'Some horses hate human beings, plain and simple, but Valiant Warrior's loathing was far more wide-ranging. He didn't just hate people. He hated everything. People, horses, dogs, cats, birds. If it moved, he hated it.'

'Choice Challange used to enjoy pinching people's hats, and the open day that year gave him a bonanza. Good Friday can be perishing up in the Dales . . . he had nicked about twelve before ten o'clock.'

'What happened that first day is as vivid now as it was when I tried dragging myself out of bed. And, although I didn't know it then, it was a microcosm of what was to come: the highs, the lows, the doubt, the pain, the shame, the language, the wisecracks, the weather, the characters, the camaraderie, and, of course, the horses.'

'Providing you look after them, horses can be great listeners . . . the relationship is made up of the same ingredients as the majority of human relationships: love, understanding, kindness, compromise, and, most importantly of all, an almost indescribable amount of trust.'