Fascination with horses predated every other single thing I knew. Before I was a mother, before I was a writer, before I knew the facts of life, before I was a schoolgirl, before I learned to read, I wanted a horse.

Failure was startling, really. So startling that I hardly noticed it at all.

But what truly horsey girls discover in the end is that boyfriends, husbands, children, and careers are the substitute-for horses

There is a sociology of horses, as well as a psychology. It is most evident in the world of horse racing, where many horses are gathered together, where year after year, decade after decade, they do the same, rather simple thing - run in races and try to win.

I gallop and jump and ride young horses with intense pleasure.

She pulled up when she got to the front. She's really only as good as the horses she's racing against – she only just does enough.