Forward Motion: Horses, Humans, and the Competitive Enterprise [Hardcover]

H. M. Menino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

Forward Motion reopens our longstanding relation with horses, asking what it takes to succeed in this joint athletic venture, what makes horses tick, and what draws the trainers to a shared life with these enigmatic animals. It is both a fascinating account of world-class riding and a moving investigation of the interaction between people and horses.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A public radio editorial director and horsewoman, Menino introduces us here to the arcane sport of show jumping. It is a costly operation that requires constant professional care, perhaps $50,000 a year per horse. Menino points out that while the horses are owned by the very wealthy, most of the top riders come from the middle class; at the peak of their careers, they earn less than top golf or tennis players. She focuses on three leading American rider/trainers and their horses: Lendon Grey, one of the most successful practitioners of dressage, and Last Scene; Keith Taylor and Play Me as they compete in combined training; Anne Kurinski, doyenne of show jumping, with Eros and Dynamite (she trains horses for the Olympics). This engaging account will captivate readers who follow horse shows or who simply like horses.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

A disarmingly limpid telling of days spent training horses for the highest levels of competition, from newcomer Menino. What is it about riding and training horses that sustains the people so engaged? For that matter, what sustains the horses? Menino, a horse fancier of amateur status, visited extensively with three pairs of humans and beasts--Olympic-caliber duos--to get a sense of what makes them tick: Lendon Gray in dressage, the ``art for art's sake school of horsemanship''; Anne Kursinski, a leader in the world of show jumping, ``a glittering place layered with money and celebrity and artifice,'' and lately littered with the corpses of horses murdered for financial gain; and young Keith Taylor, pretender to combined training status, a form of competition that requires purity of movement, agility and maneuverability, and sheer speed. Menino is particularly interested in the everyday stuff, the nitty-gritty that gets things done and defines a way of life. She walks the courses with Gray, Kursinski, and Taylor, asks what they demand, takes measure of their various obstacles; spends time with each rider as he or she hustles for money to support an equestrian avocation. We read of farriers and of horse chiropractors and physical therapists. Perhaps most cannily, Menino speaks of horses: their independence and gameness, integrity and confidence. The author delves into horse behavior- -friendship and herding and consciousness and the ancient, fearful chimes that ring in a horse's mind when it falls: ``A horse that goes down is subject to predators and is powerless. Falling is frightening and humiliating. It is deathy.'' And her examination of horse-rider communication is as subtle as the imperceptible shifts of weight, the slight movement of reins that mean everything to those involved. Reading Menino is like taking a horse's muzzle into your hands, bending close, and breathing deeply. Sublime, with grassy notes. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: North Point Pr; 1st edition (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865474931
• ISBN-13: 978-0865474932
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 3.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,819,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Understanding the Invisible, November 1, 2000

By 

P. Kahoe (Hilton Head Island, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Forward Motion: World-Class Riders and the Horses Who Carry Them (Paperback)

Holly Menino has a fluid writing style that is a delight to read. Although she may not have a complete grasp of all riding terms (which reviewer Irene found objectionable), readers who are advanced enough riders to notice her slips will, for the most part, also be mature enough understand that amateur rider Menino is not writing a technical text. It is the connections that develop between horse and rider that are of interest to her, and what drives the riders competing at the upper levels. Although I've moved on to another career, I was a professional rider, coach and trainer for 15 years. I found the book very enjoyable and have recommended it to a wide variety of people.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable and enjoyable look inside english riding., September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Forward Motion: World-Class Riders and the Horses Who Carry Them (Paperback)

I highly recommend the book. It is easy to read, letting you into the highest levels of competitive riding. Its the story beyond the statistics. It lets you get to know the rider and riding philosophy with just the right amount of detail. I feel like I was really inside the rider's world for a few crucial minutes.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anyone with any interest in horses will love it!!!, December 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Forward Motion: Horses, Humans, and the Competitive Enterprise (Hardcover)

Whether you're lucky enough to ride or just have an incurable love for horses, you'll love this book! Holly Menino goes into the lives of three great horses and their riders...the description on the back cover says it all...words typically used only to describe humans bring the book to life!...I loved it so much, I read it in two hours...and I'm now buying it for my huntseat instructor!...an altogether great read!!!