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“HORSEKEEPING is a wonderful telling of the
history of a Salisbury farm and land including delightful
descriptions of the characters that have made up that history.
Roxanne makes you feel as if you are a part of the story and
allows you to experience the equestrian way of life. She
thoughtfully explores stewardship of the land, the lure of
country life and the value of raising children understanding the
responsibility involved in caring for animals.”
-- Ann Guptill, 1987 Pan
American Games Team Dressage silver Medalist, U.S. Dressage
Federation “L” Judge graduate and USDF Instructor Certification
Examiner
“Roxanne Bok
takes us on the wonderful journey of a farm, a family and a
relationship. Every time I go to Weatogue Stables, as I come
around the bend and the farm starts to appear, I am struck by
its beauty and sense of peace.”
-- Ann Jamieson, author of
the For the Love of the Horse
series and a US Equestrian
Federation Judge
“Look elsewhere
if it’s a snooty equestrienne’s memoir you seek. HORSEKEEPING is
mucky good fun: at once a celebratory and cautionary tale of
what happens when tidy urbanites indulge their country-life
fantasies.”
-- David Kamp, author of
The United States of Arugula
Why would successful urbanites, used to clean,
controlled and orderly lives, take on the task of restoring a
sagging, geriatric horse farm? At first, Roxanne and Scott Bok
merely wanted to preserve the land across the road from their
weekend home from encroaching development. But when maintaining
the faded glory of the adjoining El-Arabia horse farm was more
than their elderly neighbor could handle, Scott’s success in
business made it possible to rescue the place. What could an
investment banker and a writer know about the rigors of caring
for large animals?
The joys, heartbreaks and self-discovery that
transformed their lives are detailed in Roxanne Bok’s pastoral
memoir HORSEKEEPING (Prospecta Press/Twin Lakes Press, November
1, 2011 $25.00). Elements of Emersonian introspection mingle
with Bok’s keen eye for the lush landscape and humor for the
less-than-tidy aspects of being a gentlewoman farmer.
Anyone who has lived through home restoration
will appreciate what it takes to restore an entire farm, from
the mall-sized stable down to the riding rings, outbuildings and
caretaker’s cottage. Bok is delightfully direct as she
describes watching the farm come back to life as uninvited
wildlife, accumulated mess and years of neglect are forcibly
evicted.
The introduction of horses – and all that goes
with them – to the newly named Weatogue Stables sheds a light on
what makes some people go “horse crazy.” Starting with a
charming pony and a lovable horse named for a giant rodent, Bok
and her children begin the fundamentals of “horsekeeping.” But
along with the pleasures of caring for and raising horses, dogs,
cats and rabbits comes the possibility of loss, and Bok must
confront her own fears left by the death of her young mother,
even as she helps her own son and daughter understand the joys
and sorrows of living with nature.
As the family grows as equestrians and learns the
ropes of showmanship and competition, they learn what it really
means to be a part of the land, the community and a world too
few of us get to enter.
HORSEKEEPING:
One Woman’s Tale of Barn and Country Life
Twin Lakes Press; November 1, 2011; $25.00
ISBN: 078-1935212-52-2; E-book ISBN:
978-935212-77-5
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