Reviews

Beautiful tribute to the University of Connecticut Morgan Horses
By New Englander on November 24, 2013
I was so excited to discover this book as I am a graduate of the UConn Animal Science Department. Reading the book and perusing the photographs brought back a lot of memories. I especially appreciate the attention given to UC Ringmaster, who was the top stallion at UConn during my time there. The author writes in an informative and heartfelt manner, and some of the stories brought tears to my eyes! She is also a talented artist and her painting was used for the cover and her drawings are sprinkled throughout the book. ~Amazon review, 5 stars

I received your book a couple of days ago and have read it cover to cover.  You did a great job of laying it out like a true research book and layering it with behind the scenes stories, quotes, poems, etc.  Well done! ~Patti

I spent New Year’s Day curled up with my brand-spankin’-new copy of your book, which I read cover to cover. I became immersed in a world I know nothing about. While I had to Google a few words, I learned a lot about these magnificent animals and the people who cared for them through triumphs and heartbreaks. What a ride! Thanks for devoting the time to telling such a fine, rich story backed by some excellent research. You are an amazing artist, author, and friend. ~Leslie

The book is pretty darn impressive, Helen. And above all, it took a tremendous amount of patience to write. You had to do so much organizing of data. You preserved history. ~Cathy

One of the things you did extremely well and which I feel adds immeasurable value to the book is to depart at just the right time from the history and lineage to include observations on the horse’s mannerisms and personality that bring him to life for the reader and differentiate him from the other horses. Another, was to include several asides referring to horses in general. Things that most people who have been around horses will identify with and those who don’t know horses will ponder. An example is on page 77. In the context of Sheba the paragraph that begins “Working with horses can be a sad business…” How true. An experienced horsewoman once told me “Mark, they’ll break your heart.” As you so accurately point out, something that beautiful, majestic and powerful can at the same time be so fragile. There must be some lesson to be learned, perhaps about the fragility of life in general. Nice job! And I’m glad you are getting lots of positive feedback, it’s well deserved. ~Mark

Although I am not a UCONN alumni or even a big polo fan, this book was captivating from start to finish. It is clear that the author extensively researched the history of polo at UCONN, showing how truly passionate she is about this sport and the horses and players that make it happen. Her energy and enthusiasm are contagious, and you can’t help but feel as if you are watching these events as if they are unfolding in front of you. You don’t have to be a polo fanatic to enjoy this book. I picked it up and finished it in one day! To be honest, I didn’t even know the rules of polo prior to reading this book. The great thing about this book is that it doesn’t matter if you have a deep understanding of polo or if you are new to the sport; the author makes it easy for all types of readers to enjoy and be captivated by her writing. As I was reading it, I thought about what a great tribute this book was to all of the past and current UCONN polo players and how much it must mean to them to be written about in this book. Helen Scanlon truly did a remarkable job in writing this book. I highly recommend reading this. You won’t be disappointed! ~Amazon 5-star review