The equestrian memoir benefits Kim Meier, former Advanced eventer.

Upperco, MD – May 20, 2010 – Professional equestrian and poet Julia Wendell’s first nonfiction book, “Finding My Distance,” is the story of a year in the life of an eventer. The first printing rapidly sold out, and the memoir was recently released in its second printing.

Proceeds from the book’s sales benefit Kim Meier, an equestrian who succeeded at the highest levels of eventing before a freak accident while schooling her top horse left her paralyzed from the shoulders down in 2007.

After 30 years of writing poetry, Wendell decided to chronicle the ups and downs of equestrians in the discipline of eventing, an equine triathlon that demands dedication, talent and good humor from its participants. “Finding My Distance” details not just the travails of Wendell’s competitions, but her attempts to balance horses with motherhood, marriage and her writing.

“I can’t think of a better person than Kim to benefit from my book,” Wendell said. “Her inspiring spirit and love for horses in the face of immense challenge goes right to the heart of what ‘Finding My Distance’ is all about.”

In addition to writing, Wendell is the resident trainer as well as owner of An Otherwise Perfect Farm in Upperco, MD. She retrains off-the-track Thoroughbreds and has competed through the international levels of eventing with her horses Redmond, R. Huey, Surf Guitar and Cavendish.

Praise for “Finding My Distance”

“This piece of nonfiction is a no-nonsense look into the everyday life of not only an event rider, but also a barn owner, student, horse breeder and mother. Over the course of four seasons, horses are injured and recover, children go back and forth between home and their own lives, and competitions are won and lost. As Wendell says so eloquently in the beginning pages, ‘The sport of eventing is not for the weak of heart.'” Practical Horseman

“Wendell captured the heartbreak and hope of horses that keeps us all coming back time after time no matter the catastrophe … Tales of her family and farm animals add some levity to the story but also illustrate the larger lessons that horses teach.” The Chronicle of the Horse

“It is a journal, a diary, a memoir, a collection of essays and original poetry and a celebration of the natural world.” Tidewater Trader