A visually stunning and meticulously researched book, ‘The Sporting Horse’ explores the key attributes held by the elite horses at the top of their game, concentrating on the key qualities of athleticism, speed, agility and endurance. Lesser known or neglected disciplines, such as endurance riding and winter sports, are explored with as much vigour as those such as dressage.

Even keen riders will find plenty of details they didn’t previously know- I found the interesting details given on the history of showjumping especially insightful. The photographs complement the text beautifully- one to return to again and again.

“The Sporting Horse: In pursuit of equine excellence” by veteran journalist Nicola Jane Swinney features gorgeous photographs that reveal horse and rider working together in glorious sync. Focusing on four key sporting attributes – athleticism, speed, agility and endurance – the author explores how centuries of selective breeding and careful training have developed and refined these traits for activities from dressage to polo, from snow sports to reigning. Highly recommended!

Pub Date 04 Sep 2018

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - Aurum Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#TheSportingHorse #NetGalley

Beautiful coffee table book with awesome pictures of horses in different sports as well as free running. The photographer has a very keen eye to capture the beauty of the horse.
As typical for this kind of book I pretty much skipped reading the text. The little bit I read was not very knowledgeable when it came to western riding disciplines, the book was heavy on dressage and show jumping, which would to be expected from a book published in the UK.

This is the perfect gift book for riders and those who love horses. Some of you out there may well want to make this book a gift to yourself. Many disciplines including dressage, show jumping, polo, carriage driving, eventing, and others are described in this lush book. The importance of the bond between horse and rider is emphasized with the author describing horses as animals who are eager to please. The reader can dip in and out of the book, reading about the horse encounters they most love or they can learn about new disciplines and sports. The photographs throughout are stunning. Highly recommended for horse folk! Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto for this one.

Wonderful, majestic a sublime expression of the horse as an Athlete!! A definite must for any horse person and a be a book in and of itself to show of on the coffee table for all to see!

Gorgeous and informative, this book is a must for horse lovers. When I got an e-ARC I browsed all the photos straight away, one more beautiful than the next. Look at that Warmblood doing dressage, the palomino barrel racer, the Andalusian in the sea. And all the pictures of teams of horses in driving sports. The book is full of motion, strength and colour. The horses are supple, moving, glossy.

I found lots of great information too, most of which is not the standard horsey info in other books. I saw Nick Skelton's record breaking high jump on Lastic described here, on TV. We learn about the history of Trakhener horses and how a one-eyed horse beat the Hickstead Derby. Polo ponies have had to get bigger, because people have. Physiological notes like how a horse sees or how it lifts its body over a jump add depth. Three day eventing gives a chance to describe how horses change careers, from racing to horse trials in this case. We get interviews with riders and learn which horses have been cloned.

Endurance riding, hunting, racing and more as well as breeds like Arabians give fantastic photos. There's a section of snow sports. Wow.
Index p224 in my e-ARC. This would be a great gift as a physical book. On an e-reader, though, it can be hard to tell which caption refers to which photo, and some photos covering two pages won't have the same impact.
I downloaded an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

This is a beautifully photographed book. Horses are presented as athletes in various sports. There were even a few sports I was not familiar with. The text was informative but the photographs and horses are the real stars. The photographs really capture the horses. This book will make a wonderful gift for any horse lover. Enjoy

I would give this book 5 stars for the photography alone! Then you add the prose and it is exquisite! The author focuses on athleticism, speed, agility and endurance and how we have managed them throughout the ages through training and breeding. I believe this book belongs on any horse lover's shelf. It is written conversationally and it is so well organized and thus flows beautifully. It is a book that you can pick up, open to any page and quite honestly find it engrossing and entertaining. Well Done!

Amazing pictures of beautiful animals. Interesting and informative about these beautiful animals and what they are capable of doing. Would recommend.