Each year about this time I like to touch base with our authors and find out what they’re grateful for–what they feel are their blessings this Thanksgiving week. It’s so important that we don’t just go through the motions of dressing a turkey and opening a bottle of wine…most of us have many things, little things, that made us feel happy, loved, or lucky in 2012. It makes sense to share them.

We at Trafalgar Square have been very thankful to have come to know the wonderful, vibrant soul and talented singer/songwriter Templeton Thompson this year. Her music brought so much heart to the 7 CLINICS WITH BUCK BRANNAMAN DVD series, and we are thrilled to now offer her SONGS FROM 7 CLINICS CD for sale on our website. Tempy recorded her thanks so we could hear it right from her—check out the video below, which kicks off our list of “author thanks.” (And for a wonderful unplugged version of the song “Believe,” which is featured on SONGS FROM 7 CLINICS, check out the second video at the bottom of this post.)

“I am thankful to my students whose continual desire to improve allows me to be creative and innovative in my approach to riding. I’m thankful that they also desire to understand how they can better communicate through their mind and body rather than demand unquestionable obedience from their horse. And I am thankful to the horses that sense my own desire to help both them and their riders.” –Wendy Murdoch, author of 50 5-MINUTE FIXES TO IMPROVE YOUR RIDING and the RIDE LIKE A NATURAL DVD series

“I am thankful for my horse-crazy girls, my wife Alisha and my daughter Madilyn.”  –Sean Patrick, author of THE MODERN HORSEMAN’S COUNTDOWN TO BROKE BOOK and DVD set

“2012 has been a really great year for me! But I am most thankful for my great employees, wonderful clients, supportive family and friends, and my Kerig coffee maker, which I could not function without.  I am also thankful for all of the support from Trafalgar Square on my first book project and I can’t wait to see it on bookshelves in 2013.” –Susan Tinder, author of JUMP COURSE DESIGN MANUAL and owner of Tolland Falls Equestrian Facility

“I’m thankful for many things, including many wonderful friends, a career that I love, and a life complete with horses. But more than anything, I’m thankful for the love of my wife and children. They are what make every day worth living, and I feel blessed to have them in my life.” –Daniel Stewart, author of RIDE RIGHT WITH DANIEL STEWART

“Oh my, I am thankful for so much! My family, my faith, living in a country where I can worship God openly, my friends, and my good fortune to share my life with so many of God’s furry creations.  I’m thankful I live out in the country and can ride my horse in so many beautiful places across the United States. I’m also very thankful to have a new book coming out in 2013!” –Eunice Rush, co-author of KNOW YOU, KNOW YOUR HORSE

“I am thankful for my family, good friends, and my companion Brad who listens to me ‘talk horses’ for hours and hours. I am thankful for the horses I have met in my life. There are no better teachers in this world than the equines who inspire us to enjoy life, who encourage us to learn more, and who let us know, if we listen, how well we are doing as humans.”  –Marry Morrow, co-author of KNOW YOU, KNOW YOUR HORSE

“I am most thankful for my wonderful husband and my great friends. Many of my friends have faced health issues this past year, so I am also thankful at this time for my own good health.”  –Janet Foy, author of DRESSAGE FOR THE NOT-SO-PERFECT HORSE

“I am thankful for so many things, but mostly I am thankful for having the privilege of helping put smiles on children’s faces, many of whom otherwise would know them not.”  –Kerry Thomas, co-author of HORSE PROFILING

“While I am thankful for so many things in my life, like my family, my husband, my horses, and my work, the most precious gift that I have in life is the gift of learning. To always be able to grow and understand more about my family, my husband, my horses, and my work…….for that I am VERY thankful!” –Janice Dulak, author of NINE PILATES ESSENTIALS FOR THE BALANCED RIDER and PILATES FOR THE DRESSAGE RIDER BOOK and DVD

“Here’s one author who’s thankful for the usual – family, friends, good health – and also thanks for all those in-foal mares that carry our dreams for the future.”  –Linda McLoon, author of CROWN PRINCE and CROWN PRINCE CHALLENGED

“Several in my family have had major health issues this month. I’m glad I can say we will all be present and healthy to celebrate the holidays. Also, I get to welcome a new niece to the festivities this year. As for my horses, I am thankful I have gotten to start my colt (the TSB catalog cover model last year), and I can’t wait to send him to the trainer soon!” –Kayla Starnes, author of TEAM ROPING 101

“Apart from the usual thankfulness for freedom from sickness and loss, I do think very often how lucky I am to live in a place like Vermont that hasn`t been run over by the terrible version of prosperity that equates growth with progress. Under that dreary scenario, more houses and more businesses are better than more fields and woods. I`m thankful that many Vermonters don`t buy into that vision, and I still have trails to explore and open spaces in which to ride.”  –Denny Emerson, author of HOW GOOD RIDERS GET GOOD

“I’m thankful to wake each morning able and eager to continue the wonderful practice of horse training. Like anything, it has it’s difficult sides, but I can’t think of a more creative and exciting way to spend my time. Also, I’m thankful for the many students who share my passion. My idols, legends who will never die. The works of the past masters, the teachers I have had the pleasure to work with, and my treasured mentors. My colleagues and friends, and my wife who loves me. I’m even, somehow thankful for the winds of adversity that assail me on this intrepid journey. I’m thankful to all whom I owe many debts of gratitude, those who have also spent their lives, and have cared enough to share, who I can never fully repay.” —Douglas Puterbaugh, author of THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF DRESSAGE

“Let’s see… I want a pony, an’ a submarine… an’ a… oh wait, that’s Christmas…This year Conley and I are extremely grateful and cognizant of the fact that we are so fortunate to be able to make our living doing what we love to do, and to be surrounded and supported by people who are so passionate about what they do. We are thankful to all of you who have felt inspired to do just that little bit more for your horses, and we are thankful of course for horses—the ultimate silent teachers of life. We hope you all feel as blessed. (But I also want a pony an’ a submarine.)” —Jim Masterson, author of BEYOND HORSE MASSAGE the BOOK and DVD

And what am I thankful for as 2012 nears its end? I am thankful for my bright and shining son, who I love with all my heart; for a country that although populated by very different people with very different beliefs can still hold free elections and collectively determine a way forward; for my brother’s safety during Sandy and now his resilience as his town battles back after the devastation of the storm; and for finally finishing the book I’ve been working on with Linda Tellington-Jones for four years, entitled DRESSAGE WITH MIND, BODY & SOUL. I honestly and fervently believe it can make a difference in the way we ride and train dressage horses.

As you move through your week and rev up for the holiday, as you welcome family into your home or travel elsewhere to meet friends, remember to take a moment to be thankful in your daily interactions with your horse. As Linda says in our book, “The horse deserves to be thanked when he performs well, when he does as you bid, when he controls his innate and natural impulses to fight, flee, or freeze. This self-control on his part is a small miracle, and you should not take it for granted.”

Happy Thanksgiving to All from the TSB crew.

—Rebecca Didier, Senior Editor at Trafalgar Square Books and co-author of DRESSAGE WITH MIND, BODY & SOUL

p.s. Thanks so much for reading our blog! Treat yourself to this sweet video from Templeton Thompson and stay tuned for news about our big holiday sales…