Barbara Gregorich - Ballad of the Horse and Mule: Some Will Make It Through

June 5 — The Starting Line
New York State

Sure Robert Stroud sits tall and proud
The race will soon begin
The distance long, the money big
And he intends to win

It's half a million that he'll gain
When he comes out in front
The world will cheer his horse and him
And marvel at their stunt

Eleven weeks they'll westward wend
Through length and height extreme
But Robert knows that he is strong
As is his horse, Supreme

A hundred horses wait to start
The cream are here amassed
Each rider thinks his steed will win
Not even half will last

Of all the riders striving here
Just two he needs to beat
There's Beth Lepose on Accolade
He knows she can compete

And Carson Kloos, the bragging rat
A man who lives to cheat
A man who craves the win so bad
His horse he will mistreat

The other ninety-seven steeds
He knows they will not rule
While some will finish, two will not:
The pony and the mule

And that's when Robert hears the mule
Hee-Haw behind his back
He hates that sound, but knows for sure:
The mule will quickly crack

And now the mule's beside his horse
Its rider grins and greets
"My name is Ethan, this is Mack
And we're the ones to beat."

"'Cause Mack is steady, Mack is strong
"A steed you won't outshine
"I'll get there first and wait for you
"Behind the finish line."

The man's a dreamer, Robert thinks,
A dolt, a clown, a fool
How can he think he'll win the prize
While riding on a mule?

So Robert turns his horse away
To show his disregard
The starting pistol startles all —
They're off and running hard

Ballad of the Horse and Mule: Some Will Make It Through

If first prize were half a million dollars, how fast would you ride your horse to finish ahead of everyone else?

Robert Stroud is sure he's the best endurance rider with the best endurance horse, and he plans to finish the 2,500-mile 70-day race from New York to California at the head of the pack.

Things don't go the way Robert planned. Beth Lepose has won many an endurance race on Accolade, and she's ahead of Robert. Josie Best won't back off, either. But at least Beth and Josie play fair. Carson Kloos does not, skulking through the campground each night, intent on sabotaging other horses and riders. Worst of all — way beyond what Robert expects in a professional endurance race — a mule is one of the registered mounts. In Robert's world, mules don't belong in a high class horse race.

In this exciting endurance fiction book, the mule not only won't quit — it leads the race. Until, five days from the finish line: disaster. The mountains, the wildlife, and the trails inflict harsh reality on what's left of the hundred horses and riders who started the difficult race.

Ballad of the Horse and Mule: Some Will Make It Through is fiction, but it was inspired by the real-life 1976 Great American Horse Race and also by epic ballads. Combining the best of both, this fiction-in-verse novella is a rousing tale of competition, endurance, and friendship.

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REVIEWS

Gregorich delivers a novella-in-verse inspired by the real-life 1976 Great American Horse Race, accompanying Robert Stroud and his horse, Supreme, as they compete with 99 other riding teams to race across the United States. Rugged terrain, a sabotaging cheater, and even a competitor mule stand between Stroud and the half a million-dollar prize—one that he can only earn by persevering through a grueling, 2,500-mile trek that will take months in the saddle. As readers follow Stroud, Supreme, and other cleverly named contenders from New York to California, it quickly becomes clear this is a race to end all races: "Each rider thinks his steed will win // Not even half will last.". . . .

Steve Johnson's black and white illustrations complement Gregorich's descriptive stanzas, and, for clarity's sake, each chapter is carefully labeled with location and progress miles, followed by a status chart . . . Determination and a dogged persistence unify the book's many characters, and Stroud learns several important lessons along the way: mistakes will happen—and the lure of giving up is a constant threat—but "nothing helps like someone else // Who's also on the ride." For the right audience, this genre-bending story will entertain and inspire.

Takeaway: Horses, colorful characters, and grueling race unite for an entertaining ride.

Comparable Titles: Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust, Sharon Creech's Love That Dog. — BookLife