Author(s): Sheila Laxon

NZ Non-Fiction

When New Zealand mare Ethereal rounded the turn and stretched out for the winning post, snatching the $A.125 million 2001 Melbourne Cup, she etched her trainer's name in racing history as the first female trainer to win the big one. And it's the bond between horse and trainer that made Ethereal's success front-page news on both sides of the Tasman as well as the hype.

This book is a warm chatty autobiography about Sheila growing up as a 'horsy' girl in Wales and marrying Laurie Laxon (well known in racing circles) in New Zealand in 1983, and how she became New Zealand's most famous horse trainer. It also focuses on the methods and techniques Sheila uses in training because she loves the challenge of a horse that's a little untamed.

But there are also lows to her story: ten years ago Sheila was so badly injured in a fall from her horse that she went into a coma and was transferred to a mental health unit. She hated this, discharged herself and began a slow recovery. Earlier this year she had another very serious fall in Melbourne.