Authors Electric

This month, I bring you some exciting adult fiction by one of the first women to train racehorses in the UK, Jenny Pitman. She has won two Grand Nationals, and in 1984 became the first woman to train a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, winning it again in 1991 when her son Mark was the jockey. She retired from training in 1999. On the Edge Her first novel On the Edge could almost be autobiographical. It follows the fortunes of racehorse trainer Jan Hardy, recently bereaved and left to bring up two young children, as she buys a rundown farm on a Gloucestershire hillside and sets out to transform the place into a training yard fit for thoroughbreds. She starts by running her horses in point-to-points, and soon builds a reputation for turning out winners. Encouraged by her success and her owners, she applies for a licence to train National Hunt racehorses running under rules, but first her stables must pass the Jockey Club's inspection... which, with a temporary canvas roof still over her ...

To mark the halfway stage of my reading year and Derby month, I'm reviewing not one but TWO titles by Clare Balding. Both are for young readers and inspired by horses, which fits perfectly with the author's background as the daughter of a racehorse trainer. First up is fiction, and it's a fun read for ages 7+. T he Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop by Clare Balding illustrated by Tony Ross 10-year-old Charlie Bass lives on the family farm with her annoying brothers Harry and Larry, a dog called Boris, and a herd of milking cows named after celebrities. When their farm is in financial trouble, the whole family is invited to think of ways to raise some cash. So Charlie buys a racehorse entered for the Derby... bear with me, this is fiction! The only problem is, Noble Warrior ('Noddy' for short) won't go anywhere without his pony friend Percy, and the Bass family can only afford to buy him because several trainers have already given up on him. To be fair to our plu...