Lawrence Scanlan

Finding this book in my childhood was a delight. My mother had "Riding High" and I tried to read it but it was too 'adult' for me at the time. Also, as a young equestrian fan I generally cared much more about the horses than the riders (to this day I can probably still name more horses than riders), so finding a book that was all about the horse was the best thing!

I've read it three times through since then. It's hard to say how much I learned about Big Ben as I knew a bunch of it to begin with as he was still a ring celebrity at the time. I did enjoy how it focused on his personality and habits that also appeared in the middle section of photographs. (Some colour, some black and white.)

On a presentation note, I appreciated how the chapter headings were marked with a horse jumping over a fence, getting further along as the book progressed. I would quickly flip the pages to watch the horse make the leap.… (mere)