My Animals And Other Family By Clare Balding (Paperback, 2013)

My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding is a funny brave tender story of self-discovery'I had spent most of my childhood thinking I was a dog and suspect I had aged in dog years'Clare Balding grew up in a rather unusual household Her father a champion trainer she shared her life with more than 100 thoroughbred racehorses mares foals and ponies as well as an ever-present pack of boxers and lurchers As a toddler she would happily ride the legendary Mill Reef and take breakfast with the QueenShe and her younger brother came very low down the pecking order Left to their own devices they had to learn life's toughest lessons through the animals and through their adventures in the stables and the idyllic Hampshire Downs From the protective Candy to the pot-bellied Valkyrie and the frisky
Hattie each horse and each dog had their own character and their own special part to playThe running family joke was that women ain't people Clare had to prove them wrong to make her voice heard - but first she had to make sure she had something to say'Moving funny and larger than life' Michael Morpurgo'Magical enchanting riotously eccentric' Daily Mail'Funny and unexpectedly wise Balding has lots of good stories to tell It is impossible not to admire her honesty Mail on Sunday'The reading equivalent of snuggling by the fire with a labrador' The GuardianClare Balding is an award-winning broadcaster and writer She has been a lead presenter for the Olympics Paralympics Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games For more than twelve years she has hiked across the countryside for the BBC Radio 4
series Ramblings Clare has presented Countryfile Britain's Hidden Heritage Britain By Bike Crufts and Famous & Fearless and has appeared on QI Have I Got News for You and Sport Relief She has been voted RTS Sports Presenter of the Year and Racing Broadcaster of the Year She lives in West London with her partner Alice their wayward Tibetan Terrier Archie and a cat who couldn't give a damn called Itty My Animals and Other Family is Clare's first book