Author(s): Simon Barnes

PETS & ANIMALS

All I can say is that there was something - right from the first. A stubby little mare, bright bay with remarkably large ears. A white star on her forehead shaped like Madagascar, and a huge arse...' This is the story of an extraordinary relationship - and an extraordinary horse. When Barnes buys Dolly Dolores VII, he knows he has got something special. She is feisty, restless, mysterious - sometimes crazily unpredictable. But she is also, to her owner's delight, a jumper of mesmerising poise and skill; she canters like a ballerina, gallops like a wild thing. And somehow, they just get on. Then, one day, Dolly does something so startling, so inexplicable that she brings her owner to breaking point. Barnes is faced with a terrible decision ...