Searching for Henry Stull

Part of the fun of writing my latest novel, Painted Stallion, was researching Henry Stull, American equine painter (1851-1913.) Henry figures largely in the novel.

I'd first seen a Stull painting in a magazine and finding more on the Internet, was drawn to his glossy horses with perfectly depicted anatomy and jockeys with brilliantly patterned silks. The horses were often famous winners and the silks were accurate. But it also delighted me to see the "rocking horse" posture in which he often painted his running horses, front and back legs fully extended. I've learned since that many owners asked for that posture for years, even though it was unrealistic. It was a well-loved artistic convention.

I wanted to find out more about Stull and in my travels, visited the Horse Park and Keeneland Race Course libraries in Lexington, Kentucky; the Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville, Tennessee; and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. And my research for the novel paid off: it was in Saratoga Springs that in August 2008 I finally saw one of the rocking horse pictures. I'm sure the other artgoers thought me silly. I was grinning like a fool.

The Winners: Mullins and Lanzan

When I watch horse races like the Triple Crown, I marvel at the beauty and swiftness of the horses and the expertise of the jockeys who ride them. I always wonder how the riders keep their perfect, immovable posture on top of those madly galloping, plunging horses, and how a 115 pound jockey gets a 1200 pound animal to do his or her bidding? Horse racing, with all its issues, is still fascinating today because we get a chance to see the most accomplished athletes in both the human and horse worlds engaging in a contest of skill that is dangerous and thrilling and beautiful in its execution. But racehorses must be protected from possible injury by their handlers. And that's why I was so glad to see "I Want Revenge" scratched from the Kentucky Derby because trainer Jeff Mullins and owner David Lanzan found a hot spot on the horse's ankle. This is responsible racing. Read more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30533737/.