‘Big, Bold & Brave’: An Excerpt From Emily Hamel’s Inspiring New Children’s Book

Illustrations by Tom Monarch.

We have relished following the journey of Emily Hamel and her high-jumping Corvett, who in 2021 finished 21st Kentucky and 14th at Maryland then rocked around Badminton earlier this year. Just when we thought we couldn’t adore them any more than we already do, Emily has published a children’s book that shares their heartwarming backstory, written by Deana Hamel with illustrations by Tom Monarch. She explains: 

“The relationship between an animal and its owner is a unique connection. Learn about how Barry and I found each other, formed a partnership, and became great together.  This is a special story of how the right team brings out greatness in everyone and helps dreams come true.” 

The 64-page fully illustrated children’s book is sure to inspire readers and listeners of all ages. Pre-orders can be made here. All pre-orders come with a signed photo of Emily and Barry doing big, bold, and brave things together. Proceeds help fund their trip overseas and their training leading up to Burghley.  

We thank Emily for generously sharing an excerpt of the book with EN. Enjoy, and be sure to purchase a copy to help support this indomitable team:

As time went on, Barry began to forget
his mother’s words.
He was still Barry the Big.
Barry the Bold.
and Barry the Brave.
But he also became Barry the Sad.
And over time he became Barry the
MAD because no one understood that all
he wanted was to be great!
And after awhile, he stopped dreaming
of being great….

After awhile, nobody wanted to ride with
Barry. They would say:
“That horse is just too Big over the
jumps!”
“Barry is way too Bold to the fences!”
“That horse Barry is far braver than me!”
“Besides, he always seems MAD!”
But there was one rider who didn’t think
so. Her name was Emily. She brought
Barry carrots. So to him, she was Emily
Carrots.

 

One day while standing in his stall, he was
being everything at once – Big, Bold, Brave,
Sad and Mad. Emily Carrots came and took
him out. She put on his saddle, grabbed his
reins and walked to the arena. Before she
got on, Emily Carrots turned and spoke
softly to Barry.
“Barry, to be great, you have to be Big, you
have to be Bold, and you have to be Brave.”
Barry’s ears perked up. What did she say?
“But . . . . you need to let me tell you when
so we can be great together!”

Over time, Emily rode Barry every
day. Barry came to enjoy his time with
Emily Carrots and started to forget
about being mad. Barry liked the
way they played together. She didn’t
get grumpy or try to hold him back
whenever he tried to be great! All she
asked was, “If you listen to me, I can
teach you to jump bigger! We can
approach the jumps more boldly! And
together we will be the bravest!
Barry liked working with Emily
Carrots. When they weren’t working,
Emily Carrots gave him lots of love
and attention. Being great with her
could be fun.

What happened next? Spoiler Alert: 

Click here to order your copy of “Big, Bold & Brave.”

Deana Hamel Publishing
Copyright Year: 2022
Copyright Notice: by Deana Hamel. All rights reserved.

The above information forms this copyright notice: © 2022 by Deana Hamel and Tom Monarch. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.