Thelma and Louise make a dash for freedom
A few months ago I got two young female goats who had the job of eating the rough grass in one of the field. Thelma and Louise were slightly more nervous than I had anticipated, and did great spiderman impressions, running up the walls, to try to escape everytime I went into their stable. The finest local oats worked their magic on ‘the girls’ nerves a few months later they are much tamer, especially when the food bucket arrives.
As the weather warmed up I’ve begun to put the goats out to graze, although they don’t seem particularly enamoured with the rough grass. Who could blame them, being hand fed the best oats and then scrubby grass! But we’ve all persisted, me with putting them out into the field, them with refusing to eat.
Kinsale has been going out too, he’s got nicer grass to eat and is enjoying the time outside. Unfortunately on Sunday I mistakenly left the gate open in to the goats field. Kinsale let himself in and decided he’d rather like to play with the goats. They ran, he ran. I ran. The sight of them galloping up the field with him in pursuit was hilarious, but equally worrying, in case they jumped out of the field and ran away and in case he injured one of them.
The three were quickly separated by closing the gate, trapping him in a field on his own. The goats stood at the top of the field, clearly most put out by the equestrian thug. I took a step towards them, they took three away. Catching them was going to be a tough job. Crossing my fingers that they wouldn’t make a bolt for freedom I hurried back to the barn and got some oats. As soon as they spotted the bucket Thelma and Louise came to me, clearly the lure of food was more interesting than freedom. Good to know that finally they see me as friend not foe!
This year I’ve set myself the task of writing a couple of children’s books, for 8 -12 year olds. The intention is to write a chapter a month of both books so I’m not putting myself in too much pressure and can get my other projects finished too. I’ve a book, After, halfway written and three books with an editor waiting for re-writes. I’m aiming to get all of these books finished this year ready for publication early next year.
I was thrilled this week to have an article published in the Irish Times.
While work is going so well, things weren’t so great on a personal level. Last weekend I lost my darling mare, Pearl. My old lady, a beautiful pure white Connemara mare, had been retired for years after being a wonderful part of my horse team. She was an incredible jumper, very quiet and kind, but with a character that let you know if she liked you or not.
During the summer she had a problem with a hind leg swelling up hugely, from her hoof right up into her quarters. I’d never seen anything like it. She was in such pain and discomfort she couldn’t stand and I found her in the field. We managed to get her up and treated her with painkillers and anti-inflamatiories. Eventually she came right, but last weeked the same happened again. She’d been stabled so it wasn’t anything she’d twisted or pulled, she was very miserable and clearly in a lot of pain.
I had been away for the previous night and as soon as the call came from my daughter, I knew something was seriously wrong. I got home as soon as I could and got the vet. We made the sad decision to put her to sleep to save her suffering any further. My vet did wonder if she had some form of cancer which had blocked her lympahtic system.
It was horrible to lose her, but I really feel it was the right thing to do to save her suffering.
Feels very weird now to just have one horse, the end of an era when my stables were full of ponies for my daughter to jump.
Blog End October 2018
Box set +
I’m thrilled with the cover for my fist boxset, The Derry Blake Chronicles. This volume, which is only available in e-book contains my first three novels, Trainers, Winners and Millionaires are a Girl’s Best Friend.
Life on the Edge – Tristan Voorspay’s Fatal Love of Africa
Adrian Dangar
Book Review – Louise Broderick
Published by Quiller, September 2018, 272pages
Apologies for the cliché but this was my ‘most anticipated book of the summer.’ A few days after it arrived the weather duly obliged, heavy rain and strong winds blowing in from the Atlantic giving me the perfect excuse to light the fire, curl up on the sofa and be transported to the sunshine and adventure of Africa.
Quiller books never disappoint and this was no exception. This is an awe inspiring, amusing and ultimately heart rendering biography, written by Adrian Dangar, friend and colleague of Tristan Voorspay.
While it was Voorspay’s untimely and unnecessary death which brought him into the public spotlight, he was known throughout the world for his luxurious and adventurous safari holidays, Offbeat Safaris.
Life on the Edge paints a vivid picture of Voorspay, detailing his privileged childhood in Sussex, his short career in the Blues and Royals and an epic motorbike ride from Sussex to Cape town before forging a life in the wilds of Africa. It is obvious from the text that even as a young man Voorspay was but a short step from the adventurer he was to become. The book is filled with stories of adventure, near misses and brushes with death and yet is one in which Voorspay’s passion for conservation shines through
After working for a safari tour company, as a guide, Voorspay set up his own company, Offbeat Safaris, establishing a home, Deloraine, a classical colonial mansion in Kenya. He went on to buy, with a group of friends, Sosain, which at the time of the purchase was an overgrazed, dustbowl which he turned into a very successful tourism and ranching enterprise.
It is rare any of us have the privilege to meet someone quite like Tristan Voorspay. However this is not a book which shys away from showing its subject as he really was, often bad tempered with family, staff and guests. Someone who could be difficult to work with. The text does not shirk from showing the flaws in the man or his marriage which at times was clearly unhappy, his wife, abandoned while he worked and diced with death, seeking comfort elsewhere.
That aside the picture of Tristan Voorspay is one of someone who is kind hearted and deeply knowledgeable about Africa. He was a gentleman and a total charmer, that is obvious from the text. It is easy to imagine his larger than life character, with the stiff-legged gait familiar to those whose bravery is occasionally their undoing. Someone who without a second thought would fly a great distance with barely a few hours flying experience. The book is packed full of adventure stories, encounters with wildlife, light aircraft crashes and horse falls. Here is someone who, when disaster struck, such as his frequent plane or gyrocopter crashes, merely dusted himself off, learned from the experience and tried again. He was a man who loved to tell stories, putting the world to rights but not one to brag about his own exploits unless the mood and company were right.
Africa and ridden safaris hold a particular place in the hearts of adventurous tourists. Voorspay did not shirk in his duty to bring them just that going boldly right into the heart of the adventure, always with the hope the horses could run faster than any beast they disturbed.
A riding safari along side Tristan Voorspay must have been unforgettable, a thrilling adventure where guests fell asleep wondering how the next day could possibly surpass this one. He clearly had eyes like a hawk, recognising every bird and animal by sight and sound. He was a man who had a wish to save a piece of Africa from the effects of sprawling humanity and bring clients to see its beauty and nature, someone who saw the revenue from tourism as an important means for protecting the wildlife habitat, rather than just to use it as a means to an end.
Given his many near brushes with death, which are counted down in the book, the author comparing them to the nine lives of a cat, it was little wonder that Voorspay ultimately met his end as he dying as he lived bravely in the saddle. When armed Samburu and Pokot invaders were running amok, looting and killing people and setting fire to buildings on Sosian, Tristan Voorspay took the unwise decision to ride out on his grey horse, Loita to assess the damage. Regardless of the fact he was warned not to go, he made the rash declaration that no one would shoot an unarmed man. He was subsequently ambushed, both he and Loita were executed. How horrific it must have been in those moments to know finally his luck had run out, but bravely lifting his head high and accepting his fate. His remains were cremated at home and the ashes carried in a wooden box by his wife Cindy and scattered from the Oliburnmunt rocks he loved so much.
Anyone who has experienced a riding safari, or who plans one in the future will devour this book. It is a bold, colourful tribute to Voorspay, the man, the adventures and the surroundings, most definitely a life lived to the full.
Blog End September 2018
box set
The Man Behind The Mike
Jane Wallace
Book Review – Louise Broderick
Published by Quiller, September 2018, 208 pages
For most equestrian sports enthusiasts Mike Tucker was ‘the voice of equestrian sport.’ Always professional and extremely knowledgeable he shared with us some of the huge moments in the sport.
As a commentator Mike saw and reported on some of the huge moments in sport; Zara Phillips winning Gold at the World Championships, team Gold for the show jumping team in the London Olympics, the rise of British dressage with Carl Hestor and Charlotte Dujardin. Under his ‘watch’ he saw many of the big names in todays sport rise from children to the superstars they are today. And of course, who could forget Mike Tucker commentating on the incredible fairytale that was Nick Skelton’s rise from near fatal injury to his Gold medal at the Rio Olympics.
Sadly Mike died half way through writing the book. It is a testament to the author and publishers that the book was published as it would have been a great loss for the project to have been abandoned. Part of the tragedy of Mike Tucker’s death is that he didn’t live to see this book published. Yet it is possibly because of his death the book came to be filled with recollections and stories from family, friends, work colleagues and competitors.
The author, Jane Wallace will be familiar to many in the horse world, both as a competitor and writer of equestrian non-fiction. She has had a long history of competitive riding, both on show ponies and eventing rising to be the 3rd lady rider in the world in 1989.
Initially Mike recorded his memories into voice recognition software. Having interviewed many sportsmen and women I could well imagine the relief that was to everyone as I’d imagine, from reading the book that he was a hard man to pin down to sit still.
While this captivating book is Mike Tucker’s biography, it is also a fascinating history of farming and equestrian life, interspersed with stories about dogs and horses. Mike spent a life time involved with horses and country life. He came from generations of farmers and sportsmen and farmed on the edge of the Badminton Estate.
After a childhood filled with ponies, Mike began to event in the 1960’s, first competing at Badminton in 1964 following a trial round at Chatsworth where he completed the course after he fell off. The text makes for fascinating reading, those were the days when courses were aimed at brave, bold riding rather than the technical ones of today. The events then still consisted of the steeplechase phase and roads and tracks. He was 6th at that first Badminton and went onto achieve an amazing 5 plaques for finishing during the years he competed. With the lifestyle he had, enmeshed in horses and eventing it was little wonder he married fellow event rider Angela Sowden.
Eventing, in those days, perhaps more than now, was aimed at the brave, cheap, cast off horses could go into the hands of great riders and become superstars. The rangy Farmer Giles, potentially one of his top horses was a cheap injured racehorse. His full potential was never realised after he died of a heart attack after an event. Another, a precocious orphan foal General Bugle went on to great success.
Growng up on a farm Mike was used to hard work but it was after a planned trip to Australia he had the time to event more, as another man had to be employed on the farm to help out.
Another aspect of the book covers Mikes’s farming life, where the innovations and changes that have taken place over the year are documented. Growing up on a farm the book reminded me of many happy hours as a child and also of the huge changes which have taken place, as farming has changed now from the hugely social place it was, with large quantities of people needed for the work, to technology and machinery largely taking their place. In his home life, away from the cameras Mike ran a big dairy farm.
The Man Behind The Mike is filled with equestrian tales from the past, which will mesmerise the reader, my particular favourites were Mike grooming for Richard Meade’s horse Cornishman at the Mexico Olympics; The inaugural Punchestown, where horses were flown to the event; Blithely flying horses, where on one occasion a plane had to be turned around when the horse wouldn’t settle. It was unloaded and the plane took off again.
Mike went on to start commentating and for ten years both commentated and competed. In 1986 he began to commentate full time working with some of the big names in commentating, Noel Phillips Brown, Dorian Williams and Raymond Brookes Ward.
Mike took over as the main equestrian commentator after the death of Raymond Brookes Ward. Mike’s last commentary was at Badminton in 2017. Over his career he worked at 10 Olympics.
The Man Behind The Mike talks about the chaos behind the scenes, where viewers see the unruffled commentator, little knowing what was going on in reality.
But Mike was not just a commentator, he was completely immersed in equestrian sport, He was involved with numerous committees and was particularly conscious about eventing safety, in his spare time he volunteered as a steward at racecourses around the county. A keen hunting man Mike was field master of Beaufort from 2001-9. He had a keen interest in hounds and huntsman. He always ensured his farm was rideable. The book inevitably contains plenty of hunting stories, especially hilarious is the bane of all Field Masters at their inaugural meet – falling off, which he did three times.
The overall impression of Mike, throughout the book is of a thoroughly nice man, who friends recall, had a cheeky smile and a positive outlook with strong beliefs. He was passionate about the sport he believed in and instilled the message to his children that if they worked hard and were pleasant to everyone you can achieve whatever in life you set out to do.
The text is a delightful portrait of a man who lived an extraordinary and very full life, who was excellent company, who liked to help people and yet was full of self- deprecating humour. Throughout the last half of the book, which is filled with memories and recollections from those who knew him both professionally and socially he is poken of as a legend of a man whom everyone misses very much.
This is a skilled portrayal, making the reader feel they know the man and yet are left feeling disappointed they never had the opportunity to get to know him in person.
Blog End August 2018
I had a wonderful birthday recently, which I spent at the Millstreet International Horse Trials. What a fabulous venue, saw some amazing horses and brave riders tackle a brilliant course.
This month I’ve also released my third book, Millionaires Are A Girl’s Best Friend. This book was developed after I was commissioned to write a short story for a magazine. I had become very aware prior to writing that, how people percieved those they interacted with. My circumstances changed when I divorced and I could no longer afford to drive a big, new car. Was it my perception of myself, or did people really seem to react differently to someone who stepped out of a battered car than someone who was driving an expensive one. Do people make assumptions based on what they see, rather than the actual person? My feelings formed the base for a short story about a girl who had a certain criteria for the man she wanted in her life. That short story developed into my third book.
Romance and horses – who could want anything more?
Stella O’Rourke is determined that she is not going to ruin her life by marrying the wrong man, like her mother did. She has a very particular man in mind – good looking, charming and wealthy, of course.
Unfortunately struggling race horse trainer, Henry Murphy and upsets all of her careful planning. There is no way she would ever be interested in someone like him… but then why does her stomach flutter every time he is around?
Amber’s life is a disaster zone, stuck in a dead end job, with a string of no good boyfriends, she is an ideal candidate for Stella’s help… unfortunately sometimes a girl just shouldn’t listen – even to her best friend.
The book is currently available on amazon as both a printed copy and an e-book.
Amazon.com/Millionaires-Are-A-Girls-Best-Friend
Amazon.co.uk/Millionaires-Are-A-Girls-Best-Friend
Louise Broderick Blog
I recently read the most incredible book Motherhood – Lost and Found, by Ann Campanella.
This heart-breaking memoir of the slow deterioration of Ann’s parents is beautifully written. Her pain, grief, confusion and frustration at the loss of the foundations of her life are something that many people will share. Growing up we assume our parents are invincible – even when they drive us nuts we can never imagine a day when they are not powerful and in control and when that day comes we do find ourselves floundering, wishing that we had more time with them.
I normally read books little by little, a chapter or so every day, but with this book I felt compelled to keep reading, to share Ann’s journey, which mirrored both my recent one and I’d imagine many others of a certain age. I spent all day immersed in the book, sharing the authors confusion and despair at her mother’s deterioration, while trying to have a life, hobbies and a husband. When I finished the book I shut myself in the bathroom and sobbed uncontrollably. Not because of the thankfully positive outcome for Ann and her husband in their hopes of becoming parents, something the title gives away, but because of her talent as a writer. Ann uses words skilfully to paint a picture of both her horse life, the dreams and frustrations of horse ownership juggled against day to day life, but that of her family life, the battles we all face of work and enforced separation while trying to maintain a relationship.
There is nothing that can prepare anyone for losing a parent and to witness them slipping away mentally is doubly hard. Motherhood Lost and Found shares this journey with the reader, while nothing can tell a child how to prepare for the loss of a parent, or how to cope with them being stolen by Alzheimer’s this book at least makes the reader feel as if they aren’t alone.
Ann Campanella is an extremely talented writer who does not shy away from the pain of loss, both of her parents and her much loved horse, all against the background of her battle to save her marriage and become a parent herself.
This isn’t a book for everyone. It is not a frothy feel-good book to read on the beach. It won’t find much of an audience with youngsters looking for light-hearted entertainment. But for people of a certain age, who are already dealing with the loss or illness of seemingly invincible parents this is an incredible book, heartbreakingly honest readers will find comfort in a shared journey of grief.
Launch of Winners
Thank you so much to everyone who downloaded Trainers. It is amazing, as a writer to receive emails from readers telling me they have enjoyed what I’ve written.
As a child all I wanted to do was to be a writer and now I am, but it can sometimes be a thankless, lonely job filled with doubts about your capability, so those emails really do help. As a hybrid author, one who was published traditionally and now publishes independently with the help of a fantastic publishing production company, Lavender and White, I am slowly learning how to market my books, never an easy task as authors tend to be a shy, introverted bunch.
My second book, Winners, has now been released and is available on Amazon via Bookbub. Winners is again set in the world of Irish horse racing and rather appropriately given the buzz that is beginning to build in Ireland features the famous Galway races.
Paris O’Shea has it all. She has a fantastic career as one of Ireland’s top lady jockeys and is looking forward to aclaiming the best prize of all - marrying her gorgeous racehorse trainer boyfriend Derry Blake.
Merrianne Ryan is sick of her job as a groom living on the fringes of the glamorous racing world. How hard can it be to find someone rich and goodlooking to give her the fabulous lifestyle she craves?
A terrible racing accident changes both of their lives forever, but it is not until Derry throws down a irresistable challenge that the two of them realise just how far they are prepared to go to really be a winner.
Hope that you will enjoy Winners. If you would like to hear more about new releases and free e-books please sign up to my newsletter.
Thank you so much for taking the time to find my web site and for reading my blog. There are so many authors and books ‘out there’ I’m very grateful you’ve found me.
I’ve been obsessed with horses since I was a child. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love them with a passion. Even being chased by horses when out on a walk with my mother as a toddler didn’t put me off, even though apparently I had to be thrown over a hedge to protect me – something I fortunately can’t remember!
Books were my other passion. Some of my earliest memories are of living my life through the characters in the books I was reading and of forbidden reading of books under the bedclothes by torchlight when I was supposed to be alseep.
I’m so lucky that as an adult I can combine these passions through my work. My books all feature horses and the people who love them. I’ve been writing contemporary romance, centred around the racing world, but have found as time goes on my writing has become more serious and I’ve even written a crime novel which will be published once my editor has finished with it and I’ve done the suggested re-writes.
My first book, Trainers has just been launched and is now available on Amazon.
In order to make sure my writing is hitting the right spot with my readers I’d love to get a group together to read my work before it is published. Please get in touch if you would like to be part of that group and get your hands on my books before they are published.
I’m looking forward to getting to know my readers and hope you’ll enjoy what I write.