Horse Show Announcer, Former Judge, and Trainer Pens First Novel
By: Brittany Bevis
During this period spent in isolation, you might find yourself with some extra free time. What about doing some light reading? How about a good, old fashioned mystery complete with secrets and intrigue that follows a young horse trainer’s struggle to hang on to her family farm?
Horse show announcer and former trainer and judge, Mark Grice, has just the ticket with his first novel, Paint The Horse Blue. During his career in the horse industry, Mark has trained Quarter Horses and coached youth and amateur competitors from his own farm for 30 years. He was a NSBA judge, AQHA committee member, AQHA Professional Horseman, two-time Ontario Quarter Horse Association President, and multiple top ten exhibitor at the Quarter Horse Congress and AQHA World Show. But, for the past ten years, he’s been pursuing his other passions in art, acting, and writing. However, he still remains involved with the horse industry as an announcer at 12 AQHA shows and 20 A-circuit Hunter/Jumper shows each year.
The idea for his novel came from a concept that was born ten years ago. “I looked back on my career and thought about all the things that happened or imagined what could’ve happened in the industry,” he says. “Finally, in 2018, I made the decision to set aside time to put my complex plot into actual words, sentences, and chapters. That included time spent researching and interviewing some valuable helpers. The writing actually took just four months. I wrote the whole thing in a Starbucks coffee shop!”
Prior to his venture into fiction writing, Mark had dabbled in journalism and even a bit of Cowboy Poetry, some of which is sprinkled throughout the book. “The whole process has been even more rewarding than I ever anticipated,” he says. “I’ve had the opportunity to share my book at the Equine Film and Arts Festival at the Kentucky Horse Park where it won a literary award. I got to speak with western art experts at the Frederic Remington Museum of Art in New York, and I’ve spoken with several book clubs, authors groups, at stables, and with horse show exhibitors.”
“The two things that I hear from every reader are: ‘I couldn’t stop turning the pages,’ and ‘When is the sequel available?’ A sequel might be in the works. I’ll probably make it even a bit darker than the first book…”
So what’s this suspenseful tale about? Mark explains that the story follows a young horse trainer in her thirties named Kella Major. “Kella has found herself in a desperate situation due to some bad decisions and tragedies,” he says. “Paint The Horse Blue takes the reader on a wild ride in a story that spans 100 years in order to find a solution to her issues. Anyone involved in the horse industry is going to find the writing and characters to be authentic and relatable. If you like rural life, horse shows, western art, history, and mystery, you will love this book!”
Mark illustrated the cover art himself and even included a clue to the mystery that the reader won’t discover until they read the story.
Paint The Horse Blue is available worldwide from Archway Publishing. It’s available in three formats on Amazon and most other online book selling websites. Click here to learn more about Mark’s novel.
Are you an equestrian with a unique story to tell about a recent accomplishment? Email B.Bevis@EquineChronicle.com for consideration.
