Book description
At the age of thirty-four, Polly Evans finally fulfilled a childhood
dream - to learn how to ride a horse. But rather than do so
conveniently close to home, she decided to travel to Argentina and
saddle up among the gauchos.
Overcoming battered limbs, a steed hell-bent on bolting, and an
encounter with the teeth of one very savage dog, Polly cantered
through Andean vineyards and galloped beneath snow-capped Patagonian
peaks. She survived a hair-raising game of polo and a back-breaking
day herding cattle.
Taking a break from riding, she delved into Argentina's tumultuous
history: the Europeans' first terrifying acquaintances with the native
'giants'; the sanguinary demise of the early missionaries; and the
gruesome drama of Evita's wandering corpse.
On a Hoof and Prayer is the stampeding story of Polly's
journey from timorous equestrian novice to wildly whooping cowgirl.
It's a tale of ponies, painkillers and peregrinations - not just
around present-day Argentina, but also into the country's glorious and
turbulent past.
POLLY EVANS is very cowardly and not at all fond of danger. She
does, however, have an unfortunate tendency to seek out discomfort and
sometimes even downright pain. It was this ugly trait that led her
five years ago to throw in her comfortable office job - complete with
its twizzly chair and free use of the coffee machine - and to take off
on a leg-battering bicycle tour of Spain.
The result of her endeavours was one very sore set of limbs and her
first book, It's Not About the Tapas, which was short-listed
for the WHSmith People's Choice Travel Writing award. She indulged in
further escapades the following year, this time swapping pedal-power
for a motorbike to travel around New Zealand and to write her second
book, Kiwis Might Fly. Polly's third book, Fried Eggs with
Chopsticks, tells the story of her sometimes-desperate battle to
tour China by public transport while On a Hoof and a Prayer
sees her learning to ride horses in Argentina. Polly is also an
award-winning journalist. When she's not on the road, Polly lives in London.
