I
bred, trained and showed the magnificent Andalusian horse (the horse of
the bullrings in Spain—either quick or dead). The Andalusian is known
for its balance and ability to perform the old battle movements that now
are only seen in classical dressage (like the Spanish Riding School).
My stallion Bonito was three times National Champion in the conformation
class.
I was, at some point, predestined to write a book about
horses and the people who love them. I never participated in 3-Day
Eventing, a very demanding and dangerous sport, but my friend in Florida
was an eventer. If I ran into a problem with the technical
information, I called Helen. She’d walk me through the event. I didn’t
ramble off into too much detail because I didn’t want to bore the
non-horsey reader. The techniques of the half-pass, the shoulder-in, and
the canter pirouette are probably not familiar to most people outside
horsey circles.
Gambler’s Choice is the name of a jumping class
in a horse show. I think that name and the excitement of that race
against the clock inspired the book. In this class, each team (horse
and rider) that makes a clean round goes on to the next. The fences are
raised, and again they must beat the best time of other entries. A
sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of experience.
I named the equine
star after the class. Though the book is a romantic suspense, the story
is really about two people who love one horse. Becca is willing to pay
any amount for Gambler’s Choice. Austen is not going to sell his best
friend for any price. Perhaps, a horse person is the only one who’d
understand how dramatic this conflict is!
http://www.lindanightingale.com
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