THE HORSE–EL CABALLO. 101 Lessons In English And Spanish. A Journey For Kids. Cherry Hill. Horsekeeping Books And Videos. P.O. Box 140, Livermore CO 80536. 90-minute DVD. $29.95.

While this DVD is marketed for children to learn English or Spanish, it’s actually quite useful for adults too. Even though I studied Spanish for four years in high school and college, without a refresher it’s hard to remember anything more than hola!

Author Cherry Hill, who narrates the DVD, does an excellent job in pronunciation. And the background music, provided by Rich A. Salas, is light and whimsical, a perfect complement to the videography artistically produced by Hill’s husband, Richard Klimesh.

The DVD is broken down into 11 chapters, which start with the basics of The Family, The Foal and Growing Up and then expands into more
specific chapters on Horse Care, The Stable and Grooming. The final two chapters, Vocabulary and Quizzes, allow the viewer a refresher and a way to test comprehension.

In this easy-to-follow format, which uses page-turning transitions, the viewer first sees the scene unfold without captions. For instance, you’ll see a seven- to 10-second shot of a horse cavorting in the pasture. Then, the second time through the subtitles appear in English and Spanish. Hill then says: “The horse plays” in English. Then, the third time the scene is shown, the Spanish subtitles are enlarged, and Hill says, “El caballo juega.”

This format encourages the viewer to study the words. It’s natural to turn your focus to the words on the screen for the second and third times it plays.

There’s no defining age mentioned with the DVD, but the pace may be too slow to keep younger children interested. My 5-year-old enjoyed the DVD and pronouncing the Spanish lessons for about 20 minutes, but that’s to be expected. This DVD would be perfect for older elementary and middle school children.

It would also be incredibly useful for trainers and riders who have Spanish-speaking employees and want to better communicate with them. And, it would also be a nice addition to keep in the barn for Spanish-speakers who want to learn equine terminology in English. Certainly the lessons that teach the parts of the horse and grooming are particularly pertinent.

If I’d have had this tool to help me learn Spanish in my formative years, I’m certain I’d remember more than adios! Tricia Booker

THE PERFECT DISTANCE. Kim Ablon Whitney. Borzoi Books. Published by Alfred A. Knopf. Random House, Inc., 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. 246 pp. 2005. $15.95.

As a child, I was a voracious reader. I’d scour the library looking for books about horses, and when my father took me to the local bookstore on weekends, I felt as though I was in heaven if I discovered a new or overlooked book that had anything to do with horses.

Most of the time, though, the books were Westerns that featured cowboys or about race horses, but that was OK. Even though I was into showing hunters, I still felt a connection to the characters.

Flash forward to 2005. It’s been a few years since cherished books such as The Crumb and The Black Stallion graced my bedside table, but I’ve now found another to add to my all-time favorites list: The Perfect Distance.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book about horses so thoroughly captivating from start to finish. In addition to being a talented writer, Kim Whitney is an accomplished hunter/jumper rider and USEF R-rated judge who has competed in and judged the country’s best shows. These two attributes are an awesome (and rare) combination that allows Whitney to write this book from her heart–and it shows.

The main character, Francie Martinez, is a teenage, horse-crazy equitation rider whose focus is to win one of the three big fall equitation finals in her last junior year. But Francie has a few challenges she must rise above. Plus, of course, all those other important aspects of teenage life.

If this all sounds familiar, it will be hard for you to put this book down. And even if you’re not a dedicated hunter/jumper type, you won’t be lost in technicalities. Whitney does a superb job of explaining the nuances of the equitation world while not bogging the reader down in hard facts.

Whitney does include the dark side of the horse world too, such as the problems young riders can face when under intense pressure to compete at this level and the bad decisions people sometimes make when money and greed drive their choices.

Whitney’s book is destined to become one of those classic horse books that readers of all ages will enjoy and remember fondly for years to come. Tricia Booker

IN & OUT: YEAR ONE IN THE JUMPING FOR GOLD SERIES. Barbara Moss. Caballito Books, 2513 Vista Del Prado, Wellington, FL 33414. 618 pp. 2005. $22.95.

If you enjoyed Riders, Jilly Cooper’s classic romp behind the scenes of the English show jumping world, you’ll want to read this book. It’s a salacious tale of show jumping, steamy affairs, and intrigue.

Barbara Moss knows the town of Wellington, Fla., well, and it shows. And she also knows horses, and show jumping. There are very few details here that will ring untrue to the knowledgeable reader.

But, if you’re a reader who values a complete sentence, typo-free text and a coherent writing style, this book will bother you. Especially in the first quarter of the book.

Moss writes in a style full of sentence fragments, which is jarring and disconcerting to anyone who values good grammar. And there are a few spelling and typographical errors throughout the book.

Moss weaves quite a compelling tale–her story will keep the pages turning. But with the help of a good editor, this book could have been even better.

Another strange style quirk is when Moss decides, in the last three chapters of the book, to begin writing from the perspective of one of the equine characters, reminiscent of Jane Smiley’s Horse Heaven. No doubt Moss wanted to delve further into the horse’s character, but it’s confusing and disruptive, after 500 pages.

For the majority of the story, the horse details are dead-on, as Moss paints a picture of the hard work, heartbreak, and horsemanship that goes into show jumping. But there are times that she errs on the side of the dramatic and unbelievable, such as when a mare trained to fourth-level dressage competes in a World Cup-qualifying grand prix just two weeks after she begins jumping. Or, when a rider, out of control, puts his foot up on the reins to stop the horse.
If you can forgive some overly dramatic action and a sometimes awkward writing style, it’s a fun, quick read. Molly Sorge