Book Review: “Horsenameographies: Life Stories in a Race Horse Name” by Lovers of Horses Everywhere”
by Marion Altieri
Caballo Press of Ann Arbor is quickly estab-
lishing itself as the preeminent equine publisher in
North America. I’m delighted to see their roaring—
or, perhaps I should say, neighing—into this posi-
tion. Their first-ever book, “The Untold Story of Joe
Hernandez: The Voice of Santa Anita” by Rudolph
Valier Alvarado, won the prestigious Dr. Tony Ryan
Book Award for 2009, beating out long-established
and esteemed authors like the late, great Dick Fran-
cis and turf writer Bill Nack.
Right out of the gate, Caballo Press tromped “the big
boys,” and I see no reason why every book they pres-
ent won’t be an award-winner of some kind.
“Horsenameographies” is a perfect second release.
Caballo Press came up with that which, at first
thought, may seem to be a simple premise: if you
were a race horse, what would be your name?
But the deeper implications of this question plumb
the depths of the human soul. Think about a horse
race: whether you thrill to watching Thoroughbreds,
Arabians or Quarter Horses busting out of a starting
gate and pounding full-throttle over the finish line—
there’s no feeling like that on Earth. We railbirds
hang on to that fence, our hearts beating faster than
a locomotive as our favorites—eyes flashing, nostrils
flaring—dig in and vie for that one second of glory.
As we scream their names, the names take on a life
of their own. Words are powerful, words are things
that breathe, and move and motivate. A word or col-
lection of words that sum up a horse’s personality
and the hopes and dreams of her owners can catapult
that creature to the level of myth. When Secretariat
beat the field in the 1973 Belmont by 31 lengths—
the length of a football field—not a heart in America
could maintain a steady 72 beats per minute. We
ran those 31 lengths with the mighty steed: we, too,
were moving “…like a tremendous machine.”
His name, his fame, went down in history books.
The name, “Secretariat” became synonymous with
freight-train-like, thunderous movement and surre-
al perfection. He ran not just down the final stretch
of Big Sandy, he ran straight into the Jungian realm
of the archetype.
We mere mortal humans often believe that we have
nothing to offer the world, never mind the history
books. This is not so, and Caballo Press’ question
12 Equine•Connections - the magazine for global equine stewardship -
www.equineconnection.org
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