Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book!
Review: After having read a few of the reviews of "Horse People" posted here, I am compelled to comment. I am a horseperson of over 40 years of experience. I tend to be HIGHLY critical when I read a book on horses. THIS book is exceptional. It is well-written (hey, if you are the editor-in-chief of a major book publishing company, you'd BETTER be able to write on a high level). It is accurate. There were several facts that seemed to bear checking...every single one of them came up true. Some fellow fox-hunters have quibbled that this tome was anti-hunting. Grow up, folks! I hunted for almost a decade, and I can accept that Korda preferred not to hunt for personal reasons. True fox-hunters hunt for the joy of following hound work, being out on a horse they love, enjoying nature, and taking part in a wonderful tradition. Yes, I said enjoying nature. Maybe Sedgefield Hunt was sub-standard, maybe our foxes were super-sly, maybe we were all just idiots out galloping around for the fun of it, but we lost more HOUNDS to accidents than we ever killed foxes. (Find a copy of "The Belstone Fox" and watch it sometime. You can fast forward through the party scenes.) Why should the author's decision not to hunt bother anyone? It was his right to do as he wished. Korda's inclusion of drawings and photographs are added perks to a very readable volume. This book is a FIRM "Five Star" item. If your public library doesn't have a copy, it should. Buy it!! By the way, I am going to my local library tomorrow to check out some more of Mr. Korda's books.
Rating: 
Summary: Borrow, don't buy, this book
Review: After starting a book, I try to give it a chance. After 200 pages, I gave this one away to a thrift store. Korda's elitist attitude (even in light of his down-home, conversationalist style of writing) as well as some glaring inaccuracies about horses put me off. I wonder what his past friends and acquaintances thought about his outright gossip about their personal homelife? I was appalled by his racist comments about stable employees, as well as his puffed-up attitude about himself.
Rating: 
Summary: A down to earth portrayal of the wealthy horsey-set
Review: As a fellow horse owner, but not part of the more "blue-blooded horsey set" I felt the lifestyle described by author Michael Korda, was well written and as down-to-earth as you could possibly get for someone writing from a more priveleged background than most. Despite the fact most of us cannot relate with the ultimate equestrian lifestyle portrayed, the story is written with a love and respect that all who are passionate about horses can relate to. The picturesque landscape that Korda spells out in his recollections of "Sunday Rides" in Central Park and later in the countryside of NY make for great daydreams, especially to a desert horseperson like myself. Our "Sunday rides" include cactus, tumbleweed and an occasional dust storm or two. After reading this book, my day dreams have a bit more color to them and I can look at the blue-blooded horsey set without envy, but mutual respect for sharing an equal passion in horses.
Rating:
Summary: Self-impressed slop
Review: As a horsewoman and a member of the "elite" horse community, I can tell you this book is filled with nothing more than self-indulgent slop from a self-impressed, insecure little man with a big chip on his shoulder. He misses the mark completely in his description of the horsey set - making us all seem like wealthy snobs, especially picking repeatedly on WASPs. His inaccurate description of the horse world is disgraceful and perpetuates the myth that we are all a bunch of exclusive, racist, old-monied bores. In the vast majority of cases, nothing could be further from the truth, though it's easy to see why the sanctimonious Mr. Korda may have felt that way - no one appreciates a poser who at once wants so badly to be a part of the crowd yet, when he can't fit in due to his incredible insecurity, criticizes them mercilessly. You can see the chip on that man's shoulder from a hilltop away. That being said, some of the history he includes is interesting - not always accurate, but interesting nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: horsey circles
Review: As a lover of horses and non-rich person, this book gave me a rotten feeling in the pit of my stomach throughout the reading it. Every time I tried to relax into it, it unfailingly reminded me of all the things I-- as the kid of a cop and a homemaker-- could never afford, of all the snubs from all the snobs who ever looked down on me from astride their bright and shiny sixteen-plus hand birthday presents. It reads a lot more like a documentary of the lives of the rich and horsey than the penetrating look into relationships between horses and people I was hoping for. As a perpetually cash-strapped owner of two western horses, and a lifetime lover of all the rest of them, this book left me as flat as day old soda.
Excellent reading however, for the neuveau riche who want to pretend they're old money.
Rating:
Summary: Self-absorbed
Review: As a member of the "elite" riding community that Mr. Korda writes of in his book, I can say that this book is nothing more than a tale of a self-impressed little man who seeths at the reality that he is an outsider in the horse world. His biggest mistake, and what really gets my goat, is that he seems to think that he's an outsider because of his background when, in fact, he remains an outsider because he's an annoying, whining, sanctimonious little poser who can't ride his way out of a paper bag. This only serves to perpetuate the myth that those of us who ride horses and have money are all snobby, racist bores. Nothing could be further from the truth - rich people who ride aren't any less fallible than anyone else, yet this book does nothing to disspell a hurtful myth. It's a good thing he's so impressed with himself - no one else seems to be. On the somewhat positive side, he does insert some interesting tidbits about the history of riding, and while many of these tidbits are inaccurate they are entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: HORSE RIDERS
Review: As horse rider and animal lover I enjoyed the book immensely, describing to the utmost details and perfection the relation of the 2 worlds horses and people and the influence of one upon the other.
I read it enthusiastically from beginning to end in single breath.
Excellent
Rating:
Summary: If you liked Seabiscuit you'll love this book too!
Review: Don't miss this book! It's a warm and wonderful adventure into the world of horses and horse people. Korda is a terrific companion through these pages, witty, hilarious, self-deprecating, but always a superb storyteller. Recommended for anyone who enjoys a ripping good tale, smart and compassionate writing and larger than life characters (equine and human) who leap off the pages. A fast read, a great read, an instant classic!
Rating:
Summary: Fun, enjoyable and well-written
Review: Find it hard to understand why some felt this was not a good book- it is great, in my mind. Mr. Korda knows horses, and knows how to write in a way that captures the reader. Maybe he could have cut it down, but I enjoyed each and every word I read. I am not sure that someone that does not know horses would enjoy this, but as one that just came in from dealing with my 8, I enjoyed and loved hearing about the horses that crossed their lives. And that he loves his wife...well! Yea! We all deserve that kind of love....
Rating:
Summary: Over the Top
Review: I agree with the reviewer who said not to recommend this book to foxhunters -- the picture he presents is archaic, racist, and is more suited to his native England, I guess. If so, no wonder they banned it. I foxhunt in Kentucky, and the picture he paints is totally off-base. We are a group of normal people who happen to like to spend our money and time on horses, not golf. We revel in the chase, not the kill -- we have not killed a fox in over 20 years. We have Jewish and black members. I take care of my own horses and open my gates myself. This book sets the sport back 50 years. My copy is now in the trash.
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