Kimberly Brubaker Bradley grew up horse-obsessed in a tragically non-horsey place and family. When she was eighteen and went to college, she took the reins in her own hands and hasn't stopped riding since. Kim foxhunted, competed at mid-amateur levels of eventing, and was the longtime "Boss Mare" of the Holston Pony Club for kids in her Tennessee hometown—a big part of her inspiration for this series—all while she was busy writing Newbery Honor-winning novels like The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words. Kim is a fierce advocate for horses and the value of the human-horse connection. This is the horse-kid series of her heart.