Introduction.............................................ix Mr. T's Heart.............................................1................ Jane Smiley The Lady Who Rides to Hounds...........7................Anthony Trollope Pure Heart..................................................12..............William Nack Nona Garson.............................................27...............Nancy Jaffer A Royal Rip-off at Kingdom Hill............32...............Dick Francis Breakneck Hill...........................................40...............Esther Forbes The Horse Whisperer..............................49...............Paul Trachtman A Vote for Ta Wee...................................61...............Red Smith The Imperial Spanish Riding School.....64...............Felix Salten Sleeping Sickness.....................................69..............Ben Green Tallyho and Tribulation...........................81..............Stephen Budiansky Why Is It that Girls Love Horses?.........89..............Maxine Kumin Mustard-Pot, Matchmaker......................94..............Gilbert Frankau Horses and Horsemen.............................108............Andy Russell All Horse Players Die Broke...................114............Damon Runyon Dreaming...................................................128.............Bill Barich Was There A Horse with Wings?.........136............Beryl Markham On Winning..............................................145............William Steinkraus Buster........................................................149............Tom McGuane All Things Bright and Beautiful............161............James Herriot Tips on Horses.........................................171...........Ring Lardner The Champion...........................................173..........Gene Smith School Horses...........................................183..........Colonel Alois Podhajsky Horsefolk are Different.............................203..........Cooky McClung The Diverting History of John Gilpin.....207..........William Cowper Tip on a Lost Race....................................216..........CArey Winfrey The Ponies are Talking.............................221..........Holly Menino Personals....................................................236...........Melissa Pierson Good Horse Keeping................................242...........Paul Zarzyski Two Sisters................................................251...........Ellie Phayer Acknowledgments....................................254

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