ISBN 1590481569

The Centaur Legacy, Bjarke Rink, with a Foreword by Jeremy James - This immensely entertaining and historically important book provides the first ever in-depth study into how man’s partnership with his equine companion changed the course of history and accelerated human development.

It took a cultural nomad and intellectual maverick such as Bjarke Rink, who was born in Denmark and now lives in Brazil, to think outside the box of traditional equestrian theology.

The dedicated horseman spent years studying the symbiotic blending of human intellect and equine speed, documenting how these two unique life-forms connect to each other to create a superior being – the legendary centaur!

“My challenge was to find the human role in the neurophysiology of equitation and to crack the Centaur enigma,” Rink said.

The author’s pioneering research blends the ancient art of horsemanship with cutting-edge 21st century scientific thought, taking the reader on a galloping tale stretching from the ancient Central Asian birthplace of horsemanship to the laboratories which are helping fuel the great equestrian renaissance which is occurring around the world today.

“The Centaur Legacy” is a wonderful read – pithy, witty, never condescending as so many academic tracts are. It will be an inspirational guide to a new generation of horse lovers and free thinkers all over the world.

The academic and equestrian worlds are already praising this ground-breaking work. 

"Hugely entertaining, thought-provoking and informative, this impressive book takes a fresh and sometimes irreverent look at the closely linked history of horse and man," said Caroline Burt, Editor for J. A. Allen Publishing in London, England.

"The Centaur Legacy is interesting and provocative, with novel and challenging ideas," reported Dr. Matthew Mackay-Smith, of Equus Magazine.

And Jeremy James, FRGS, author of "Saddletramp" and "Debt of Honour," praised Rink's work, saying "The Centaur Legacy is a work of towering importance.  No one has had the courage, knowledge, skill, nor the understanding - ever - to deliver such mould-shattering work!"   Go to Barnes & Noble  or Amazon.co.uk

ISBN: 1590481208

 

Hidalgo and other stories, Frank T. Hopkins, with a Foreword by Professor David Dary
Edited by CuChullaine and Basha O’Reilly

It started as a search for heroes.

It became a hunt for the most elusive equestrian charlatan of all time.

If Frank Hopkins is to be believed, he led one of the most exciting, challenging and colorful (albeit unrecorded) lives in the late nineteenth century. No one rode more miles, eluded more danger, or befriended more famous people than he did.

During the 1930s and 40s the self-proclaimed legend told a naïve American public that he had won nearly five hundred endurance races, including an imaginary race across Arabia on a mythical mustang named “Hidalgo.”

Hopkins’ remarkable career supposedly began when he became a dispatch rider for the US government on his twelfth birthday in 1877. According to his mythology, this Renaissance Man of the Old West went on to work as a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, African explorer, endurance racer, trick rider, bounty hunter, Rough Rider, big game guide, secret agent, Pinkerton detective and star of the Wild West show.

Experts beg to differ.

This book contains an unprecedented study, undertaken by more than seventy experts in five countries, ranging from the Curator of the Buffalo Bill Museum to the former Sultan of Yemen. These academics investigated the historical improbability of Hopkins’ claims and weighed him on his merit, not his myth.

The resulting exhaustive study revealed that Hopkins had maintained a spirited disregard for the truth, plagiarized material from famous authors, slandered genuine American heroes and perpetrated a massive fraud for nearly one hundred years.

Far from being the star of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show for 32 years, for example, the counterfeit cowboy was discovered working as a subway tunnel digger in Philadelphia and a horse-handler for Ringling Brothers Circus.

It is his endurance racing pretensions, however, that have brought Hopkins his greatest notoriety and made him the hero of a Hollywood movie. Yet there is not even a documented photograph of Frank Hopkins in the saddle!

Here then are all the known writings of Frank T. Hopkins, published in their entirety for the first time in history.   Go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk

ISBN 1590481321

Horses: The celebrated study of mankind's closest ally, by the distinguished Frontier philosopher, Roger Pocock - Roger Pocock’s life reads like a fairytale full of adventure. A childhood cut short to go to sea, then service with the Canadian North West Mounted Police in 1885, followed by stints as a war correspondent, Yukon gold miner, South African army scout, and “missionary to hostile tribes.” In between he formed the Legion of Frontiersmen, organized the original World Flight by airplane and was the first person in history to ride the length of the infamous Outlaw Trail.

When he was wasn’t seeking excitement, Pocock could be found writing.

Though most of the prolific author’s work predictably revolved around the exciting episodes of his own life, or the other men of action he knew, Pocock’s most famous foray into academic study was his rightfully famous book, “Horses.” In today’s equine-friendly world it is difficult to imagine how revolutionary Pocock’s observations about horses were at the time.

A lifelong student of equine behaviour, Pocock set out to document the wisdom of his age into a book unique for its time. His concerns for attempting to preserve equestrian knowledge were based on cruel reality. More than 300,000 horses had been destroyed during the recent Boer War. To make matters worse, “Horses” was penned by Pocock while he was serving with the British army, stationed behind the trenches during the First World War.

With bombs bursting overhead, Pocock poured onto these pages the things his equine friends had taught him.  “If one thinks of a horse as a little child, one cannot go far wrong.”  “When my horse forgets his manners, I examine my conduct to find where I am to blame.”

“The human mind may be likened unto a stable with horses all in a row. That strong team Tradition and Custom are overworked. Bias and Prejudice have plenty to do. Passion and Vice get an occasional airing, and Vanity has daily exercise. But Reason is kept in his stall. He is not popular with the other horses. Let us try him.”

Though Pocock enjoyed a reputation for dangerous living, his observations on horses were praised by the leading thinkers of his day. Professor Cossar Ewart, whose study on the origin of horses drew positive praise from Charles Darwin, wrote the Preface to Pocock’s book.

Here then is a true “lost masterpiece” of equestrian study, penned by one of the most unique men ever to mount a horse or lift a pen.  Go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.

The Long Riders - Volume One, Edited by CuChullaine O'Reilly - Within the covers of this anthology rest the accounts of a rare breed of men and women.

Here are the mounted dare-devils who rode hell-bent for leather through raging fires sweeping the plains around them.

Here are the mounted mystics seeking inner enlightenment via that altar of travel, the saddle.

Here are the forgotten ones, whose stirring stories deserve to be told again.

Here are the famous ones whose tales of equestrian exploration have been recounted over a thousand campfires.

They are all here in this illustrated first volume of an amazing new series dedicated to preserving and sharing the mounted adventures of the world’s most important Long Riders.

This unprecedented collection will include five volumes and encompass one hundred of the most important equestrian travel stories of all time.

Some may be well known to you.

Some will be showcased in these volumes for the first time in history.

Regardless, what you can count on is being swept away by the sound of the galloping hooves which originate from this, our instinctive passion for equestrian travel.

So relax, sit back and get ready for the literary ride of your life when you open up and explore “The Long Riders – Volume One.”  Go to Barnes & Noble or Amazon.co.uk.