PBOTD 12th May: Lynn Hall - Half the Battle

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Try as I might, I couldn't find any pony book anywhere which mentions the Golden Horseshoe Ride, an endurance event which takes place on Exmoor.  If you know of one, please let me know.

Endurance riding now is the ugly younger sister of equine competition, mired as it is in tales of dodgy dealings and equine casualties, so perhaps this makes it a less than appealing subject for pony book authors.

However, back in the 1980s, American author Lynn Hall wrote Half the Battle. It doesn't mention Exmoor - I doubt the protagonists have ever heard of Exmoor - but it does feature an endurance race. Loren and his brother, who's blind, are going to compete in the race, but Loren has always been jealous of the attention his blind sibling has had. Loren wants this race to be his opportunity to shine, but that's not going to be easy when he has to look after his brother.

Charles Scribner, 1982
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Journalist Pippa Cuckson lodges an appeal with the FEI over the treatment of endurance horses
The Golden Horseshoe Ride
More on Lynn Hall

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