Equine journeys : the British horse world

Equine Journeys casts an unprecedented eye on Britain's horse world, focusing on people, places and organizations instrumental in the breeding, racing, keeping and showing of breeds in the UK - one of the world's foremost equine universes. From Scottish hill farmers breeding Highland ponies, Shetlands and Icelandics to the luxurious world of Arabian horse breeders, from neighbourhood stables to studs that foster some of the world's greatest horses (creating multi-billion-pound businesses in the process and supporting the global racing calendar), the book shows how that business is defining the long-standing relationship between horse and human. In words and pictures, Equine Journeys explores the fundamentals that underpin the economics, politics and sporting components of some of the UK's greatest breeding and racing studs. Up-close-and-personal profiles provide unequalled access to owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, stable lads and lasses, and polo fanatics. Enriched by a wealth of exclusively commissioned photographs, Equine Journeys features compelling images reflecting both the fantasy and the reality of breeding and racing in Britain today. Specially commissioned essays by leading experts elaborate on the history of the horse and its place in British history, as well as looking inside the fiercely competitive contemporary breeding and racing scene. It provides an invaluable survey of current trends and key players while shining a light on the exotic and the extraordinary in the realm of racehorses and gymkhana ponies, Shetlands and Clydesdales, gypsy cobs and police horses, polo clubs and the London and Counties social scene. Equine Journeys explores the landscape and the sociology of horses, horse sense and horsemanship in Britain at a time when the horse has lost its millennia-long economic and strategic importance, becoming a companion to humans, a source of natural beauty and the inspiration for sport.