A Hoofprint On My Heart

A HISTORY OF HORSE RACING THROUGHOUT THE CANADIAN TRACKS.

Hoof Prints on My Heart is a poignant and heartwarming recollection of the authors experiences with horses, her own and those she came in contact with over the last thirty two years. Her horse experiences shared with family and friends are fondly remembered from a now experienced heart and often in a humorous light. From a wee girl madly in love with horses to the horsewoman she is today she recalls the humor, the heartbreak and the obstacles that could not deter her love of the equine species. Her dreams and goals change as her horse and life experiences evolve. Mount up and ride with the author on the backs of the horses that have left hoof prints on her heart.

One-part lively oral history, one-part meticulously researched encyclopaedia, and one-part wild ride, Southern Hoofprints colorfully conveys the story of horse racing in Southern Alberta. And in so doing, it also becomes a fascinating history of the region itself, from the late 1880s through to the present day. From racing’s rough, Wild West beginnings to the vast grandstands of modern times, this regional history of the Sport of Kings has been deeply researched and is delivered in a unique and engaging fashion. With wry humour and occasional pulse-throbbing drama, the reader is treated to an intimate perspective on family traditions of husband and wife owners, the dynasties of multi-generational riders, the spectators, and even the horses themselves. The chronicle of the rise of women riders from the trivialized ‘powder puff’ races to becoming power players on the track, and that of the First Nations people from the early days through to today, make this a completely inclusive history. It tells a distinctly Canadian story and its focus on the Southern Alberta region allows it to paint the picture in vivid detail. With its historical data enriched and enlivened through the human dimension of the oral histories, Southern Hoofprints entertainingly recounts horse-racing’s triumphs, tragedies, and continual reinvention.

"Belisarius, the finest general of his or any age, must save the world if he can. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. Against them are numbers, savagery, and an icy, inhuman intelligence that is without weekness or mercy."--Cover.

Open Wide Your Heart by Barbara Clouser Abbott

First published in Marathi in 1966, this unique novella in free verse tells an age-old story: that of a woman’s deep desire to be a mother. Setting out life as a game in which the moves are predetermined, and yet where rules exist only to be twisted, perhaps negotiated, sometimes even changed, Anuradha Vaidya deftly engages the reader in a sort of play, suggesting a joining of the dots, a connecting of line endings that lead the reader deeper into the story. As the story traces a relationship that begins with unquestioning love that, over time, transforms into tension and distance, the reader is encouraged to linger, or jump back and forth across stanzas and lines, to navigate, interpret, and savour the beauty of the expression, both in the turn of phrase and the coinage of new words. The sheer beauty of the almost allegorical imagery of life as a game played on the worldly board by people who are actually pawns, marks every page of this poetic narrative. Published by Zubaan.

The third instalment in Jim Blanchard’s popular history of early Winnipeg, "A Diminished Roar" presents a city in the midst of enormous change. Once the fastest growing city in Canada, by 1920 Winnipeg was losing its dominant position in western Canada. As the decade began, Winnipeggers were reeling from the chaos of the Great War and the influenza pandemic. But it was the divisions exposed by the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike which left the deepest marks. As Winnipeg wrestled with its changing fortunes, its citizens looked for new ways to imagine the city’s future and identity. Beginning with the opening of the magnificent new provincial legislature building in 1920, A Diminished Roar guides readers through this decade of political and social turmoil. At City Hall, two very different politicians dominated the scene. Winnipeg’s first Labour mayor, S.J. Farmer, pushed for more public services. His rival, Ralph Webb, would act as the city’s chief “booster” as mayor, encouraging U.S. tourists with the promise of“snowballs and highballs.” Meanwhile, promoters tried to rekindle the city’s spirits with plans for new public projects, such as a grand boulevard through the middle of the city, a new amusement park, and the start of professional horse racing. In the midst of the Jazz Age, Winnipeg’s teenagers grappled with “problems of the heart,” and social groups like the Gyro Club organized masked balls for the city’s elite.