Are you looking for a fascinating true story? Do you have conflicted feelings about the world of horse-racing? Do you like stories about brash women outwitting smarmy men? Would you do anything for your animal friend? Are you always rooting for the underdog? Are you a “horse girl”? Do you just want to read a damn good graphic novel?!
If you answered yes to any of that, you should read this book next! Grand Theft Horse is by award-winning writer G. Neri whose books for youth include Yummy: Last Days of a Southside Shorty, Ghetto Cowboy, and a picture book about Johnny Cash, so you know he’s an interesting dude. Artwork is by illustrator Corban Wilkin and it’s his first graphic novel. He captures the many shades of horses beautifully and imbues them with personality and grace. His human characters are very specific which is a perfect fit because as protagonist and real life horse-thief-activist-hero Gail Ruffu says, “I had a character’s face.”
Oh, but what is this dang thing even about? It’s about author Neri’s cousin Gail Ruffu, a horse trainer who wants to fix the ethics of horse-racing but got in deep on a bad deal: She went in on ownership of a wild but promising horse named Urgent Envoy, convincing her co-owners to let her train him slowly and surely, to ensure he was strong and ready for racing. Gail loves horses, loves horse-racing, but loathes the bad practices of the sport. She learned as a young girl that bad racing is always the riders fault, not the horse. From her army brat days, she became educated at Britain’s dressage schools, learning about the animal from the insides out, including respect and protection of the horse for its good and for the good of the sport. But American sports are squicky and horse-racing is no exception. Gail has seen many a horse overworked, put into races too young, then drugged up to race with injuries, only to be euthanized on the racetrack when its body failed. She had bigger and better plans for Urgent Envoy. But her co-owners could only see dollar signs and wanted their pockets filled quicker. They began to inch her out of the picture, and their conflict came to a violent head when they absconded with Urgent Envoy and began ignoring veterinary advice and Gail’s claims to rights and ownership. Left with no other option and determined to save her beloved animal, she stole him away in the wee morning hours of Christmas 2004, hid him on a ranch far out of reach, and set off on a long and winding legal battle that would leave her homeless, jobless, and alone, holding the weight of insurmountable odds.
The book is narrated in Gail’s very distinct and delightful voice and the reader is sucked right into her emotional journey. The novel is full of some real shitty people in charge but we also meet some excellent folks who help her along the way. It won’t be an easy read for people sensitive to animal violence, but that part is necessary in showcasing Gail’s extraordinary sense of justice for the animals she serves. (As well as showcasing the really gross practices in horse racing, good lord, can we please do something about this??)
A must read!
