In the Scent of Horses, Hay and Old Barns (Pre-Order)

Coming November 2025

A narrative retelling of the life of an eastern horse girl who moved west and started one of the nation’s longest running equestrian schools. 

In early autumn, 1958, 32-year-old Eleanor Fracker Smith left her family roots in Massachusetts and moved to southeast Wyoming. There, she realized her life philosophy: that people can do without a lot of things, but no one should have to live without horses.  

Ellie lived contentedly on the dry, wind-swept prairie west of Laramie. She bought horses she could afford: ill, malnourished, and poorly trained. Through her accumulated knowledge of equine care, which a student later called “encyclopedic,” Ellie turned her unimpressive herd into show-ring winners, sought-after breeding stock, and excellent school horses. In 1961, she established Sodergreen Horsemanship School based on a uniquely immersive and broad curriculum, with lectures and lessons based upon love, encouragement, patience, mutual trust, communication, and—of pivotal importance—groundwork. For 40 years, Ellie’s renowned teaching drew students of all ages and skills. Her students loved her, and she loved them.  When Ellie married Bill Prince in 1966, they purchased a rundown ranch, just west of Cheyenne, and took with them the school and its name. Classes were full every summer until the school officially closed in 2001.  

With the help of three books on horsemanship published by Doubleday in the late eighties and early nineties, Ellie was respected not only for the depth of her knowledge, but her commitment to educating the horse-loving public, as she continued teaching and remaining involved in horsemanship activities into her nineth decade. She will be most remembered, though, for sharing with others the love and joy that comes from companionship with a horse. “I was nutty about horses,” she said, “and couldn’t see life any other way.” 

Pamela Galbreath’s finely tuned narrative reverently traces the arc of Ellie Prince’s lifetime of service to horses and horsemanship with remarkable attention to setting and detail, transporting readers from the suburbs of Boston to the plains of the West. Those who love horses or have an interest in the history of horsemanship in the United States will find themselves wishing they could have been taught by Ellie Prince, too.

Author: Pamela Galbreath

Format: Paperback

Page Count: 288

Illustrations: 75 b/w and color photographs

ISBN: 9781646013012