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Marion N. Seidel’s equestrian journey has traversed two continents and spanned nearly four decades. Born in Düsseldorf, Germany, her love of horses drew her to the race track and as a teenager, Marion became an apprentice jockey. For sixteen years she poured all of her love and passion for the majestic animals and racing, also known as “The Sport of Kings” into her work. In 1992, Marion made a move to Florida and continued working in the field as an exercise rider.
It was then that she was presented with a stark contrast of ideology between her home in Germany and of Europe as a whole, and how the Thoroughbred Horse Racing industry was run and operated in the United States. She was confronted with an astounding amount of performance enhancing medication administered to the animals, as well as drug use, and abuse forced upon them by the trainers. Training methods that were taboo in Europe were commonplace in the U.S., and Marion became disenfranchised with the entire structure of the industry. In 1995, she made the decision to step away from the sport and from the animals she loved because she couldn’t reconcile what she saw as abuse.
In 2011, Marion earned her Thoroughbred Trainer's License, and it was also the time she felt moved to share her story and lifetime of experience with the equestrian world.
Marion has penned three novels since 2013. JUST ANOTHER RACE HORSE, RACE HORSE TRAINING: COMPARED, and FROM RACE HORSE TO TRAIL HORSE TO PET were all published within a year of one another, and showcase the knowledge and insight Marion has earned over almost forty years of working with the animals she loves.
Marion has become a champion for Thoroughbred Horses and continues to work with, and care for them today. She hopes to raise awareness and garner compassion for the beautiful animals being abused every day, simply for the entertainment of race fans. Marion’s next novel (Title and Release Date-TBA) is in production and promises to showcase once again her passion for, her love of, and her knowledge about Thoroughbreds and the industry in which many of them in the United States are trapped.
Reviewed by April Gilly for Readers' Favorite
Race Horse Training: Compared by Marion N. Seidel tells of her experiences with horse racing in Europe, or more specifically Germany, and of the experiences she had working at a track in Florida. Marion tells of how she didn't speak English, but had always dreamed of moving to the USA. One day she was able to accomplish her dream, thanks to the thoroughbred horse racing she discovered in Florida. She soon discovered she was in for a shock as things weren't done in America as they were in Germany. Although she asked questions and tried to find out WHY things were done the way they were, she never got a full answer. Unfortunately, because of the inability to get answers to her questions and treatment of the horses that she didn't agree with, Marion decided to leave the racing world.
Race Horse Training: Compared by Marion N. Seidel does a good job of showing the differences between the thoroughbred horse racing worlds of America and Europe. The book doesn't paint a very pleasant picture of the American horse racing world and, while it is stated that all Marion N. Seidel is trying to do is document the differences between the two from her own experiences, near the end it seems more like preaching on the "evils" of the American thoroughbred horse racing world. Despite that, Racing Horse Training: Compared is very informative and gives a different view into both countries' racing industries that I don't think you'd be able to get from the media, standing on the track, or even behind the scenes where the horses are prepped for the races.
