The Conquistador's Horse

by Sydney at HorseCrazyGirls.com
(Florida, USA)

I love historical fiction books and, of course, books about horses. That’s why I am excited to share The Conquistador’s Horse by Barry Cole with you. It's a fascinating story of an native American, Tall Bull, and his encounter with Spanish Conquistadors and their horses-- animals that were new to the American Indians.

It’s a fascinating story and I love knowing how the horse changed so many things for native Americans. If you love history, adventure and horses you’ll love this book!

Get the book on Amazon here.

An Interview With the Author

I inherited a love of horses from my father who acquired his love of horses from his army days when he served in Egypt and Palestine. Although not in a cavalry regiment, many of the officers loved Polo and he found himself in charge of their ponies. He quickly formed a strong attachment to his charges, most of which where Arabians and he eventually got himself on the Polo team!

I learned to ride in my teens but sadly we were not in a position for me to have my own horse. My first real riding experience was when I lived in Montana and worked for a while on a ranch near Utica. My horse of choice of course was a Quarter horse, such a wonderful animal.

The inspiration for the story was based on the fact that many Americans don't realize that until the Conquistadors came there were NO HORSES in the whole of America and to show how many plains tribes really did acquire their first horses.

The story began life as a short screen play and took about two months to complete. I did receive interest from two Indie producers but sadly they were unable to raise funding. It was then that I decided to adapt the screenplay into a children's book.

To anyone thinking of writing a book the most important piece of advice I can give is not to put it off but to DO IT NOW! If when its done, and you think about perhaps getting it published, be prepared for a hard road ahead. Even self publishing can be difficult and costly. The good news is that all of this will fade into insignificance when people pick up your book and enjoy what you have written.

My daughter had her own horse for many years (sadly I could never persuade her to let me buy her a quarter horse) and until a few months ago so did my youngest granddaughter but sadly following a long illness her horse had to be put down. Hopefully once the sadness has passed she will 'get back in the saddle'. I support a horse sanctuary here in England called Redwings by donating a portion of my books sales to them.