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The Bridleway by Tiffany Francis-Baker

Martha Terry Martha Terry

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    • The Bridleway

    Score

    6/10

    Price as reviewed:

    £17.99 hardcover

    Title: The Bridleway: How Horses Shaped the British Landscape
    Author: Tiffany Francis-Baker
    Published: 8 June 2023

    Available as hardcover, Kindle or Audible
    View now at amazon.co.uk

    About The Bridleway

    Tiffany Francis-Baker explores how the relationship between humans and horses has shaped the British landscape, how horses have captured our wild imaginations, and how this connection has evolved and become part of our nation’s ecosystems. 

    Many of us enjoy walking on a bridleway. These ancient networks are familiar to walkers and riders and crisscross the British countryside, but we rarely stop to think about how these old routes came to be.

    In The Bridleway, Tiffany Francis-Baker examines our relationship with horses and ponders how they have become part of our nation’s ecosystems. From atop her horse, Tiffany discovers how horses are woven into the fabric of British culture, from street and pub names to trading routes and coaching inns. As she investigates how horses have shaped British landscapes, she offers a glimpse into the intriguing history of the bridleway.

    Along the way, Tiffany visits a horse fair and learns about Traveller communities. She explores the role of equestrian sport and inclusivity, sees rewilding in action on the Knepp Estate in Sussex and undertakes detective work to uncover ancient bridleways lost to time and meet the closest living ancestors of the truly wild horse.

    Part-domesticated and part-fiercely independent, horses can teach us a lot about our landscape and help us understand nature and our place within it. Except for the dogs and cats we choose to share our homes with, we have allowed horses far deeper into our society than any other animal. And as Tiffany investigates why horses have captured Britons’ attention, she reveals how deeply rooted they have been in our culture for thousands of years.

    Review

    I loved the start, where the author describes a wonderful hack through the Hampshire countryside. She has an impressive knowledge of flora and fauna, and I enjoyed the eloquent descriptions of frothy blossom, and flowers’ bloom singing “like sirens to the bumblebees”. As a rider myself, I relished reliving the sensation of a lazy hack in springtime among celandines, violets and primroses; the sights, the smells and sounds of winter breaking into spring.

    Similarly, the final chapter taps into the essence of the relationship between horse and human. Whole paragraphs are dedicated to the tactile aspect of being with horses – “the velvet nub” of a horse’s nose, with whiskers “drawing in your knuckles like a magnet”. But in between, the chapters are a heavily researched account of the history and culture of horses within the British landscape, veering from Greek and Germanic mythology to coaching inns to the traveller community. It is a little rambling as it covers so much ground, and I personally preferred the more accessible first and final chapters.

    She writes beautifully and knowledgeably, but it is a little heavy-going and verbose for those expecting a “joyful gallop through the history of equestrianism”, as touted on the cover. It is more of a long, slow hack, with quite a few obstacles to ponder along the way.

    The writer’s background as an environmentalist comes through strongly – and there is a slightly polemical side shadowing the beauty of horses in the countryside, that of man’s effect on our world.

    The writer is also an artist, and each chapter opens with a simple black and white drawing, which is a nice touch.

    Verdict

    An interesting and well-researched read with lyrical detail on nature. Less of a gallop, more of an absorbing hack – a book to pick up, read a chapter and put down, rather than devour in a sitting.

    View now at amazon.co.uk

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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