“Horses are stories. You can’t look at a horse without seeing its poetry…” explains Sarah Maslin Nir, author of Horse Crazy. Born and raised in New York City, Nir shares a personal journey of stories around the world centered around the love of one animal (the one we all adore…) With two hard-working parents, Nir spent her childhood in the summers with her grandmother in the Hamptons where she found her true passion as a young girl, the horse. Horse Crazy is written about stories behind beloved horses around the world, and each chapter is named after a special horse.
By weaving her travel experiences with her professional career at the New York Times, Nir writes an intricate narrative on equestrians (including herself) around the world showcasing the magic around these animals who help so many cope with struggles, heartache and loss. Some fascinating stories include a journey to Texas to discover the lost legacy of the Black Cowboy, an Indian adventure that led to an education about the Mawri horse, an endangered Indian breed that was not to be exported. Later, Nir found a woman in America who has a dozen Mawri horses in the middle of Cape Cod. But, how did she acquire them? We later find out there was some rare stallion semen smuggling involved… Dun, dun dun!
“I’m from New York city, born and raised, and somehow I managed to enjoy horses in the city. Senior year they said we could have a job, so I worked with as a mounted auxiliary park ranger in Central Park. My job was to care for the horses and chase the bad kids out of the park.” When we spoke with Nir, her enthusiasm and spirit around horses brought us so much joy even amidst a pandemic. We laughed and chatted about how horses have impacted each of us, and the joys of being at the barn on your worst of days. There’s something so special about the immediate bond that’s created between people who share a love of horses.
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“ Wherever my journey with New York Times sent me, I used my free time to look for the horses. So, I wove together the threads of my lifelong fixation with these animals in Horse Crazy,” explains Nir. As an active USEF amateur owner hunter/jumper competitor, Nir has a total of four horses. Gossamer is the horse she is currently showing and he resides in New Jersey.
Watch as Sarah Maslin Nir reads an excerpt from Horse Crazy with her adorable dappled grey horse, Stellar.
Horse Crazy is one of those reads you just can’t put down. It’s a page-turner that makes you chomp at the bit, by taking you through many ups and downs with giggles along the way. Nir ‘gets it’ when it comes to this crazy world of horses. This is a read that true horse people can appreciate, and if you’re not one, by the end of this book you’ll be searching for horses near your neighborhood to experience the magic.
The book is released today, August 4th. To purchase your copy, go here.
