Riding Horseback in Purple by Alice MacGillivray

At an age when a lot of people are contemplating slowing down and retirement, Alice MacGillivray made the decision to make her back-burnered life-long dream of horse ownership a reality.

A thoughtful planner, Alice did copious research as well as following the pull of her heart in deciding to make her first horse a Fjord. We were pleased when Alice made the decision to purchase the lovely Fjord mare Bocina from us in the fall of 2010.

Just prior to that I had been asked to represent the Fjord breed at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. I had been thinking Bocina would be an ideal partner, for a number of reasons. She’s beautiful, friendly, well-trained, plus calm and accepting of all sorts of distractions. Alice kindly gave me permission to exhibit Bocina.

Bocina was a super star at the The Royal! From the moment we backed her off our trailer at the main dock with big trucks unloading all types of products and produce all around us, to which she barely flicked an unconcerned ear, to her flawless four times daily performances in the Spirit of the Horse ring, hours she spent with her head hanging out her stall door to greet endless lineups of visitors, and morning walks all around the CNE grounds calmly taking in the sights of the city, not to mention the cattle corralled at the back under the Gardiner Expressway, Bocina demonstrated all that we love about the Fjord breed.

And that is a photo of the lovely Bocina on the cover of Alice’s new book. Riding Horseback in Purple was just recently published! Written for the mature adult who is contemplating a re-awakening of their dream of owning a horse, this engaging book guides readers through important considerations of horse ownership and phases of learning as well as sharing Alice’s journey from horse-newbie to horse-owner. Highly recommended!

Check it out on amazon.com

Check it out on amazon.ca