WESTBURY Town Councillor Jane Russ has been busy doing her ‘day job’ and book number six about British wildlife has just been published.
Featuring native ponies, this is an extensive look at the twelve pony breeds found in these islands.
Jane says of The Native Pony Book, “This is the book I really wanted to write. It was very hard work as every one had to have individual research but I got fabulous support from members of breed groups or breeders, who were delighted to talk about the loves of their lives!”
Jane adds that the idea for the book came to her when she found her old copy of the Observer’s Book of Horses and Ponies again after many years.
“I started thinking about those native breeds I had taken for granted in the late ‘50s and wondering if they were still there for me to show my grandchildren. There has been talk in the media about moorland and woodland ponies causing traffic incidents and the more I looked into where the native pony nation was now, the more convinced I became that it was time for me to catch up with my first love.”
In this book, the breeds are illustrated as they are meant to be seen; not clean and perfect in the show ring but out against a natural backdrop and, like all Jane’s books, there are chapters on Myth and Legend and Art and Literature.
The book can be bought direct from Graffeg at graffeg.com/collections/nature-book-series/products/the-native-pony-book or any of your usual book sources.
