So, the other day I did a thing: Breyer/Reeves, maker of model horses, asked if there were horses they should know about. And I gave them Valadan.
"Valadan is a horse Breyer should know about. The Warhorse of Esdragon, appearing in 7 books by Susan Dexter and mentioned in an 8th. Sired by the storm wind on a mortal mare, he runs with his sire’s speed. Ageless, he has served a succession of masters: a prince, a farmer’s widow who whistles the wind, a would-be knight, a duke, and a wizard’s apprentice tasked with a world-saving quest. His coat is black without a single white hair, his mane and tail are long and silky—and his eyes fill with sparks of adamant, saffron and emeraude. He’s not an Arabian, thought he resembles one. He’s not an Andalusian or a Fresian. He’s close to a Spanish Barb, but what he actually is: a PTC Carousel horse sculpted by John Zalar, because a girl with no horse (me) could still ride a carousel and dream. And so Valadan is introduced imprisoned on a merry-go-round in The Ring of Allaire. (Del Rey Books, 1981.) My first book—I began writing it in 1977.
I have been known to take a model horse, paint it black and glitter the eyes. But there’s never been one that was a perfect fit. A horse that was “Bred by magic…had battled chimerae and trampled tygers, cried fierce challenges to armed hosts, carried his Dukes to battles and perilous midnight trysts.” surely that horse ought to be a Breyer!"
The image above is that very Philadelphia Toboggan Company horse that inspired me--reproduced as a music box. I also told Breyer that my Valadan had a race horse named for him. That Valadan, a chestnut gelding, raced at Philadelphia Park. Maybe not as fast as the wind, but a cool namesake all the same.
"Valadan is a horse Breyer should know about. The Warhorse of Esdragon, appearing in 7 books by Susan Dexter and mentioned in an 8th. Sired by the storm wind on a mortal mare, he runs with his sire’s speed. Ageless, he has served a succession of masters: a prince, a farmer’s widow who whistles the wind, a would-be knight, a duke, and a wizard’s apprentice tasked with a world-saving quest. His coat is black without a single white hair, his mane and tail are long and silky—and his eyes fill with sparks of adamant, saffron and emeraude. He’s not an Arabian, thought he resembles one. He’s not an Andalusian or a Fresian. He’s close to a Spanish Barb, but what he actually is: a PTC Carousel horse sculpted by John Zalar, because a girl with no horse (me) could still ride a carousel and dream. And so Valadan is introduced imprisoned on a merry-go-round in The Ring of Allaire. (Del Rey Books, 1981.) My first book—I began writing it in 1977.
I have been known to take a model horse, paint it black and glitter the eyes. But there’s never been one that was a perfect fit. A horse that was “Bred by magic…had battled chimerae and trampled tygers, cried fierce challenges to armed hosts, carried his Dukes to battles and perilous midnight trysts.” surely that horse ought to be a Breyer!"
The image above is that very Philadelphia Toboggan Company horse that inspired me--reproduced as a music box. I also told Breyer that my Valadan had a race horse named for him. That Valadan, a chestnut gelding, raced at Philadelphia Park. Maybe not as fast as the wind, but a cool namesake all the same.
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