In the Middle Are the Horsemen

Tik Maynard began riding with the Vancouver Pony Club, in Southlands, British Columbia. After achieving his 'P' rating, he began competing in Modern Pentathlon, where he represented Canada at three World Championships, and the 2007 Pan-American Games. In 2008, Maynard began a journey to improve his riding and discovered something more important: horsemanship. It is that idea that continues to motivate him.

This weighty paperback book is an autobiography by Tik Maynard, a Canadian horseman and author based in the USA, and is an absorbing account of his journey, mainly from international working pupil to independent profession using his own methods from his own yard...I must admit that when I first examined the book I thought it was going to be a chore to read it, but I was actually hooked from the first page and just had to put aside all other reading till I had finished it, every page.

• Part One: Working StudentA Slap Across the Face'Not Many Decent Stables are Interested in Taking Working Students'Lord of the Manor'Your Leg is Too Short''We Can't Leave you Along on a Horse for Five Minutes'A Silver LiningEvery Answer Leads to More QuestionsHerr SteckenOn EventingOcala, Florida Working Student Position; PricelessUncomplicatedHorses are Optional'Hubris? Me?'I Love You, Karen O'Connor!Cutting in with Captain CanadaOne Day with Ian MillarAnd Now For Something Completely DifferentLoving, Texas'This is a Lot Different than Roping Cattle'On Cutting A Different Kind of EducationIt's Easy to Teach Someone to RideOn Eventing (II)'She's Tough'Wellington, FloridaAnne Kursinski's SecretsAsa BirdA Horseman's PledgeOn the Importance of Correct PaperworkThe Almost End'Nope, No Cattle'InterstateFrenchtown, New Jersey'You Just Need to Listen''You Just Need to Ride BetterSapphire is Hurt and I Call a PsychicQuitterBack Against the RopesStill HungryPart Two: ProfessionalTronconesOn Enthusiasm 'Can he Ride?'On RemarkableHorses, too, Are More Forgiving Than We DeserveLetter to MyselfWinning is the Easy Part'If There was a Bunch of Indians Headed My Way'On PainIt is Unbelievable that Magic Like That Can VanishOn HorsemanshipNo SulkingAcknowledgements