SKIPINGO HOME:  Children's book.  Benefitting Old Friends

Beautifully illustrated & written for the young and young-at-heart, Skipingo Home is the true story of a racehorse who is reunited with the people who raised him & who give him a chance at a new career after a failed attempt to become a champion racehorse like his famous brother, Skip Away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From www.equestrianmag.com         Eclipse Press Releases Children's Book Skipingo Home    Equestrian News Release

Lexington, KY (November 19, 2008) – Prominent Thoroughbred breeder Jane Lyon and her daughter Karen Bailey have captured the story of their beloved Skipingo in a new children’s book, Skipingo Home: A Thoroughbred’s Second Chance. Written for the young and young at heart, the book is beautifully illustrated by Susie Gordon.

Skipingo Home is the true story of Skipingo, a full brother to Horse of the Year Skip Away, who could not replicate his older sibling’s triumphs on the racetrack. After Skipingo descended to the lowest levels of racing, his future looked bleak. But fate intervened, and Skipingo was reunited with his breeder and brought back home. Today, Skipingo is a successful hunter-jumper who has won championships of his own.

“It’s an amazing story, and a story we wish was more common,” said Karen Bailey. “Skipingo is an incredible horse, and it was a thrill to find him again, bring him back home, and teach him how to jump. We hope this book will help get the message out that these horses deserve second chances at new careers after racing.”

Lyon and her husband, Frank, both of Little Rock, Ark., own and operate Summer Wind Farm, a commercial breeding operation near Georgetown, Ky. The 850-acre farm is home to 27 broodmares, including champion Fleet Indian and Onaga, dam of grade I winner Aragorn.

Proceeds from the book will benefit Old Friends Equine Sanctuary. 
 
ISBN-13: 978-1-58150-205-3                     Pages: 40; Size: 11.5” x 8.5”                                     Retail price: $16.95 Hard Cover

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From www.eclipsepress.com  
By Jane Lyons and Karen Bailey; Illustrated by Susie Gordon            Pub Date: November 2008

Prominent Thoroughbred breeder Jane Lyon and her daughter Karen Bailey have captured the story of their beloved Skipingo in a new children’s book, Skipingo Home: A Thoroughbred’s Second Chance. Written for the young and young at heart, the book is beautifully illustrated by Susie Gordon.

Skipingo Home is the true story of Skipingo, a full brother to Horse of the Year Skip Away, who could not replicate his older sibling’s triumphs on the racetrack. After Skipingo descended to the lowest levels of racing, his future looked bleak. But fate intervened, and Skipingo was reunited with his breeder and brought back home. Today, Skipingo is a successful hunter-jumper who has won championships of his own.

“It’s an amazing story, and a story we wish was more common,” said Karen Bailey. “Skipingo is an incredible horse, and it was a thrill to find him again, bring him back home, and teach him how to jump. We hope this book will help get the message out that these horses deserve second chances at new careers after racing.”

Lyon and her husband, Frank, both of Little Rock, Ark., own and operate Summer Wind Farm, a commercial breeding operation near Georgetown, Ky. The 850-acre farm is home to 27 broodmares, including champion Fleet Indian and Onaga, dam of grade I winner Aragorn.

Proceeds from the book will benefit Old Friends Equine Sanctuary.

About the Authors:    Jane Lyon is living her lifelong dream of raising Thoroughbreds in the bluegrass of Kentucky. An avid animal lover, she and her daughter Karen Bailey are intimately involved in every aspect of the family¹s Summer Wind Farm near Georgetown and are dedicated to equine welfare. Jane has written poetry for years, but Skipingo Home is her first book. Karen is an accomplished hunter-jumper rider and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
About the Ilustrator:   Although children’s book illustration is new to Gordon, she is longtime artist known for her love of animals, including the horse. She is a frequent exhibitor at the American Academy of Equine Art’s fall show and exhibition.

Gordon was trained at the acclaimed Columbus College of Art and Design, where she worked in fine art painting and lost wax bronze, and at the Beartooth School of Art, where she trained with Carl Brenders. Her work, including the award-winning tiger painting, Behold, recently was offered to the public.

Gordon lives in North Lewisburg, Ohio, with her husband, Eric, and children, Tristan, Miriam, and Landon. Among the numerous animals she counts as family are Welsh Mountain ponies, Arabian horses, a Friesian mare, Scottish deerhounds, a border collie, and a schipperke.

Check out my other items!
Be sure to add me to your favorites list!
 Sign up for my email newsletters by adding my eBay Store to your Favorites

About Old Friends....Old Friends is a 501c3 non-profit retirement and rescue facility for pensioned Thoroughbreds. We bring at risk racehorses--those whose racing and breeding careers have come to an end--to Old Friends, provide them with the dignified retirement they deserve, and open the space to the public. By promoting these one-time celebrated horses through a campaign of education and tourism, we draw attention to all retired Thoroughbreds and all equines in need.

We are the only rescue / retirement facility that accept thoroughbred stallions, & so we take exceptional pride in our pensioned champions, among them 1988 Eclipse-winning Turf Champion, Sunshine Forever & one of  the last great sons of Damascus, Ogygian.  In addition to our pensioned stallions, Old Friends is home to some very deserving retired mares & geldings.  Old Friends hosts two to five tours daily and while our guests come to visit a few ex-racehorses, they leave having been touched by the heart of a Thoroughbred hero.      www.oldfriendsequine.org

Read about the upcoming 2009 calendar and how YOU can help!  http://www.oldfriendsequine.org/help-calendar.shtml