The Day Bonny Blue Raced For The Cup

By Owen Trevor Smith

A thrilling and moving lyrical descriptive poem in the style of legendary Australian bush poets Andrew 'Banjo' Paterson and Henry Lawson. Australian bush ballads are renowned for their easy flowing style and comfortable rhythmic pace and this poem is a beautifully crafted example of that art.

A desperate Australian farming family caught in a drought and under threat of mortgage foreclosure in a few days, form a plan to enter their horse Bonny Blue in a horse race (the Carling Cup) with 16-year-old son Jack to ride her. She has raced before but was injured (long since healed) and now she works on the farm. Jack and Bonny Blue use their fighting spirit and their bond to overcome inexperience, prejudice and overwhelming odds in the race for the Carling Cup.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WordSmithNZ
• Release date: Jan 4, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386756521

Owen Trevor Smith

I now live on the Kapiti Coast of the North Island of beautiful New Zealand but I have lived and worked in Australia, England, Germany and Switzerland. I grew up in the small village of Paekakariki (try saying that if you're not a kiwi), only 10km from where I now live, graduated with degrees in Psychology and Education from Victoria University of Wellington, and work as a software engineer when I'm not writing. I share my home with two dogs (Harry and Jacko) and three guitars (not named). I’ve travelled throughout the world for extensive periods of time and I’ve sailed the Atlantic from England to Brazil in my 41-foot ketch ‘Adastra’. I have written poems (that rhyme!), short fiction in diverse genres (westerns, science fiction, war, crime, adventure) and also children’s stories and a play (which has been performed :-) ). My first novel LINDISFARNE: Fury of the Northmen was published in 2018.

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Owen Trevor Smith

Copyright © 2019 WordSmithNZ

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All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Cover: Steven Novak

novakillustration.com

Acknowledgements

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In appreciation of the work of legendary Australian ‘bush’ poets Andrew ‘Banjo’ Paterson and Henry Lawson.

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Thanks to my son, Aidan, for making me work harder by insisting on true rhymes and not allowing any ‘poetic licence’.

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Thanks also to John Ansell for providing some excellent suggestions and for showing me where the bar of quality should be set.

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Says the one who is wise:

"Your alarm at the size

Of the mountain to climb

Is a waste of your time.

You should focus instead

On the rock just ahead."

PART ONE

A Desperate Plan

Mary:

Now Bob, you know, they’ll not let go, they’ll force us off the farm

We owe