November 7, 2009  |
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| bloodhorse.com >> Breeding >> Country Life Diary |
Praise for
Country Life Diary:
What
makes (Country Life Diary) special is the mixture of his insight
-- brutally realistic at times, but at other moments, sheer poetry. Experienced
horsemen will enjoy Pons' chatty, readable combination of daily
notations and technical information. Running many gamuts, he offers
fascinating snippets of history and fond remembrances of racing's
Old Guard. But there is also excellent basic information for those
on the sport's periphery. One particular sequence propels readers
straight into the feel of a hectic breeding season, explaining exactly
what happens and how. Reading Pons'
day-by-day account of three years in the life of his family's thoroughbred
breeding farm in suburban Maryland is very much like being there,
except, thank God, the reader doesn't have to rise before dawn to
break the ice out of watering troughs or risk being maimed while
handling unruly stallions. Pons, a third-generation breeder, shares
the considerable joys and frequent disappointments of breeding,
foaling, raising, and selling magnificent horses. Pons and his
family express beautifully the natural cycles of the thoroughbred
in his setting on the farm. It is a flavorous work that will leave
you with a deeper appreciation of the game. Pons is at
his best ... when discussing the highs and lows of horse ownership.
He feels for the animal and its owner, an empathy any breeder can
appreciate. The author
has a warm, witty, honest style that has won him numerous awards
for his work. The heady highs and heartbreaking lows of daily life
on third-generation Country Life breeding farm in Maryland is not
only very informative, but touches everyone who's ever lost a night's
sleep over a horse. While some
endings are not happy, others are. I followed the story of Rollaids,
a foal with severely contracted tendons, with great interest. There
are also threats from encroaching development, and questions of
how best to preserve open lands. It can be difficult to keep a farm
going in an urban area. It makes a fascinating story. A delightful
book ... The author captures the essence and feel of a lifestyle
that is fast disappearing in today's high-tech, mad-scramble world.
The reader is transported into the everyday events of the farm.
You share with the author the heady ecstasy and satisfaction of
successes and the heart-wrenching sorrow of failure. He brings these
experiences so vividly to life that it will bring tears to the eyes
of many experienced horsemen.
About this series Country Life Diary, a daily journal about life on a family-owned Thoroughbred farm in Bel Air, Md., debuted with the first of 36 monthly installments in the Feb. 18, 1989, issue of The Blood-Horse. Written by Joseph P. "Josh" Pons Jr., the series was honored with an Eclipse Award for outstanding magazine writing, the second such award for its author, who previously won an Eclipse Award in 1981 while working as a staff writer for The Blood-Horse. Between Eclipse Awards, Pons earned a degree from the University of Kentucky law school before returning home to help manage the family's farm, which is Maryland's oldest Thoroughbred nursery. At the conclusion of the series, Country Life Diary: Three Years in the Life of a Horse Farm was published in book form by The Blood-Horse in 1992, with an epilogue added to a second printing in 1999. While some of the equine and human characters have changed in the 10 years since Pons began his journal, there is a timeless element to life on a horse farm, and the highs and lows expressed during the three years of Country Life Diary are as relevant and absorbing today as they were then. For those who followed the monthly installments in The Blood-Horse or read the book, we hope you'll find these daily online chapters worth revisiting. For those reading Pons' diary for the first time, welcome to Country Life Farm. Ray
Paulick • Foreword |
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