Customer Reviews

Country Life Diary : Three Years in the Life of a Horse Farm (Revised Edition)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This thoughtful diary recounts the daily trials and tribulations of raising delicate creatures in a too modern world that cares more about horse power than horse flesh. Although I came to the book as a horse lover, I left with a deep appreciation of the agricultural history of Maryland, the need to fight against suburban sprawl, and the many challenges in the never easy game of Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing. The account of Rollaids, just one of the many horses Josh Pons saves from suicide, provides narrative strength to a book that you can read straight through -- or pick and choose daily entries according to season and mood. Now I use the internet to follow the "family" successes -- of Citidancer, Allen's Prospect and Carnivaly, the author's tempermental princes of speed.

d wayne lukas has taken a personal matter and written a awful review of this book. it is a wonderful book!!! i have spent years on a throughbred farm working side by side with owners and trainers, this book is about the coperation of all the folks that work on the farm., it is true as can be. the book goes way beyond just life on a throughbred farm and adds poetry and wonderful visual of what the farm looks like and how the family works togeather to bring new foals into the world, to hopefully go on to win races and keep the farm in the black. shame on mr lukas.!!!!!!! the book is enchanting!!!!!

Well done, Mr. Pons! This is an insider's look at the difficulties facing a small thoroughbred farm (and the industry at large) from the vantage point of a breeder. The moments of pure joy and those of frustration and heartbreak are presented with grace and eloquence. The diary format and the hand drawn illustrations give this book a simplicity and clarity that is refreshing. It is a good read, whether a page at a time or in larger blocks.

Country Life Farm has a rich history and I am pleased that as of this writing (Feb. 2009), Mr. Pons and his family are still in the game (more than a decade since the book was published).

Highly recommend this book to anyone who raises horses, dreams of raising horses, is involved with horse races, or just wants a good read. Mr Pons gives an elegant account of life at Country Life - detailing the pleasures and the trials of daily life on a thoroughbred breeding farm in MD. My only complaint is that the book finally ended as I had become so caught up in the happenings at the farm.

Country Life Diary gives a several year account of life on a thoroughbred horse breeding farm. You share the highs and lows, the tears and smiles of each and every foal that is born and the hopes and dreams of making it to the biggest race - The Kentucky Derby.

Originally published as a series of diary entries in The Blood-Horse magazine, Josh Pons delivers a mixed-bag - like trying to handicap a race of first-time, 2-year-old runners - due to an often tedious style of writing.

This is an expanded version (1999) of the 1992 book and the wealth of issues Pons covers is very impressive. But with it being previously published magazine articles - with some new material - the best bet is to tackle the text in smaller segments than what would typically be read in one sitting.

A great angle and a unique feature for a magazine. It just doesn't get a clean trip from gate-to-wire as a book.

The reality of Country Life Farm is that Josh Pons spends the bulk of his time belittling employees, griping about horse owners, and bemoaning the miseries of the equine industry in an ever-increasing cycle of meaningless activity. His use of the metaphor is as sloppy as that of his work on the lunge-line, his run-on sentences as exhausting as the round-pen endeavors he whips his Thoroughbreds to accomplish. He is as good a writer as he is a horseman--don't waste your money on this one.