“In the Middle are the Horsemen” by Tik Maynard

“In the Middle are the Horsemen” by Tik Maynard- a book review.

“He studied the horse, and human nature, and how the two can find balance. And in that journey, he may have found himself”

I was offered the opportunity to write this book review through the blogging support group #Horsebloggersmeetup.

“In the Middle are the Horsemen”

The title of the book was immediately alluring to me; my main obsession over the last few years has been to make myself into a better horse-person. This is a book I certainly would have bought for myself, had I not received a free copy courtesy of the fabulous Quiller publishing.

The blurb says “In 2008, 26 year-old Tik Maynard faced a crossroads not unlike that of other young adults. A university graduate and modern pentathlete, he suffered both a career ending injury and a painful break-up, leaving him suddenly adrift. The son of prominent Canadian equestrians, Maynard decided to spend the next year as a working student. In the horse industry, working students aspire to become professional riders or trainers, and willingly trade labour for hands-on education. Here Maynard chronicle his experiences- good and bad- and we follow along as one year becomes there, what began as a casual adventure gradually transforms, and a life’s purpose comes sharply into focus.”

I’m still a kinaesthetic reader: the feel of a book in my hands is very important to me. This is a classy book: although paperback, the outer cover is glossy and sturdy, the front a peaceful photo, the paperback thick enough to look crisp for a good few years. The paper inside is good quality and the layout nice and clean.

He spares us the details of the injury and the break-up: the story of “In the Middle are the Horsemen” begins with the hunt for a job. Tik’s criteria are simple enough: a central riding location (in North American terms), the trainer must have a deep understanding of the classical foundation of horse training, and the trainer must be a leading rider or trainer in whatever discipline he or she practised. He starts writing to all the great and good, asking for a job.

Tik manages to land jobs at some of the best yards in the world. He works for Johann Hinneman, Ingrid Klimke (unpaid and all too briefly), the O’Connors, Ian Millar the showjumper, for a day, Bruce Logan the cowboy, Anne Kursinski, to name a few. He learns some hard lessons, from people and horses, and as with all those who reflect on their time spent with horses, the lessons help him grow into a better human, as well as a better horse-person.

“In the Middle are the Horsemen” started life as a series of magazine articles and this does leave the narrative slightly disjointed at times. Tik is a very entertaining writer, with a good eye for detail and an ear for dialogue which allows the stories to flow. I read the book in one sitting; it certainly kept me absorbed and entertained, I laughed with him as well as at him, and I liked him a lot more at the end of the book than I did at the beginning!

Tik initially struggles to separate good horsemanship from good riding; the crux of his learning and the theme running through the book is that you need to be a good horse-person to be a truly good rider. This is hardly a startling revelation, and his lack of clarity on this point, especially in the early stages of his story, leads to frustration for both author and the reader.

In the same way, he never truly defines classical horsemanship and he seeks deeper knowledge in trendy books and DVDs such as Mark Rashid, Buck, Parelli, Mclean: horsemanship and some attempts at science, whilst apparently bypassing the seminal books written by the truly classical trainers of recent times. For example, Rashid’s books get 2 mentions, Klimke only 1!

“You just need to be a better rider” does finally morph at the end of the book into “I wanted to be a great rider, now my ambition is greater, to be a great horseman”

His quest for adventure seemed to surpass the thirst for knowledge. He’s a young man, on a planned quest, who sometimes preferred to follow his master plan rather than go with the flow, leaving seemingly golden opportunities for unknown pastures greener. I wanted him to stay at Ingrid’s for longer; but I guess that would have been my dream, not his.

For a book about horsemanship, in the end, most of the lessons seem to come from people not horses. Most of the stories are about people and human-human interactions, not human-horse.

There are a few good quotes later in the book

“Then there was just the being with horses. Which is nice. But without the training, without the communication, we just happened to be with each other, there was no dialogue. It is like sitting next to Elizabeth Gilbert on a plane. Cool…but you are still strangers until one of you starts talking.”

I did get the impression that Tik would always be the one to start the conversation.

“A horse’s cost never reflects his worth”

And some great questions

“What’s good to a horse?”

It’s not a book about training, nor could it be used as a training aid. It is the entertaining, well told, rueful and truly funny account of of one young man’s learning. There are a few tips disguised within stories that might open the door to self reflection, to make people sit up and question aspects of their horse-human interaction.

The book ends where he finds love, and peace and purpose. And the horses in his part of the world are surely better for his quest, as it would seem he now works as a horse trainer, for competitive riders but with a strong Natural Horsemanship bent.

“In the Middle are the Horseman” is a good and entertaining read. The honest tales of life as a working pupil on an equestrian gap year or three made me wistful; what a wonderful dream to live out, and I’m so glad for him that it has had a happy ending. The writing is crisp, the pace lively and the book is peppered with good anecdotes as well as increasingly honest self reflection.

Is the book a keeper? Yes, for a while.

Will I read it again? Yes once or twice.

Will I pass onto a friend? Yes for entertainment value.

Would I recommend “In the Middle are the Horsemen” to my friends? Yes, as a fun equestrian book to buy for a holiday or a rainy weekend.

Would I read another book by him if he wrote one? Yes for sure

Thanks to Sam at #Haynet for organising me to write this review, to my virtual friends at #Horsebloggersmeetup for their group support and encouragement, to #Quillerpublishing and Trafalgar Square books for the gift of the book, and to all you readers out there for taking the time out to read my blog.

Buy the book- it’s a 3.5 out of 5

Buy the Book here