Karin Winegar brought her horse and her book for a show-and-tell and book reading.
Foxhunting Life is always mining for a good story. And so, upon the conclusion of each hunting season we ask (on our FaceBook page), “What do you do in the off-season?” We got a dandy answer (and a story!) from author/journalist/foxhunter Karin Winegar of St. Paul, Minnesota. She’s introducing inner-city youngsters to horses and reading.
Karin, whose reports from Ireland and New Zealand you have seen on FHL, recently held a reading at Folwell School in Minneapolis for her first children’s book, Tina of Grand Avenue (Horsefeed Press). Tina was born too small and had an imperfect leg, but she had an “I can do it!” attitude that made her fearless, so Karin donated her to the St. Paul Mounted Patrol. Tina went through special training, encountering everything from sirens to gunfire. Karin’s book tells the true story of Tina’s adventures and her career with Officer Mark.
Karin, owns a team of morgan-percheron geldings—Smokey and Prinz—who are Tina’s uncles. For her book reading, Karin loaded up 16.1-h Prinz and brought him onto the school grounds for a vivid show-and-tell session. Dozens of third grade students, most of whom had never seen a real horse, got to ask questions and to pet Prinz, who stood perfectly still for the crowd. Following the reading one little boy took Karin aside and said, “I want to write a book. Can you help me?”
Tina of Grand Avenue,
Horsefeed Press, 2013, $12.95 “Absolutely! Start sketching it out,” Karin replied.
Dr. Tracy Turner, an equine veterinarian and President of the Minnesota Horse Council, says of Tina of Grand Avenue, “This is a delightful story based on real characters that highlights the important role that horses can play in urban communities such as St. Paul. The characterization of Tina’s emotions helps emphasize the sensitivity of horses, the strong affection a horse can display for its rider, and a horse’s enjoyment of its work when matched with the right partner. Tina’s adventures demonstrate the unique skills that mounted police officers can use in law enforcement and crowd control, as well as the goodwill these partners create.”
Turner, who rode with the St. Paul Mounted Patrol, says he “saw the ability and dedication of the horse-officer pairs [and] was impressed by the affection from the citizens and the respect from the criminal element. The officer and horse partnership is a unique synergy that makes our streets safer.”
Education scholar Dr. Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change in St. Paul, calls Tina of Grand Avenue “heart-warming…instantly engaging, wonderful” and recommends the book as reading for families and school classes.
Horsefeed Press is Karin’s custom publishing business. She works with individuals, families, companies, and non-profit groups to create books, providing writing, editing, design, printing and marketing services. “Any profits go to feed my horses, hence the name,” says Karin, who keeps her horses in Hugo, Minnesota.
Karin’s other published works include Saved, Rescued Animals and The Lives They Transform (Perseus/Da Capo Press) with forewords by Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Temple Grandin and photography by Judy Olausen. She also does privately published luxury biographies including one of Gustav Schickedanz MFH, of Toronto, Canada and Aiken, South Carolina.
Tina of Grand Avenue is available at Horse Country in Warrenton, Virginia and may be ordered from Horsefeed Press, 1832 Carroll Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55104. The price is $12.95 plus shipping. Karin may be contacted through her website or by email.
Posted June 21, 2013
