A long, long time ago, on a farm that we used to own, a Pony arrived. It’s a long story how she got here and what happened next, and if I told you the whole thing, you wouldn't buy the book now, would you? But I can say, I only paid $700 for her. The Pony in question was just about feral and her appearance upon arrival was nothing you would write home to Mom about. To say that the thing was a little rough around the edges would be like saying Jackass: The Movie is not intellectually stimulating. And my ability as a rider and trainer to deal with such an equine were not at all in sync with her needs. I had not ridden for several years and my latest c-section incision was still itchy. Not a good match. As a member of the Chronicle of the Horse BB on-line community, one of about 20,000 registered members, I believe, I began to share stories of the newly arrived $700 Pony. The general consensus was that the stories were pretty funny. And had I ever considered writing a book? Writing a book would be a life dream of mine, and something I perceived to be about as achievable as, say scaling Mt. Everest or running the Iron Man. And yet, after I had posted about half a dozen stories about my sorry life and my tragically mismatched equine, I was persuaded by a number of folks to contact a publisher. Publisher agreed to publish, book was written and printed, and here we are: The Chronicles of the $700 Pony is here for your entertainment. It is a light, fun book, not meant to leaving you weeping tears of joy – but it should make you laugh. More than once. Who is this “Reynard Ridge” Character? For those of you who do not belong to an on-line community, well, aren’t you feeling a little left out right now? C’mon! Join the fun! “Reynard Ridge” is my screen name on the oft mentioned Chronicle of the Horse BB. It is a terrific place for horse people to hang out and talk about horses. And entertain each other, which we do at length – when we are not having heated debates about Rolkur, Parelli, Gypsy Vanners or any other number of hot button topics. Trust me, it’s loads of fun! Now why are you selling these books yourself? Is this some kind of Vanity Press Thing? No, no, not at all! Half Halt Press is a legit publishing house that focuses on equine publications. The book is available through them, as well as on Amazon. In fact, it is cheaper on Amazon than here. But, the person who gets cut out of the monetary equation when books are sold at discount volumes through Amazon would be the author. Moi. My publisher kindly offered me the option to sell a few books myself. Frankly, it’s the only way I can make any money on this deal. Hey, if the only way you can afford the book is to buy it through Amazon, I would much rather you buy it there than forego! Not to mention if you want international shipping, they can do it faster and cheaper than I can. But, if you have a few extra bucks rattling around at the bottom of your purse, well, my wee children will thank you when they get to go to college. Wait, What's the Deal with Inscriptions? Last year, I charged two bucks and wrote anything anyone wanted as an inscription. This year, as it turns out, I am living in Nanjing, China. I am not the person actually putting the books in the mail. Long story, by the way, but I am running out of space, so I need to keep this short. I signed a very large number of book, and left them with my Mom. She is shipping them out, so every book that ships has my signature in it. There's no charge, because how you can charge people for something they may or may not want?? If you want any additional text written in the book, my mom will be the person who actually writes it. Which, I actually think is quite funny. But, I have an odd sense of humor. Will you ship to Canada? (The actual most frequently asked question, by the way) Yes, i will. While Canada is technically "International," it's way cheaper than say, Dubai (Hi, CrazyDog!) or Ireland (Hi, Weatherford!) or New Zealand (Hey, Eventable!). Go ahead and order and I'll get the book to you.
If you have a burning $700 Pony question, please go ahead and email away! I will try to answer and get it posted here in between trips to the Post Office. And, if you wouldn't mind, it would make my life a little easier if you would please put FAQ QUESTION in the subject line. |